Sleep!

[L.Jane]

I am glad you got some sleep and Mom is helping! I am sure the bris will be beautiful (well the non cutting part). Have a wonderful day and enjoy J. The sleeping on your chest thing is so sweet and wonderful. I love that.

[ladymoreta]

It sounds like you're doing amazing! I'm so glad you got some uninterrupted sleep and that your mom is being helpful. Good luck with the MIL, and take notes of her new baby-related antics so you can add more points to the MIL Game.

[SoonerTexan]

Oh dear, I probably should have just kept my mouth shut. Lacy, I no way meant to offend you at all. Of course it is a personal choice for every mother.

I just wanted to point out that there is more to the other side than "a few stupid moms starving their kids" if MrsK every gets enough sleep to read the posts in more detail I have heard that the new editions of the book are much better--I do know that the whole philosophy is grounded in a specific vein of Christian teaching that everyone may not agree with, though it may not be that explicit in the new books.

Like I said, I have a friend who used it and she is a wonderful mom and her baby is fine. I also don't have kids of my own at this point in my life, but I do know more than the average person about the subject because it interests me.

At any rate, isn't this one of the neverending mommy debates that continually rocks sites like The Bump?--hehe, I'll stay out of it for now until I have a "baby in the fight"

[houseelf]

Just wanted to cheer you on....I promise it is only intense like this for a little while. Try to see it as temporary.

(FWIW, I vote for swaddling as much as possible, even if you don't think it is working). BUT I have had success with lots of different methods. There is no one single way to raise a great kid.

Go Mrs. K, Go!

Kelly

[Pollyanna]

There is no one single way to raise a great kid.

Absolutely true!!!

[MrsK]

Thanks, Kelly. Your post made me smile. Baby K was up, alert and nursing all day today. He slept through most of the bris (you can guess what part he woke up for) and nursed for about an hour after the circumcision (boy, was he angry). He's been asleep, in his crib, for several hours now and I'm actually thinking of waking him for a feeding because Im feeling engorged. I know that I should be sleeping but I'm just too wired from having a house full of guests.

In the meanwhile. . . Mom and MIL are driving me crazy. The IL's are going home on Saturday and I'm trying to figure out how to avoid MIL until then. She really pushes my buttons and I'm almost to the point of wanting nothing to do with her at all ever. I need to keep reminding myself that they will all go home soon and we'll have our lives back. DrK has been super-wonderful and supportive . . . even more so than usual. For instance, when I told him that I snapped at MIL, he said "Good, you should speak up more often," before I even told him why I snapped at her. The most amazing part of that exchange is that MILs sister was there with us and he didn't care if she reported back to MIL whose side he's on.

Really, the best times this week have been when it's just DrK, Baby K and me. Even if DrK and I are so punchy that we are calling the baby what's-his-face, we are having so much fun. Even going to Sonic and pigging out is fun. I don't think I've ever been so crazy in love with him. We just keep giggling like a pair of teenagers that just got away with something. . . guess we did because getting away with making a healthy baby sure is something!

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Really, the best times this week have been when it's just DrK, Baby K and me. Even if DrK and I are so punchy that we are calling the baby what's-his-face, we are having so much fun. Even going to Sonic and pigging out is fun. I don't think I've ever been so crazy in love with him. We just keep giggling like a pair of teenagers that just got away with something. . . guess we did because getting away with making a healthy baby sure is something!

Darn right, it's something! I'm so happy for you guys Thanks for posting often!

No advice, but am enjoying reading about your enjoyable moments with your husband....definitely a positive thing to focus on when adjusting to a newborn! Keep it up, sounds like you are doing great!

[MrsK]

Thanks. Right now, we are drinking cocoa and watching Hoosiers. 10-2 seems to be the "witching hour" around here. DrK decided to make the best of it since we'll be up anyway. I've nursed twice in the last hour and BabyK is in his swing (quiet) right now. I'm not sure of this strategy because I think it's too much activity after bedtime and may encourage late nights. But I'm enjoying the relative peace right now. We'll see how long this lasts.

[HouseofWool]

Enjoy the peace. He can't learn bad habits this early.

Just a thought, with Sophie, it wasn't so much that she wanted to be held when she slept, but rather that she didn't want to lay down. I am guessing that she had just a teeny bit of reflux that made lying down after nursing uncomfortable. If I plopped her in her carseat, she slept fine.

[MrsK]

OMG, he was up from 10 to 4 last night. It's not possible to nurse for 6 hours. And I have a cold. Waaaaa!

[ladymoreta]

Wow! I'm so sorry! I hope he gets this nighttime thing figured out soon.

[PrincessFiona]

First, I am terribly late in saying congratulations! I'm so happy for you. He is beautiful.

Second...sleep...hmmmm. What is that? LOL I am definitely a proponent of sleeping when you can. Anytime he lies down, see if you can. Leave the laundry and everything else and just rest.

As far as resetting day and night is concerned, I am hesitant to give any advice. Since I am not having any more babies and karma can't come back and bite me on this one though, I will. Ahhh, the joy of being a 5-time mommy.

It sounds like he has his days and nights confused. We had this with Zoe when she left the NICU because there was so much action going on at night. What worked for us was me minimizing my contact with Zoe at night. I fed her and changed her, of course, but didn't turn on lights, talk to her or Thomas or indicate in any way that I was up and ready to start our day. During the daytime I tried to let her sleep during appropriate napping periods and began gently waking her and keeping her awake by holding her, talking to her and playing with her.

It's hard to do when you're exhausted but it did work for us within a few days.

Maybe it would work for you?

Kris

[MrsK]

Kris, we saw the peditrician today. He gave us similar advise. He says it's a growth spurt -- we should be expecting lots of these as J gets caught up. He has gained 4 oz and grown 2.25 inches in the last 10 days (having previously lost weight). He's now 5 lb, 9 oz, 19.25". The ped says it's time to "get tough." I'm obviously strung out and DrK says that at one point last night I was talking about murder. Even grandma was calling J a monster.

The ped previously directed us to feed J as often as he wanted and for as long as he wanted. But now that J's gotten into the nursing grove and his weight gain is back on track, the ped recommended waking J every two hours for feedings during the day and limiting him to 15 minutes per breast (so he knows to get down to business and learns to nurse more efficently). I suspect this will result in a baby that is up all day and up all night but I'm giving it a try.

In the meanwhile, I'm trying to get my mom to help a little more-- at least to the extent that she is able. She really hasn't been as helpful as we hoped. . . mostly because she misrepresented her physical disabilites. She told us that she was fine, that she really didn't require the help she's had in her home, and that she was fully capable of helping with the baby. But now that she's here we've discovered that she cannot lift and pour a gallon of milk or reach the second shelf of our cabinets. She has difficulty climbing the stairs, needs a nap in the afternoon, requires some help dressing, and her thoughts are clouded. She has prepared some meals but cannot find the grocery store. She's been up in the evenings to help but mostly because she has pain that keeps her awake. Had I known, I would have asked her to stay for a shorter period and invited her back at a time that we would be better able to assist her. Just now, I had to wake her from her nap to hold the baby while I am putting dinner in the crock pot. I really need to be sleeping. It's quite sad and I'm upset that she will not be able to visit often or play with J much when he's older. I'd been away for DrK's training and had no idea how much her health had deteriorated.

[HouseofWool]

Oh MrsK, I am so sorry to hear about your mom. That is really disheartening.

As for BabyK (sorry, that is what he will forever be here), I swear he will get the hang of days and nights. The growth spurts are the worst. It took Sophie several weeks to get straightened out and it was not fun at all.