Thoughts on our first night alone

  • We're past the first big hurdle and made it through the first night. That's a big deal and it was the first thing that said we could really do this on our own.
  • I think we were both terrified that she wouldn't make it through the night. Is that common? I bet it is.
  • There was a long period of wakefullness from about 3a to 5a. Around 6a, the FP Gal called her folks over to help us out. Having grandparents nearby is incredibly helpful.
  • Why was she awake? Don't know. She was fed enough. We changed her. We walked with her and sang to her and nothing worked. She'd settle down for a few minutes. Then we'd hear some cooing. Then the crying. Tonight we'll try a half dozen other things until we find something that works.
  • From what I understand what I just described is completely normal.
  • So far we've been able to find a good balance between whose turn it is. Both of us can sleep through the crying if it's not our turn. We're a team and that's what it takes. (I think. This is all new territory to us.)
  • We kept the cats out of the bedroom and that will be the way it goes for awhile. They're still getting used to having her around. Ozzie is a little more brave but he's not sure what to do with her. Sana still wants life to go back to the way it was.
  • Here's hoping that night number two goes a little smoother.

Comments

Test said…
honey, claire is nearing 2.5 months and she still wakes up most of the night. she has the witching hour of 3a-5a once a week at least. despite being dead tired i find myself making up kooky songs and rocking her. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

pete and i spent the first night with our heads at the bottom of our bed listening to claire breathe. I am finally getting to the point where I don't always wake up with the first grunt of the night :)
4:42 PM
Sister David said…
Ryan and I are happy to hear that you "survived" the first night!

You probably know about this trick already but,here goes. When the baby was in the womb, she could hear Sarah's heartbeat. Let Aurelia's head rest over your heart and it may soothe her back to sleep. It worked for my nephew when he was a baby.

~Carrie
10:06 PM
carrster said…
Let me know what works, because I'm taking copious notes. I am already feeling anxiety and I won't have this problem for several months yet!
11:23 AM
Test said…
Carrie's trick is like magic. That is by far Claire's favorite sleeping position - she will go for at least an hour longer if not more sleeping on mom or dad. Great napping position for the day as well :)
6:44 PM
Badger said…
Congratulations, De Fors! What a beautiful baby. I laughed so hard at this post because Scuba and I pretty much freaked out for the entire first week Sam was home. I think we called our nurse hotline about 12 times in 2 days. You're in for the adventure of your lives!
Congratulations again--Gen and Steve Theobald
10:10 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Night Lights

Here are ten strange night lights . The FP Gal has one of the series from number 10. My favorite is number three. The fifth one is the scariest by a wide margin. Speaking of night lights, we got one of these this weekend (though the price was better). We've put it on a timer and told Relia that she has to stay in her room until the light turns off at 530a. The first couple of nights have not been exactly smooth but we think we can see some progress. This morning she spent a very rough time from 5a until it finally clicked off. Lots of yelling, crying and a costume change (seriously). Then the time expired and she wall smiles. It was something of an achievement. On a side note, she's developed a funny habit when the yelling doesn't work. She starts by calling out 'mommy' or 'daddy'. If that doesn't work, she goes to our first and last names. That even got a chuckle out of the FP Gal this morning. These 'can't sleep' posts are proba...
Read more

2000 Retro-Not-the-Oscar

One of my beliefs in regard to the quality of movies is that it takes some time to really tell what was good and what wasn't. Some movies give a quick 'wow' but they don't age well. Others bug you on the first viewing, but keep gnawing at you to rewatch. Ten years should be enough time to really have the handle on a year's worth of films. With your help, I'm going to try and figure out what movie was the best of the year 2000. Here is what I want, please nominate some of the best movies from that year. I'm aiming to create a list of ten dramas and five comedies. Please leave a comment with up to five contenders. I'll compile a list and we'll narrow it down to the finalists so we can start reviewing in January. The list will be open so you can watch along. The more nominations the better so don't be shy! I'm going to put a few rules in place to keep it from being crazy. The movie must be out on DVD. I'm hoping that won't be t...
Read more

Car names

Your cars all have names, right? That's only normal behavior, isn't it? A few weeks ago one of my coworkers bought a car and was very excited about it. The only damper on her joy came when I asked if she'd picked out names yet. She looked at me blankly so I asked everyone in our row. Name after name. Some were cute names. Some were based on the license plate. Some had adjectives (i.e. 'Sassy Girl'). She'd never heard of this before so she started taking suggestions. I gave her 'the red menace' but she's too young for that to have meant anything. To my shame though, my car doesn't have a name either. Somehow in the four years of owning her a name never popped out. That simply wouldn't do! And it didn't have to be that way. After discussing it with the FP Gal, I chose a name that she'd shot down for the baby. Now that I've bought her, she will be called Pagoda . Bonus observation: people tend to drive cars of the oppo...
Read more