Thursday, January 18, 2007

Exhausted Mommy & Beautiful Baby

I don't know what's wrong with me--I'm completely exhausted all the time. I'm more worn out now than I was when Olivia was first born! Part of the problem is that Livvie's backtracking. She was doing so well around mid-December; she slept through the night 5 nights in a row. But that little run was just a teaser; ever since then, she gets up at least 3 times a night. So it's been a month since I've slept more than 3 hours at a time. This is an unusual week, too--I worked an extra half day. That doesn't help. MAN! I need a break! Nate asked me how long it's been since I had a break (meaning more than an hour away from Livvie.) It's been since my birthday! October! So we're going to drop her at Grammy's sometime soon and go on a date. :) Anyway, enough boo-hooing...here are a couple shots of the high maintenance little one.



She sucked her thumb and 2 fingers when she was first born, but she doesn't do it anymore. However, I did catch her gnawing away recently. :)









We're still dealing with her cradle cap, so Livvie wears lots of hats. Her pink ball cap is one of my favorites. Daddy thought this one was funny. Apparently, she did, too.









A surprisingly good self-portrait I snapped! I aimed the camera at us while we looked in a mirror.

11 comments:

Heather said...

WOW!! You poor thing...and I am being totally serious! Victoria was like that for months!! I barely remember the first 4 months of her life! I was a walking zombie!! I will pray that you get some extra sleep and some extra patience. Hang in there, girl! You are still looking beautiful and I can't believe how different livvie looks in these new pics.

I will pray that you get extra sleep tonight

christina said...

boy is her personality starting to show more in pictures. what a doll! and yes, a stupendous self photo...especially considering your recent sleepless nights.

S said...

it DOES get better. :) Not getting several hours in a ROW of sleep really takes it's toll after awhile. I think it's just an adjustment, being a mom that is, and learning to go without sleep. You never stop worrying, planning, etc. even when you get a 'break'. It's the constant awareness of responsibility. Anyways, all mom's are sympathizing with you. :)

Kelly Glupker said...

Karen,
I am sure people don't always appreciate hearing the thoughts of someone who hasn't "been there, done that." Although I can't relate (and therefore am hesitant to comment), I have several family members and friends who can and have shared their secret with me for when I have children (Lord willing). Many people I know have read "Baby Wise." Christine Cummings blogged about it several months ago - it was great. According to the book (from what I have been told) your child is capable of sleeping through the night by the time they are 8 weeks old or at a desired weight - I think 12 pounds. Apparently it all has to do with feeding times and scheduling. Anyhow, I thought I would mention this to you in case you wanted to pick up a copy of the book. It may help give you some restful nights. Good Luck! :)

Unknown said...

I think you need to change the title of this post to "Beautiful mommy and baby". You look great for not getting your rest, girl!

I join the other moms that posted and say - hang in there! Maybe Livvie's going through a growth spurt? Chloe slept through the night at about 6 weeks and then had bad sleeping phases as she dealt with growing or tooth pain. Babywise really helped us to establish a night-time routine and to NOT pick Chloe up during the night if she cried and nothing was wrong with her. Now she sleeps like a log! I say ditto to Shannon's advice, sleep gets MUCH better as our tykes grow older. Chloe's 17 mos. old now and sleeps 12 hours a night and takes one solid 2-3 hour nap a day. I know that's hard to imagine right now, but it'll come! So, hang in there and keep clinging to God's grace to survive these icky nights!

Karee said...

Karen - hang in there! Little Brandon has gone through phases like that, too, and I understand how hard it is. We read the book Baby Wise and followed the scheduling principles, and he still didn't "fit the mold." (so don't be discouraged if you tried that and it didn't work) :) Every child is so different, and just when you think they have it down, something changes -- they get sick, or they start teething, or what not. Anyway, hang in there - I agree that it gets better as time goes on! :)

S said...

p.s. we did adapt Babywise for our family too, and it was a huge help. However, every child is so different and you wish they could tell you if they REALLY are hungry, tired, or just wanting extra 'cuddle time.' :) It's so hard to know, but God's grace is ever-abundant as we try to figure our little ones out! Amen to Alicia and Karee's thoughts.

Shyla said...

ok, for fear of this being a lengthy post, hang in there. When Jackson was 3 months, i decided that i was going to let him start crying it out (enter the stress headaches and tense neck muscles!!) I would let him cry for 10 min, check on him, pat him on the back and walk out (repeat a couple times and voila...he'd be asleep.) The thing for me was NOT to pick him up. I don't know if Livvie's a paci girl, but that is what got me out of the midnight feedings. He'd wake up at 12, 3am, 5am and i would get up, put the paci in his mouth and he would sleep through the night. I am not sure if any of these things will help at all, but, it worked for me. Maybe she needs a little more to eat as well. That was an issue for us as well. Praying for you.

On a lighter note, i was EXHAUSTED for several weeks (although having a baby who sleeps 11hrs/night) I thought there had to be somethign seriously weird going on with me...turns out WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY in AUGUST!!! SURPRISE< SURPRISE!! Maybe it's as "simple" as that! HA!

Shyla said...

ps - (so much for the short post :)

i only had to get up at 12, 3 and 5am with the paci for 3 nights and then he was cured.

Karen said...

SHYLA! You'd better hope my exhaustion isn't as "simple" as yours! CONGRATULATIONS! I can't believe it; that's great...for YOU! :) Really.

Ladies, thanks for the encouragement. I can't tell you how much I needed it. I haven't tried the Baby Wise approach exactly, but I do know that this child will not cry herself back to sleep (most nights, anyway.). We certainly have tried that. It's good in theory, but after an hour and a half or 2 hours of screaming and still going strong, you just know she's not going to settle down. Shyla, we've also found that many times, she's just lost her paci and can't find it. :) Poor thing. So that has worked on occasion.

Good news: Thursday night she was up only twice, and last night only once. HOORAY! I've started putting her down on her tummy, and she seems to sleep better that way. I think it keeps her paci in better, too.

Thanks again!

Jenny said...

I know I'm a little late to weigh in on this topic - have you ever read the book "healthy sleep habits, happy child?" I'm about 1/2 way through it and have gleaned a couple hints for my little backtracker...I'm with ya on the sleep deprivation!!!