Beyond the physical differences... Sean already being a huge 10+ pounds and wearing 3-6 month clothing at 3 weeks old, where Meredith was in her 0-3 stuff for EVER. Sean's light complexion and blue eyes and Meredith's olive tone and huge brown eyes. Beyond these things...
Meredith, 2 days old
Sean, 2 days oldMeredith came home and gave us a 5 hour overnight stretch of sleep right off the bat. Given, we dealt with major breastfeeding issues because of it, but she was a sleeper from the start. Still is, requiring at least 14 hours overnight to be even close to bearable. Sean... well, is not. Right now I'm sitting in the living room watching him sleep fitfully in the swing. This, only after hours of trying to put him down, swaddle him (which he despises), letting him sleep on one of us, etc. all to no avail. I doubt the swing will work for very long either.
He's a screamer. There is no working up to "I'm hungry" or "I'm wet"... no grunts or squeaks, just an immediate all out scream. There are no hunger cues, just "give me a boobie now!" wails. Meredith was the opposite. Sure, there was crying (and I have 4 years of distance to forget how much, but I do know it was nowhere near her brother's wails), but I remember her being easier to read, easier to know what was coming, and definitely easier to soothe.
So I guess tonight I'm sleeping on the couch. Brian has been pushing for Sean to move to his own crib, and we've done it the past two nights, but I'm thinking its backfiring and being near us is what he needs right now. Brian's argument about needing to get up to work has little effect on me this time around since I don't just have a "leisurely" day of taking care of a baby. I have to get up too, get two kids fed, dressed and out the door in time for preschool. And so far Sean's schedule has him eating right around 9 and 12... drop off and pick up time, which makes things just that much more difficult.
In the meantime I've decided to cut caffeine and chocolate from my diet in hopes its something I'm eating that is keeping him from sleeping. I have to hold out hope that this may be something I can fix.
He's a screamer. There is no working up to "I'm hungry" or "I'm wet"... no grunts or squeaks, just an immediate all out scream. There are no hunger cues, just "give me a boobie now!" wails. Meredith was the opposite. Sure, there was crying (and I have 4 years of distance to forget how much, but I do know it was nowhere near her brother's wails), but I remember her being easier to read, easier to know what was coming, and definitely easier to soothe.
So I guess tonight I'm sleeping on the couch. Brian has been pushing for Sean to move to his own crib, and we've done it the past two nights, but I'm thinking its backfiring and being near us is what he needs right now. Brian's argument about needing to get up to work has little effect on me this time around since I don't just have a "leisurely" day of taking care of a baby. I have to get up too, get two kids fed, dressed and out the door in time for preschool. And so far Sean's schedule has him eating right around 9 and 12... drop off and pick up time, which makes things just that much more difficult.
In the meantime I've decided to cut caffeine and chocolate from my diet in hopes its something I'm eating that is keeping him from sleeping. I have to hold out hope that this may be something I can fix.
2 comments:
I hope Brian soon stops pushing to move Sean to his own room. He probably will soon once Sean comes out of the itty-bitty baby phase and doesn't wail as much, or at least moves his wailing hours to earlier. You totally need as much if not more than him, so do yourself a favor and get back in bed. I was mean to my hubby and told him, "If I'm up I'm waking you up for at least a little bit." Most other dads we know were up doing feedings since the moms weren't nursing, but mine was off the hook, so the least he could do was wake up with us and keep us company! Mer and Sean resemble each other but definitely have their own looks to them. So sweet.
I really hope the change in diet helps you and Sean as much as it helped us. Please make sure that you get your rest...you might even want to consider attempting to co-sleep and letting him nurse through the night. It can be a pain in the ass HOWEVER it can also be a godsend to sleep for a few hours. Thinkin' about you!
Post a Comment