I know you have heard of the snowball effect. Something that isn't a big deal gets added to something else that's not a big deal, and keep adding, and soon you have a boulder rolling at you.
That's how mommyhood feels sometimes.
Don't get me wrong. It's the best job in the world. I get to spend all my time with those precious little people I love the most. I know that I am doing my best to raise them in the Lord, and not having to depend on someone else and hope they are getting enough.
But then the little things start piling up.
I guess it wouldn't be so bad for me right now if I wasn't on the down hill side of my thyroid returning to normal. I have these little stages I go through, pretty predictably, when my levels are going up and down. Right now we are in the "really emotional and unmotivated" stage.
Audrey still isn't sleeping through the night. She goes to bed fine on her own at bedtime, but is still wanting to get up and nurse at least once every night, sometimes more. (Which Dr. P says is actually not normal. Usually if they get to sleep by themselves at bedtime, they usually do fine during the night. It would be my kid that was in the minority here.) Dr. P said to try nursing her about 30 min before bedtime, instead of right before. Tried that. She's going to sleep fine, but still waking up. He said if that didn't work, to let Jeremy get up with her and give her a sippy cup with water or juice in it instead of me nursing her, and she ought to decide it wasn't worth it. Next step would be crying it out. Here lies my problem. I am supposed to wake up my dear sweet husband, who works long hours in the blazing sun, is dead tired every night, and hasn't been feeling well lately on top of everything (ulcer maybe? gallbladder? who knows), and get him to go take care of a screaming baby when he should be sleeping and preparing his body and mind for the next day at work. Of course, she's not going to let me give her a sippy, because when she sees/smells me, she says "Oh, good! It's time to nurse! Wait a minute, this sippy is NOT what I want!" and proceeds to wake up the whole house screaming. Which is also the problem with letting her cry it out. In the first place, I am just not a cry-it-out kind of mom. And Audrey is not a cry-it-out kind of baby. She cries and screams herself sick, I cry, everyone else in the house gets woken up and ill. So, I have been caving and still letting her nurse in the middle of the night. Which means, too, that I am not getting enough sleep at night, and that makes me tired the next day and then I don't get the things done that need doing, which makes me ill and emotional....and it all snowballs. Sheesh. Any suggestions?
I wold also love any suggestions on helping a bed wetter. Troy is waking up wet a lot of nights. He was doing pretty good for a while, but it seems like it is getting worse again. He says he just doesn't wake up and realizes he needs to go, and then wakes up wet. Today is the second day in a row he has woken up wet. It doesn't seem to matter when he has his last drink before bed, or what time he goes to bed. And we always make him use the potty right before laying down. A friend suggested waking him up in the middle of the night and making him go (I'm up anyway, right?) May have to try that.
Sorry this was kind of a negative post. I really don't like doing those kinds of posts. But I would love any suggestions anyone might have. :)
In other news, more busy-ness here at the Johnson homestead. Troy's birthday party is this weekend, so I will be putting my home purging (which, by the way, is going good when I actually have time to do it - I've got 3 boxes of out of season and too-big-for-the-boys clothes for storage, 3 garbage bags of stuff to toss, and 3 bags of just garbage so far) on hold while I figure out whether or not I really can make a Justice League cake. Wish me luck!
That's how mommyhood feels sometimes.
Don't get me wrong. It's the best job in the world. I get to spend all my time with those precious little people I love the most. I know that I am doing my best to raise them in the Lord, and not having to depend on someone else and hope they are getting enough.
But then the little things start piling up.
I guess it wouldn't be so bad for me right now if I wasn't on the down hill side of my thyroid returning to normal. I have these little stages I go through, pretty predictably, when my levels are going up and down. Right now we are in the "really emotional and unmotivated" stage.
Audrey still isn't sleeping through the night. She goes to bed fine on her own at bedtime, but is still wanting to get up and nurse at least once every night, sometimes more. (Which Dr. P says is actually not normal. Usually if they get to sleep by themselves at bedtime, they usually do fine during the night. It would be my kid that was in the minority here.) Dr. P said to try nursing her about 30 min before bedtime, instead of right before. Tried that. She's going to sleep fine, but still waking up. He said if that didn't work, to let Jeremy get up with her and give her a sippy cup with water or juice in it instead of me nursing her, and she ought to decide it wasn't worth it. Next step would be crying it out. Here lies my problem. I am supposed to wake up my dear sweet husband, who works long hours in the blazing sun, is dead tired every night, and hasn't been feeling well lately on top of everything (ulcer maybe? gallbladder? who knows), and get him to go take care of a screaming baby when he should be sleeping and preparing his body and mind for the next day at work. Of course, she's not going to let me give her a sippy, because when she sees/smells me, she says "Oh, good! It's time to nurse! Wait a minute, this sippy is NOT what I want!" and proceeds to wake up the whole house screaming. Which is also the problem with letting her cry it out. In the first place, I am just not a cry-it-out kind of mom. And Audrey is not a cry-it-out kind of baby. She cries and screams herself sick, I cry, everyone else in the house gets woken up and ill. So, I have been caving and still letting her nurse in the middle of the night. Which means, too, that I am not getting enough sleep at night, and that makes me tired the next day and then I don't get the things done that need doing, which makes me ill and emotional....and it all snowballs. Sheesh. Any suggestions?
I wold also love any suggestions on helping a bed wetter. Troy is waking up wet a lot of nights. He was doing pretty good for a while, but it seems like it is getting worse again. He says he just doesn't wake up and realizes he needs to go, and then wakes up wet. Today is the second day in a row he has woken up wet. It doesn't seem to matter when he has his last drink before bed, or what time he goes to bed. And we always make him use the potty right before laying down. A friend suggested waking him up in the middle of the night and making him go (I'm up anyway, right?) May have to try that.
Sorry this was kind of a negative post. I really don't like doing those kinds of posts. But I would love any suggestions anyone might have. :)
In other news, more busy-ness here at the Johnson homestead. Troy's birthday party is this weekend, so I will be putting my home purging (which, by the way, is going good when I actually have time to do it - I've got 3 boxes of out of season and too-big-for-the-boys clothes for storage, 3 garbage bags of stuff to toss, and 3 bags of just garbage so far) on hold while I figure out whether or not I really can make a Justice League cake. Wish me luck!
First off breathe. I totally feel your pain. My thyroid is totally busted as well and I had a full hysterectomy last year. I'm a walking zombie sometimes. For 5 years I was either pregnant or nursing. I thought I'd go insane. I just want to tell you that it does get better. As a mom, I beg to differ on the dr. Kara got up at night to nurse until I weaned her. Then she got up at night just cause. I ended up realizing that she actually slept better when she napped during the day. She was over tired and a restless sleeper.
ReplyDeleteAs for the bed wetting The idea to wake him in the middle of the night is how I dealt with Ian,IT only took a few nights until he got it.
I know this is a looong comment, but somedays it helps to know you aren't alone. Check out my blog...http://morethanjustamomma.blogspot.com/.
unfortunately i don't have any suggestions for you. :-/ but i will say that your pediatrician should have to come to your house and take jeremy's place in the middle of the night!
ReplyDelete