<\/p>\nI realize I _just_ said that it was “_easier_ the second time”:\/news\/2008\/easier-the-second-time\/, but I’m changing my story. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rosie and Lucy have just treated us to a couple of (how shall we say it?) “interesting” nights. We wonder: could they possibly have read our “post”:\/news\/2008\/easier-the-second-time\/ and want to mess with us? The experience did remind us that life can take a “glass-half-empty” twist just with the loss of a few hours sleep. So here’s another, equally true perspective from the front lines.<\/p>\n
p{color:gray}. Photo: Here’s Mama juggling babies at tooth-brushing time.<\/p>\n
While we still say that life is often going smoother than expected, we are definitely encountering some challenges along the way:<\/p>\n
# We are trying to help Rosie eat every two to three hours during the day (so that she won’t be up all night wanting to eat), but it’s not always easy to rouse her from her daytime slumbers. We hate to rouse her from sleep when we wish _we_ could sleep so soundly!
\n# Lucy loves to hug her little sister, but is also sensing a bit of the tension and disorder in our household — and expressing it through occasional fits of hollering and some nighttime wake-ups (much to our dismay!).
\n# Even on a good night, we’re delighted to get a single three-hour block of uninterrupted sleep. The deprivation is making Jon and me edgy at times, and we’re both feeling a bit anxious about how this Mama is going to handle two babies when Jon ramps back up to his regular work schedule.
\n# In fact, Jon has definitely had the “baby blues” — an important reminder that post-partum depression isn’t just for the Mama! Dads, take good care of yourselves, too!<\/p>\n
Luckily, I did find time yesterday to bake some of our favorite “chocolate cupcakes”:http:\/\/www.marthastewart.com\/recipe\/chocolate-cupcakes?xsc=stf_MSLO-RECIPE. (Can you say “comfort food”?) I am still trying to take one day at a time and trying to be grateful for the peaceful and joyful moments we happen upon. But things are not always easy. Here are some thoughts that make me anxious at times:<\/p>\n
* Jon and I spend pretty much all of our time caring for babies or doing household work. One of these days we’ll actually get to talk to each other again, but that feels pretty far off right now. Jon is especially feeling stress about work-related projects that have been left hanging, and we are both concerned about my (or anyone’s) ability to put Lucy down for a nap while Rosie is doing something unpredictable.
\n* Rosie is only thirteen days old. Everybody I’ve talked to with children who are two years apart say that the first three months are really tough, and then it gets manageable. That means we have at least 77 more days of “really tough.” That’s a little depressing.
\n* The good news is that nursing is still going well; Rosie has more than re-gained her birth weight as of our two-week pediatrician visit today. Hooray! The bad news is that, if she keeps up the nighttime “cluster feeding” trend, Mama and Papa won’t ever get any sleep. (Speaking of which, does anyone have tips on nursing while lying down? Every time I’ve tried it in the past, I end up with a lot of tension in my back — I just can’t get comfortable and relax.)
\n* Lucy woke up several times calling for us the last couple nights, which is totally unlike her. She is also taking weirdly short naps — less than an hour long. Is she wishing for more attention? More snuggling from Mama and Papa? Is there any way we can give it to her? Will she continue to wake up at night for awhile? Lord, have mercy on us! Jon says that Lucy’s just trying to find out whether we’ll respond to her cries as she sees us responding to Rosie’s. Let’s hope she learns that comforting lesson.<\/p>\n
I’m still holding on to the fact that this is a temporary phase. I’m also conscious of the fact that I really *want* us to succeed as a family. I want to be a peaceful, patient mother who can juggle all of the needs of these babies and still feel like a human being. It might not all come together this week (ha), but I’m hoping that I can get the hang of this over the next several months. I keep looking at people with older children and thinking, “This must be possible — look at all of these people with two children or more!” Hopefully we have all the resources we need to climb this steep learning curve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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