Not last night... We tried everything from the swing, to our bed, to rocking her, and nothing was working... Finally at 2 am, we put in a Scrubs dvd and sat on the couch and laughed at the stupidist jokes because we were so simpled out! I can't remember how it happened, (I'm pretty sure I was holding her), but we got her to go to sleep. It was awesome. You are really searching for any moral victory you can get your hands on.
We are reading the Baby Wise book that many of our friends have recommended and have just come across the colic section. It can show up in between the 2nd and 4th week (Elliot is 4 weeks tomorrow), so that might be the problem, but if it is, I think it is just a minor case.
I don't say all of this for any one to feel sorry for us. I think young parents are conditioned to say how great it is, but you don't hear many own up to how hard it is. Maybe they feel like people will think that they don't love their baby. I don't know... It is awesome and we love her a lot, but we also really like sleep and getting out of the house on a whim. It is hard to just change your whole life at the drop of a hat, but you do it. We couldn't do it unless we were a great team.
So to sum it all up, we love being parents, but it is a lot different and a lot harder than our previous life was. That isn't a bad thing, it is an honest thing...
Pray that it isn't colic and pray that she gets in a good routine. Thanks for all of the support and thanks to our parents for putting up with us as newborns! We have a whole new respect for you!
9 comments:
I hear you on this one! I definitely agree that there is a lack of honesty sometimes with new parents on how things are really going. But, I also think that sometimes when people ask, it's easier to just say things are great instead of going into all the drama! =) But, good to know that ya'll are normal! (I would much rather know how it's really going!) Just know that you are definitely not alone!
I am praying for you guys and have been thinking about ya'll so much lately! Especially praying that the fussiness goes away - Rebekah was that way for a little while. These are some trying times, especially when you are exhausted and just want any rest you can get. For us, gas drops helped some, and then lots of praying!
Love ya'll! Hang in there!
Just as encouragement - Malachi went through the SAME thing when he was between 4-8 weeks. And then...it stopped. You WILL get into a routine and Elliot WILL grow out of this, although I know you want to slap anyone that tells you that...haha. We've been there and it wasn't too long ago!! Have you tried to put her in the carseat and take her for a drive? I'm sure you have, but I was willing to listen to ANYONE when we were struggling!! We love y'all and always know that if you're up feeding Elliot, chances are we are up feeding Malachi and you can ALWAYS call for encouragement!!
So true. Thanks for your honesty - you are so right. I remember when Kadence was about 6 weeks old, and I was getting really good at the routine answer of everything's great, when really we were both about to drop from exhaustion, and this lady in my aerobics class said, "How's everything going? It's HARD, right?" And I was just so thankful to be able to say "YES! IT'S HARD!" It was so good to be able to express that and I never told her how thankful I was and what a relief it was for someone to not expect me to say it was great.
Our lifesaver - a pilates ball. Have you tried it? We would just sit and hold her and bounce. Constantly. It was the ONLY thing that stopped the crying every time.
you guys are so awesome. this is like baby olympics--you've been training for a year, there are different events and tests of stamina, and you have a cheering section from around the country. so you definitely get the gold. i would say don't be afraid to try new things and don't be afraid to ask for help/advice...you have a wealth of parenting knowledge between bunny, noni and pops...not to mention the batallion of grandparents available :) i love you guys and will try to get some sleep for you :) hugs and kisses!
AMEN! We feel the same - except our infant is a 4 year learning to be parented after being in foster care. You would think that the knowledge of his former life would wash away any and all frustrations that we could have, but it doesn't. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your life right now. After the day we had, I really needed to hear that it's an adjustment to parenthood even for a biological child. BLESS YOU!
As someone who doesn't have children yet, I appreciate the honesty, Jordan. :-)
Aaron and I totally can relate! Until Sabrina was about 2-3 months I thought I was going to die and my marriage would break under the pressure. But 9 months later I'm still alive and my marriage is wonderful! Hang in there. I promise it gets easier!!! :) Love you Guys!
It is definitely hard, but please try to enjoy it :) Because you can't get these precious moments back. And trust me you will miss the time when they are this young. It sounds like she may have colic...I read Baby Wise..it's ok...but wasn't really me...the best book I ever read was Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. I have recommended this to so many people who have absolutely loved it when nothing else would work, it's much deeper than Baby Wise and helped me to understand the 'why' behind what we needed to do, and behind why they cry...I hope it helps, and I hope you get some sleep soon!
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