Week 15 - Sleeping Through the Night
Remember during week 21 of my pregnancy when I thought about worst case scenerios?
I am definitely a lot less dramatic these days about what's the worst that could happen. But that doesn't mean they don't happen. I go to my April 2011 mommy forum and have read 2 babies who have passed away. One almost immediately after she was born, and one at 11 weeks. One of my friends who was expecting her third just found out that she had a false pregnancy (yes, they do happen. The embryo was missing half of its DNA and couldn't grow).
My pregnancy was amazing, despite the first 20 weeks of being really sick. My delivery was awesome, despite the 27 hours of labor. So at the end of the day, I know just how lucky we are to have Mackenzie with us, healthy and bright as can be. There probably isn't a day that goes by without me thanking God for giving us the opportunity to teach and learn from our little girl.
Then I read about the moms who can't breastfeed. And I count my lucky stars that I was able to do it after a 2-week nursing strike (at the time it seemed like years). The guilt moms feel when they can't is something I felt when I couldn't breastfeed myself. Breastfeeding is hard, and no one ever warned me about that. It's something that takes both patience and practice - 2 of the things I was probably the worst at! I will never look at another bottle-fed baby the same again.
And even though Mackenzie gave us a lot of worry in the beginning about her weight, I know babies who are far worse off than she was. Some spend days, if not weeks at the hospital after birth.
Yes, when I read stories like that, I am extra grateful. When they say making a baby is a miracle, I didn't quite understand what they meant until I became a mom myself. And if you're a mom, I know you can relate. And if you're not, I promise you that the moment of awe will come when you have your own.
So in contrast, not getting enough sleep when you have a baby pales in comparison in some of the stuff I wrote above. Nonetheless, I also know not getting enough sleep is one of the major factors in affecting how we do day to day things. I think back to just 15 weeks ago when we were living on 2-2.5 hours of sleep at a time and I wonder, how the heck did we do it?
It wasn't until Mackenzie started sleeping through the night at 7-9 hours at a time that I realized just how sleep deprived we were in the beginning.
We were lucky though, Mackenzie has always been a sleeper. She started sleeping 4 hours at a time by 6 weeks. 5 hours by 8 weeks, and 6 hours by 10 weeks. We just reached our first 8 hours on week 14. They said things would be easier after she reached 10 lbs, and they were right. Or it could just be that we were lucky, because I know one mom whose daughter is 18 lbs and still waking up every 2.5 hours for a feed. I also know an 18-month old who is still waking 4 times at night.
I don't think Mack is perfect by any means. But with every flaw, I see the other side of what we're blessed with. I hope that I can carry this attitude of gratitude with me throughout her life. I know there will be times when it's tough (Please, I was not this grateful when she wouldn't gain weight, and I certainly didn't feel blessed when she would wake up every 2.5 hours for a feed), all I want is for her to learn that whatever happens, we do have blessings in our lives. Sometimes, we just have to open our eyes to see them.
What are you grateful for today?
I am definitely a lot less dramatic these days about what's the worst that could happen. But that doesn't mean they don't happen. I go to my April 2011 mommy forum and have read 2 babies who have passed away. One almost immediately after she was born, and one at 11 weeks. One of my friends who was expecting her third just found out that she had a false pregnancy (yes, they do happen. The embryo was missing half of its DNA and couldn't grow).
My pregnancy was amazing, despite the first 20 weeks of being really sick. My delivery was awesome, despite the 27 hours of labor. So at the end of the day, I know just how lucky we are to have Mackenzie with us, healthy and bright as can be. There probably isn't a day that goes by without me thanking God for giving us the opportunity to teach and learn from our little girl.
Then I read about the moms who can't breastfeed. And I count my lucky stars that I was able to do it after a 2-week nursing strike (at the time it seemed like years). The guilt moms feel when they can't is something I felt when I couldn't breastfeed myself. Breastfeeding is hard, and no one ever warned me about that. It's something that takes both patience and practice - 2 of the things I was probably the worst at! I will never look at another bottle-fed baby the same again.
And even though Mackenzie gave us a lot of worry in the beginning about her weight, I know babies who are far worse off than she was. Some spend days, if not weeks at the hospital after birth.
Yes, when I read stories like that, I am extra grateful. When they say making a baby is a miracle, I didn't quite understand what they meant until I became a mom myself. And if you're a mom, I know you can relate. And if you're not, I promise you that the moment of awe will come when you have your own.
So in contrast, not getting enough sleep when you have a baby pales in comparison in some of the stuff I wrote above. Nonetheless, I also know not getting enough sleep is one of the major factors in affecting how we do day to day things. I think back to just 15 weeks ago when we were living on 2-2.5 hours of sleep at a time and I wonder, how the heck did we do it?
It wasn't until Mackenzie started sleeping through the night at 7-9 hours at a time that I realized just how sleep deprived we were in the beginning.
We were lucky though, Mackenzie has always been a sleeper. She started sleeping 4 hours at a time by 6 weeks. 5 hours by 8 weeks, and 6 hours by 10 weeks. We just reached our first 8 hours on week 14. They said things would be easier after she reached 10 lbs, and they were right. Or it could just be that we were lucky, because I know one mom whose daughter is 18 lbs and still waking up every 2.5 hours for a feed. I also know an 18-month old who is still waking 4 times at night.
I don't think Mack is perfect by any means. But with every flaw, I see the other side of what we're blessed with. I hope that I can carry this attitude of gratitude with me throughout her life. I know there will be times when it's tough (Please, I was not this grateful when she wouldn't gain weight, and I certainly didn't feel blessed when she would wake up every 2.5 hours for a feed), all I want is for her to learn that whatever happens, we do have blessings in our lives. Sometimes, we just have to open our eyes to see them.
What are you grateful for today?
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