I'm totally normal, right?
eatmorecupcakes
member
It's completely normal to lose it in the beginning, right? I am just SO.TIRED.all.the.time.
DS2 is only 3 weeks old, so obviously sleep is still a little wonky. He starts out okay at the beginning of the night and we get 1-2 hours of sleep, but all bets are off after that first wake up. We bed share and I nurse him in bed but he needs to constantly be on the breast. If he is not eating, then sometimes he roots around for what seems like forever without actually latching. This involves grunting, groaning and all types of noises that make it impossible for anyone to sleep.
Well last night (early this morning) after 3 days of less than an hour of consecutive sleep at a time I sat up and loudly exclaimed I can't do this as I handed DS off to my husband. I was just so done. My poor DH obviously has to work in the morning and does more around the house and with the kids than I could possibly ask for so I felt like a total jerk this morning. DH took him for at least an hour and ended up being late for work.
I just need someone to tell me that this is totally normal. It's okay to be this stressed in the beginning....it WILL get easier. DS2 is spending the weekend at grandma's house this weekend so everyone can get more sleep!
Re: I'm totally normal, right?
I think it's completely normal. During the first two weeks after each of my daughters was born, I kept thinking that life would never be good again. Adjusting to a newborn and recovering from giving birth are exhausting. When you have another child to take care of, you can't sleep while the baby sleeps. Talk to your husband and come up with a plan so that you can get a few hours of sleep straight. Maybe you could go to bed early and pump ahead of time so he could feed the baby a bottle. Hopefully this weekend you will be able to get some more sleep.
Oh mama, it is so normal. Honestly, I had times I felt like I was drowning. I know I have told this one before, but DH went back to work when DD2 was 12 days old. He works 12.5-hr shifts, so w/ commute, he was gone about 14 hours. When he came home, he found all 3 of us in tears and I told him "I can't do this. It is not fair! They know I am here alone and they are ganging up on me!"
Everything is going to be crazy, but then one day you wake up and you start doing something and think, "Hm... this used to be so hard, but now I feel like I can manage this." For me, it was around 4 months out. Those first 4 months are a complete blur, but hang in there - the best is yet to come!
I'm not there yet, but hang in there! Remember those tough newborn days don't last forever.
Just 1 thing to consider - what about NOT bed sharing with LO2? Can he go to his nursery at night? I booted DD from our room after 3 nights b/c she was too noisy and none of us slept and we all kept each other awake tossing & turning. Yeah its hard while BF in those early weeks when they are up every 2-3 hours, but at least you can maybe get a little bit more/longer stretches of sleep in at a time without all those baby noises.
For whatever reason I was SO anti-pacifier with DS1 and this time around I am forcing that thing on DS2. Haha. He isn't fond of the one we have so I bought a different one to try out.
This was totally me at 3 weeks. I think hormones are to blame and these feelings should fizzle over the next few weeks. DD is 6 weeks now and I already feel SO much better. Hang in there!
I'm sorry things are so rough right now. But to answer your question, yes, completely normal. Just hang in there Mama - it is true: it WILL get better