Charlie has now had four bad nights in a row where he's woken up at 2 a.m. and stayed up until about 4 a.m. Then he often wakes up around 5:45 or 6-ish and is awake for a while.And thus was the case this morning. It is now 8:45 a.m. and he has been awake for the last three hours. Of course Eli is still asleep (he had a hard time falling asleep last night) and I keep wishing Charlie would fall asleep so I could close my eyes and go back to bed.
Sleep Charlie!! Sleep already.
I am going on almost 6 weeks of disjointed sleep. My wrists are sore from constantly patting Charlie's back as I bounce, rock, or pace with him through the night and during the day. This morning I tried laying Charlie in bed next to me from about 7 to 7:15 a.m., but he grew fussy pretty fast. I tried putting him in the bouncy seat next to my bed and laid there on my bed while I pushed on the seat to rock him... but that failed too. Now we're downstairs and Charlie is finally somewhat content in the seat staring at the light coming in from the window as I rock the seat with my foot. I can't believe he's still awake (or that Eli is still asleep). I really miss my 7-9 a.m. babysitter who finished up last week.
I feel bad for the poor child. He STILL has the same yucky cold and coughs constantly. He is often gassy and uncomfortable. He is often fussy and squirmy in my arms and doesn't last long when I put him in the Baby Bjorn, Beco carrier, Moby wrap, sling... but still dislikes being put down.
On Saturday I left the boys with Ben and was gone for a few hours getting some things done - when I came back early in the afternoon, Eli was napping and Ben was still in his pajamas and holding Charlie on the couch after struggling to keep him happy. Ben asked me, "Does Charlie stress you out? He stresses me out."
Why did everyone convince me when I was pregnant that my second child was going to be easy?
He's not.
I love Charlie. I love how snuggly he is when he finally falls asleep in my arms. He has just started to smile occasionally, which is very cute. But I am exhausted from the constant movement and energy required to keep this kid from crying. I really hope reaching the 6-week mark in a few days will be the magic turning point and things will improve from there.
And... he finally fell asleep. Guess who's waking up?? :)
Happy Pulaski Day...
6 comments:
Oh, Sarah! I feel so bad for you! I remember well, those days. Everyone always says going from two to three is the hardest, and I have ALWAYS disagreed. For me it was going from one to two. It was SO hard! Calder was just like Charlie (maybe it's the "c" name!)It was so exhausting. I found that once the number two adjustment was over with, each consecutive child after came with only minor adjustments.
I think learning to share your time and attention equally between two, when before you had focused all your time and energy on one, is a very hard adjustment. It seems like there isn't enough time in the day. It was definitely easier after that, to me anyway.
Haha! At least Ben is very sympathetic! I really like his statement! It makes me laugh.
I'm so sorry, Sarah! Charlie sounds exactly like Sadie (who to this day is a terrible sleeper). Some kids are great sleepers and some are not! It's tough to get the bad sleeper the second (or third) time around because you've got that older sibling to contend with when the baby finally drops off to sleep. All I can say is that you do eventually get used to it. Hopefully once Charlie's reflux gets better and his cold goes away, his sleeping will improve :) Hang in there!
I'm sorry Sarah! I hope you are able to get some sleep soon. Addie wasn't as easy as Ella, but it doesn't sound like she was as hard as Charlie either, so all I can say is hang in there :-)!
who said parenting was all butterflies and happiness anyway? you go, Sarah! i love how you blog about the good and the bad. good luck with sleep. i wish i could help somehow. ok, i'm sending you good vibes from my desk here in the OC, good vibes to Sarah, good vibes to Sarah, sleep vibes to Charlie, happy boy vibes to Eli ... :)
Marisa was my hardest baby and she was the 2nd. I remember thinking I would not make it some days. I had to hold her all the time.
Things don't change much either. She is still the hardest and she is 10!
Cute, cute Sarah. I don't think you will be ready to change the name of your blog till you have better feelings towards Charlie! Just kidding.
Truly, I am sorry. Ellery was very hard, but Bennett was much easier, and that definitely made life better since I had a toddler in the house. I can't imagine how difficult it is with Charlie and Eli. I can feel your exhaustion (and somewhat relate, I guess!). Anyway, I do hope things start getting better soon. I always say the first six weeks are the hardest. We hit the six week mark yesterday, so I am praying for major improvement. I'll pray for you too.
Thanks for the idea of feeding on one side. At this point I am willing to try anything. I like to feed on both sides because I always feel lopsided for three hours when I just feed on one. But that seems like a small price to pay for happiness!
Thinking about you.
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