Second Time Mom: Reality Check

Otherwise known as Respect the Nap: Take Two.

Having a newborn is no big deal, I thought.

I've done it before.

Piece of cake.

Eat. Sleep. Poop.

Put the baby down drowsy but awake.

Paci, swaddle, etc.

I got this.

........

...................

...........................................................

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry.

I never realized just how arrogant my first-time-mom-self was, thinking I had this parenting thing all figured out just because I'd done it once.

Yeah, sure, I'm not a First Time Mom (FTM), but I might as well be. Each kid is its own universe, its own puzzle to figure out.

That's the first thing Z and I learned from the first moment we saw baby C.

"She has hair on her head!"

"Her eyes are DARK!"

"She is so different from M!"

So many things about C are different from M, and most of them have nothing to do with her physical features. And why shouldn't she be different? She's a different person! Duh.

Yet somehow, while pregnant with her, I imagined her to be M's clone. And, of course, she isn't.

For one thing, she will. not. take. a. paci. (Arg.)

She also will. not. take. a. nap. (Arg!) Even though I'm paying attention to all her sleep signals and rocking her and feeding her and changing her and trying to get her to take the darn paci! (ARG!!!)

And because she hardly naps during the day, she doesn't sleep at night, either. Because overtired babies don't sleep. And they also wake up their older sisters with their crying. And their older sisters wake THEM up when they finally DO drift off for a brief snooze because of the monsters in the closet (obviously). So, basically, no one in our house is getting any sleep.

Do you see why I'm sounding slightly crazed??? And using multiple question marks at the end of my questions?????

So here we are, Z and I, back to figuring out how to get our newborn to sleep so that WE can sleep. Because that is basically the ultimate goal of the first few weeks (or months?) of parenthood - figure out how to GET. MORE. SLEEP. (Or how about just 'get ANY sleep?')

And obviously having M - who is now three years old, by the way - in the mix is NOT helping the matter.

I'd like to think I will continue writing here. I want to keep this blog going longer than I did when M was a baby.

But it might have to wait until I stop obsessing about sleep.

...If I make any major breakthroughs in the 'getting sleep' department, I will be sure to let you know.

After I sleep for several days straight, of course.