I'm posting some pictures from our family time in the last two weeks.
Admire the bunk beds the older two slept in while we were in Island Park. During one of their nap times, they found my mascara and went to town decorating each other--and one small place on the carpet--with it. Oh, children.
Speaking of children, behold all the grand-kids on Doug's side. I was happy that my three weren't crying, and I love the close-up of the boy cousins.
And enjoy Brooklyn smiling. She "almost" smiled for the camera while Doug's mom and sister were here, so I'm showing proof of that, as well as the real smile she flashed for me a few days ago--her first official camera smile:). I also posted a close-up from a few days ago because Brooklyn's so beautiful and deserves camera time, regardless of whether or not she performs. I still look forward to capturing her dimples; I haven't had success yet.
House news: We got an offer on our house and counter-offered. If the counter-offer is accepted, we'll lose almost $10,000 on our house. This is just not the time to sell.
If our counter-offer is refused, we'll stay on the market for the rest of July, and then look into renting our home. That sounds like the less expensive, more hassle/stressful option.
Also, I'm up to my ears in papers to grade. And we've had company or been on vacation for the past 2 weeks--during which time Brooklyn has decided the only acceptable sleeping situation at night is pressed up against mommy on my bed. I put her into her bassinet 4 times last night, with her eyes closed, and she woke up crying (not the fitful little cries that mean she could be drifting off to sleep) within five minutes of every attempt. Then I finally laid her beside me in bed and she passed out. Suggestions on how to help Brooklyn sleep in her bassinet? She won't take a pacifier, and she hates having her arms swaddled.
I haven't been able to work out very much at all. And obviously, I'm suffering from some sleep deprivation. Showing our house all of the time has been stressful, and paying our hospital bills and crunching numbers on our house has been as well. Did I mention that Doug's work schedule has been as bad as usual, AND he's leaving us for training from Sunday-Wednesday? And then he has a trial that Friday? I talked to my OB and nurse about some of this at my 6-week checkup and they exclaimed, "You just had a baby! You've got enough to worry about just with a newborn!" I, of course, agreed.
This has not been an easy summer. But I think I've only cried twice: once because I was in heavy labor and once after reading my friend's blog about her child prodigy. (I blame sleep deprivation, coupled with a horrible tendency for comparing).
Thank goodness we're not absolutely desperate to sell. Thank goodness we have savings. Thank goodness the weather is beautiful, Doug and I are in love, we've got great kids, and there is some sleep to be had every night. Like everything else, "this too shall pass."
4 comments:
I'm impressed you've only cried twice this summer. I think (nope, I know) I've cried more than that, and I don't have a quarter of the things to deal with that you do. :) I don't know how you keep your cool so well. I'm so happy you're finding the time to enjoy your beautiful baby during this crazy time. You are fantastic, Tara. Keep it up!!!
p.s. we lost a lot of money on our house, too. It is just a bad time to sell. Congrats on an offer, though!!
I agree, it is a horrible time to sell and I think we may be entering that market too and I think we will be losing about the same amount as you if we are lucky. It is really hard to think about and even harder to swallow. I really hope that they take your offer so that you don't have to keep showing your house, I can remember how hard that was with one little kid, much less three! I can't believe that you have only cried twice. Actually, if I think about it, I think I tend to cry less when I am SUPER stressed out. It's like I know if I let myself go that it will be really bad. I hope that's not the case for you and that you are doing okay. Having a newborn is stressful enough as is (like your OB said) and you are piling a lot of other stressful stuff on top. I just want your life to work out perfectly because I am your friend and feel sad when you are sad.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you (and the baby) to get some sleep. I wish I had some tips. The only one I have is to have her sleep in another room completely. I read somewhere that babies can smell their mothers from some crazy distance away, especially if they are nursing. So maybe if you are further away she will fall asleep?? I don't know, my child still gets up once a night, so I obviously do not have all the answers, but he did start sleeping better, as did I, once he was in his own room. Good Luck Tara!
That does sound stressful. And yet it's always hard to know which obligations can be cut out when they're all genuine obligations. By the way, you're a crazy woman for already teaching and grading papers this soon after having a baby!
Tara, I love you. I have no tips on the sleeping problem as we had Kings sleeping in a swing for months. I would put him in it screaming and sit with him until he screamed himself to sleep (when he would then fart for like the next 30 minutes... because that was why he was screaming in the first place). Once he woke up, I would put him in his bassinet/rocker thing (the Fisher Price Rock n Play). That thing was a godsend btw. It was angled and had these like deep sides- so even though Kingsley didn't like swaddling, he had these walls around him.
And just like Grant, Kings still gets up 1-2 times a night to eat. I'm lucky to get 6 hours total right now- I'd get more if I could force myself to go to bed at 8pm when Kingsley is sleeping.
You are in the rough weeks... just hang in there and know that eventually she will even out a bit. I spent a lot of time sleeping with Kings in my arms those first 4 weeks until we got the swing. He needed to sleep while nursing. And it was rough.
Post a Comment