February has been a long month. Nearly everyone I know with 3 or more kids told me that the transition from 2 to 3 kids was the hardest. I believed them, I did, but I had no idea how right they were.
Claire is an excellent baby, textbook even. She eats and sleeps in 3 hour intervals, just like she's supposed to. She doesn't have colic or reflux or any other difficulty of that ilk. She is gaining weight and hitting her developmental milestones. When awake, she is usually happy and content even when not being held.
But, I constantly have to remind myself just how young she still is. I keep forgetting that at 6 weeks, her sleeping patterns are NORMAL and that my level of exhaustion is too. I mean, it's not her fault that there are also 2 other children to consider. Children who need to be fed on a regular basis, who need clean clothes every, single day, who have to get up every morning and be driven to school, who need to be entertained and have their own (hard fought) schedule to maintain. She's just doing what she's supposed to do and it is my (and Kenny's) job to figure out how to make her non-schedule mesh with everything else that's going on. And, we're doing it, little by little, but, man alive, it's been at bit rough.
Of course, things have also been complicated by my being in graduate school, having the flu, and two visits to the ER (one via ambulance -- but that is another post altogether). This recovery has been much more challenging than with the boys. I have not bounced back as fast or as well as I'd hoped I would. Slowly, however, we're figuring things out. And, thankfully, Claire is doing her part. She has slept in her crib a few times for longer than 10 minutes, has managed a couple 4 hour stretches between feedings, and is learning to cope with being rudely awakened each morning and strapped into car seat and car for the daily school drop off. She is also taking naps on a more consistent basis which means I am finally getting some school work done...and none too soon since the semester is nearly halfway over.
Our saving grace in all of this has been an army of friends and family who have come to our rescue time and again. We've had so many delicious meals and visits and calls and spur of the moment babysitting that it will take ages before all the thank you notes get sent.
And, as difficult as the transition from 2 to 3 has proven, we are all overwhelmed with love for Claire and when she smiles (she's doing that now) the stress and fatigue seem to fade away and leave only joy for this new little person that is now forever part of our lives.
Claire is an excellent baby, textbook even. She eats and sleeps in 3 hour intervals, just like she's supposed to. She doesn't have colic or reflux or any other difficulty of that ilk. She is gaining weight and hitting her developmental milestones. When awake, she is usually happy and content even when not being held.
But, I constantly have to remind myself just how young she still is. I keep forgetting that at 6 weeks, her sleeping patterns are NORMAL and that my level of exhaustion is too. I mean, it's not her fault that there are also 2 other children to consider. Children who need to be fed on a regular basis, who need clean clothes every, single day, who have to get up every morning and be driven to school, who need to be entertained and have their own (hard fought) schedule to maintain. She's just doing what she's supposed to do and it is my (and Kenny's) job to figure out how to make her non-schedule mesh with everything else that's going on. And, we're doing it, little by little, but, man alive, it's been at bit rough.
Of course, things have also been complicated by my being in graduate school, having the flu, and two visits to the ER (one via ambulance -- but that is another post altogether). This recovery has been much more challenging than with the boys. I have not bounced back as fast or as well as I'd hoped I would. Slowly, however, we're figuring things out. And, thankfully, Claire is doing her part. She has slept in her crib a few times for longer than 10 minutes, has managed a couple 4 hour stretches between feedings, and is learning to cope with being rudely awakened each morning and strapped into car seat and car for the daily school drop off. She is also taking naps on a more consistent basis which means I am finally getting some school work done...and none too soon since the semester is nearly halfway over.
Our saving grace in all of this has been an army of friends and family who have come to our rescue time and again. We've had so many delicious meals and visits and calls and spur of the moment babysitting that it will take ages before all the thank you notes get sent.
And, as difficult as the transition from 2 to 3 has proven, we are all overwhelmed with love for Claire and when she smiles (she's doing that now) the stress and fatigue seem to fade away and leave only joy for this new little person that is now forever part of our lives.
