ok moms, tell the truth

how bad was the sleep deprivation when your DC first came home?

i am just trying to prepare myself, no sugar-coating please!!!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I fell asleep on the couch snuggling with a stuffed panda bear.

When I woke up and looked at DH he asked me where DS was. I replied with "right here" and proceeded to kiss the panda bear. He asked me again and I did the same thing. Apparently I thought I was cuddling with the baby.

Does that answer your question???

Message edited 9/2/2008 2:01:17 PM.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Posted by jerseypanda

I fell asleep on the couch snuggling with a stuffed panda bear.

When I woke up and looked at DH he asked me where DS was. I replied with "right here" and proceeded to kiss the panda bear. He asked me again and I did the same thing. Apparently I thought I was cuddling with the baby.

Does that answer your question???

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Posted by headoverheels

Posted by jerseypanda

I fell asleep on the couch snuggling with a stuffed panda bear.

When I woke up and looked at DH he asked me where DS was. I replied with "right here" and proceeded to kiss the panda bear. He asked me again and I did the same thing. Apparently I thought I was cuddling with the baby.

Does that answer your question???

OMG

see that's the kind of honesty i need! thanks

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

eh, after the first week, I was like a robot "must feed baby, must not make too much noise, must pray that baby sleeps for more than 2 hours"


I will tell you the truth, the first month is TOUGH

I was up every 3 hours to feed, change and rock dd. At 5 weeks, my little one was sleeping from 10pm-5am

ahhh, heaven

no matter how bad it is, there is an end to it

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

My DS loved to sleep ALL day and be up every 2-3 hours over night.
I'd put my head on the pillow after a 10PM feeding, was up again around 12-1, then around 4AM then around 6AM.

During the day, after the 6AM bottle he'd doze off till after 10AM eat, fall asleep until about 2PM, eat, and fall asleep again.

He started sleeping through then night at about 8-10 weeks.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It's bad.... but also strange in that- you are still able to function.

I can remember in college pulling all nighters during exams week and not being able to function AT ALL. With the baby it's somehow different. Because you HAVE to take care of your LO, you just "do". Somehow there is always enough in your "reserve tank" to get through the day.

I swear by the adage: sleep when the baby sleeps". It was amazing what just a 2-3 hour snooze would do for me.

For the first 5 months, I lived on 3-5 hour blocks of sleep- and was still able to function as a normal, productive member of society....

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

If you are not planning to BF then drink a lot of coffee...

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I remember the 3am feeding and falling asleep in the chair with him on my lap and it was his crying that would wake me up because I had let the bottle drift out of my hand and he wasn't getting anything

ETA I get migraines. I was lucky enough to not have any during my pregnancy. As soon as the sleep deprivation started, I started to get monster migraines from lack of sleep. Went through this for the first couple weeks until we had a solid routine and he started sleeping a 6 hour stretch through the night.

Message edited 9/2/2008 2:09:11 PM.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

it was really hard for me too (and dh was home with me for the first 6 weeks). I'm only being brutally honest because this was the number 1 thing I was not prepared for!

If you can enlist any help, take people up on it. A two hour nap will feel like vacation!

But, on the bright side. it does get better. you just have to get through the first few weeks. And when you're also dealing with hormones out of control there are many interesting moments.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

OMG....I don't know how to describe it...its bad...really bad.

There were a few times that I placed my hand in the oven and grabbed the pan...without a mitt or anything...just delirious...

there I would be, holding a hot piece of corningware in my hand screaming...

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Bad. Very bad. I'm shocked how I could even function on 2 hours of sleep (if that). I had no one else to help out with feedings, etc. so I was up practically all night.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

me and Dh took turns until he went back to work. It's not terrible. She is up the typical every 3 hours and each time she is up for about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how wide awake she is during the bottle.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I now know to let my marriage go to hell...I was trying to be nice to him and let him adjust...so at night when he would come home, I let him go to sleep.

He used me and I will never forgive him for that.

Next time around there will be pumped bottles on the counter for him every night.

The nursing was just a non stop cycle...I never understood how those nursed in bed, then went back to sleep...mine would poop before, poop after...

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

I thought I was doing okay until I ran out to pick up pictures at Costco and ran into a good friend's sister. After the congrats, she said, "Wow! You look tired!" It hit me then that I really had been running on empty. I had taken a shower and out on a pair of jeans and maybe even some lipstick... but it couldn't hide the truth! It does pass! Hang in there and definitely take naps WHENEVER you can!

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Ok, I'm going to be the one that says it wasn't bad (ducking the bullets and daggers flying towards me). I mean, yes, they are up every 2 hours or so, but you just get into a routine. I for one was very capable of sleeping when they did , but I know some moms can't. Both my kids were good babies, they ate well, slept well, and before the 3 month mark, were sleeping 12 hour nights (and still do!).

ETA: DH was phenominal with help, even though I EBF my first.

Message edited 9/2/2008 2:12:57 PM.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

The 1st week was fine, then he stopped sleeping. And the sleep dep was absolutely tripped out surreal....

Eta - he slept for 30 min increments, and then would be up 2-3 hours or more in between. All day. all night.

Message edited 9/2/2008 2:13:05 PM.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Before I had my DS I did not think waking up fpr night feeding would be bad. Well, I was wrong it was so difficult waking up. Thank goodness my DH and I shared it 50/50. I remember I was so scared of falling asleep with the baby in my arms in bed. Even when I was sleeping I felt like my DS was in my arms. I used to wake up saying the baby the baby. I kept thinking I was dropping my DS when in actuality he was sleeping soundly next to our bed in his bassinet.

I actually have some video of us waking up in the middle of the night (early morning) the first couple of days home. It is so funny to watch.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It was bad!

I had decided to BF.

1st night.... a total nightmare. He woke up every 1.5 hours. It hit me like a brick wall. No nurses to bring the baby every 3 hours.

I barely slept. 2nd night... was a bit better.

For the following weeks. I woke up every 2.5 hours to BF DS. 24/7.

You get used to it!!!!!!!

But honestly, I questioned myself as a mom and wondered what I had done to myself for the first 8 weeks.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

The downside: my eyeballs felt like they were not even part of my body anymore

The not so downside: there are some really stupid shows on TV at 4am that are alot stupider when you are sleep deprived

Don't remember much else actually. That's probably due to the sleep deprivation. I'm sure I lost brain cells.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It's horrible. I totally let my DH get away with not helping during the night, just because he didn't volunteer. Two and a half years later, I realize that he never volunteers to do ANY chores, but gladly does it when I ask. So with this baby coming in Feb, I'M ASKING!!!!!

I used to nap a little bit when the baby napped but just wasn't very good at it... my mind would race, I wouldn't fall asleep, next thing you know the baby was up!

But like everything else, the bad times pass.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Posted by chmlengr

Ok, I'm going to be the one that says it wasn't bad (ducking the bullets and daggers flying towards me). I mean, yes, they are up every 2 hours or so, but you just get into a routine. I for one was very capable of sleeping when they did , but I know some moms can't. Both my kids were good babies, they ate well, slept well, and before the 3 month mark, were sleeping 12 hour nights (and still do!).

ETA: DH was phenominal with help, even though I EBF my first.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It was awful. I still cringe when I think of those nights. It was just very broken up sleep. I would try to sleep from 11-2 and then i was up at 2, then really didnt get back to sleep until 5 --then baby was up at 7---even when he slept thru the night my body still woke up at those times

Now he sleeps 7pm - 7 am and it is complete bliss!!! Just know that it happens (even though it seems like it never will()

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

It definitely gets you, lack of sleep. I was lucky to have DH home with me for a while after I gave birth (he's a teacher), so I did have help, but I EBF so I was the sole provider of food. I barely slept. Thankfully, I'm a person who doesn't require much sleep normally (I'm a bad sleeper), so that helped.

However, it got so bad that we became dillusional...seriously. We could not read things on TV, we could not make out the words.

It does get better though.

Re: ok moms, tell the truth

Posted by headoverheels

Posted by jerseypanda

I fell asleep on the couch snuggling with a stuffed panda bear.

When I woke up and looked at DH he asked me where DS was. I replied with "right here" and proceeded to kiss the panda bear. He asked me again and I did the same thing. Apparently I thought I was cuddling with the baby.

Does that answer your question???

OMG

see that's the kind of honesty i need! thanks