Today is my due date! How funny that instead I have a 6 day old baby.
Not going to lie, this past week has been tough. The first couple of days Emma Kate was very very sleepy so I got to sleep a lot, too. Since Saturday night though, she has been very awake and wants to eat non stop, and not sleep at night. Iโm hoping soon we can go for longer stretches without her eating (right now itโs pretty much an hour on, an hour off,)
We are loving getting to know her though, she already has such personality and certain facial expressions that makes us laugh. She was a little jaundiced at first so today we go back for a weight check, but because she has been eating non stop I am thinking she will be just fine!
How am I doing?
I feel pretty good other than sleep deprived! The first day in the hospital was hard on me physically, but every day I get a little better and can pretty much move around as normal now. Itโs so nice not to feel huge and uncomfortable all the time! I have a long way to go to get back into shape of course, but I am not thinking about that right now.ย My doctor told me I could go for walks as soon as I got home, but I have yet to venture outside.
I promise I am working on her birth story, there are just a lot of details I want to make sure I get down and donโt forget! Hopefully part one will be up tomorrow or the next day. Thank you for your patience, I canโt wait to share more about whatโs going on here with you!
QOTD: How did you handle the sleep deprivation of being a new mom? Or how do you handle it at all, even if you donโt have kids?
Congratulations again Heather!!! Emma Kate is just sooo beautiful!!! I’m loving all the pictures you are posting! Can’t wait to hear the birth story! And the sleep deprivation was the WORST part for me. Just know that she will eventually sleep! That hope kept me sane lol!
She is beautiful! I can’t wait to hear her birth story ๐ I was lucky that the twins slept 4 hours at a time right from the beginning! Think it was God’s way for giving me a break with 2 babies! But I still was a zombie. It will get better, I promise! Now I have to drag them out of bed LOL!
Congrats again!! Emma is such a cutie!!
Congrats again! Looking forward to reading her birth story!
Love how happy she is!
You’re doing great! Sleep deprivation is the WORST thing ever, but you will get through it!
Coffee, coffee, and more coffee ๐
You look great – Emma Kate is beautiful!!
Congrats again!!
Congrats to all of you! It’s been great following your adventure into parenthood. It’s such a wonderful time….and I agree with Shayna. Sometimes it is hard to see when you’re in the middle of it, but soon you will be looking back wondering how this time went by so quickly! Can’t wait to see her birth story!
she is already changing so much!
Lots of naps (like seriously, whenever you’re able) which might mean other things don’t get done. Take care of you as well as little miss Emma. Good luck!
thanks!
Oh girl, the first two weeks are always the hardest! Baby Z-peat is cluster feeding some too. Definitely sleep when she sleeps! You can get through this though. It gets better. We had some jaundice issues too but luckily he didn’t need treatment. They just monitored his blood for three days. You look amazing and she’s just beautiful!
Hope yall are still doing well!
I have a 10 month old and still don’t know what sleep is.
Sleep when baby sleeps. Everyone says it, it’s hard to do, but it has to be done. I’d also sleep from 9p-12a; husband was on baby duty. That gave me a little energy for the night. Babies often mix up day/night but it will get better. But, their sleep doesn’t regulate like adults util the 3 month mark.
Again, hang in there, sleep when they sleep, utilize husband, and COFFEE. (Caffeine doesn’t bother my kiddo now but be careful if you are bfing)
We have been sleeping in shifts and it helps a lot!
Congratulations again to you and Bobby! I can’t wait to read her birth story!
thanks!
Congratulations! She is beautiful! I agree with everyone else. It will get better. My first took 9 months to consistently sleep through the night, my second took 9 weeks. Emma Kate will get there though. ๐
really hoping it doesn’t take 9 months!
She’s lovely! I can’t wait to hear her story.
Sleep deprivation…. so much fun. NOT.
I tend to fall asleep in my glider. Baby is on the boppy pillow and I’m holding her (I use it for arm support mostly) and I just kind of conk out. I don’t change diapers in the middle of the night unless she’s already filled one up and leaked out or she poops. I also don’t turn on any lights in the room. I just keep a nightlight on all the time. Your eyes are already adjusted to the dark so you don’t need a lot of light. Generally speaking, I only nurse on one side at a time. Both my girls are healthy weights so it didn’t seem to make a huge difference for them.
we go the lamp/nightlight route too and I just pray over and over she goes back to sleep!
She’s so cute!
The sleep deprivation is one of my biggest “fears.” I know all new moms (and dads) go through it, but dang it, I like my sleep! ๐ That’s awesome she’s eating so well, though.
I’m excited to hear the birth story!
I like my sleep too, we have been sleeping in shifts and it works pretty well!
Congrats mama! Both my sons had this awesome ability to wake up anytime I tried to put them down after a feeding or when they fell asleep. So both times I ended up co sleeping which saved my life, especially the second time around when I didn’t have the ability to sleep when the baby slept since I had a toddler too. We propped pillows on either side of me so I couldn’t roll, used the boppy and I’d hold him and we’d sleep. If he needed to nurse, he’d nurse And I’d barely wake up. We transitioned both to their own beds around 4 months. Our youngest will be 6 months old tomorrow and sleeps in a pack n play next to my side of the bed since he and big brother will share a room and he’s still not sleeping through the night. I highly recommend naps and coffee. Lots and lots of the go go juice.
oh I hate when they fall asleep, I put her down and boom, back awake. aahh!
Happy (belated) due date and happy 1 week, baby Emma!! ๐
She is darling :). Well done Heather! Adjusting to lack if sleep takes a little while, but lots of naps help and eating little bits of healthy food all day to try to keep your blood sugar up really made it easier for me :). I did not drink caffeine while breast feeding so I relied on juice, peanut butter and ice cream to perk me up. Good luck!
I have been allowing myself one cup of coffee a day and doing ok so far. Still sleepy though!
Congrats on your beautiful little girl. The first 2 weeks are definitely the hardest, followed by the first 6 week. It took mine about 6 weeks to get days and nights sorted out. Take naps whenever you can, true for any age of your baby. Mine is almost 2 (yrs) and still doesn’t sleep all night, or gets up super early, so sleep deprivation never fully goes away once you’re a parent. But it does get much better as time goes on.
I’m ready to sleep again!