September 2012 Moms
ifwisheswerefishes
member
S+TMs - is it really "practice"?
ifwisheswerefishes
member
every time i have a sleepless night, someone tells me that it's good practice for when the baby comes, good practice for nursing, good practice for what-have-you.
but currently i can't see how not getting a single minute of sleep for 26 hours is "good practice for the baby's arrival." =/
i guess i see no comparison to having to get up to nurse to being unable to fall asleep at all because my LO is clawing at my insides, or because my hips are so dislocated from relaxin that i can't turn over in bed. trust me, when she's here, that part shouldn't be a problem!
but am i seeing this wrong? is this really good practice for motherhood?
Marian Abigail :: born 9-16-2012 via emergency C/S
BFP on 11-14-2014, aiming for a VBAC
This discussion has been closed.
Re: S+TMs - is it really "practice"?
It's definitely annoying to hear, but yes, I guarantee you will be more tired with a newborn than you are pregnant. Factor in the crazy PP hormones, and you just don't feel like yourself for a bit.
I think a big part of it, too, is that it's not just the sleep. Your whole world is changed in an instant. You will never just be able to shower whenever you want to (I still can't, let alone blowdry my hair), take a nap because you feel like it, or talk on the phone for an extended period of time
Another one that was hard at first was not being able to run out for a quick errand without having to pack up baby, schlep the carrier/carseat/diaper bag around in and out of the stores, etc. Everything is more complicated and your life now revolves around the baby.
BUT - it gets better and more manageable, and you love that little one so much that it's all very, VERY much worth it
And believe it or not, you'll miss being pregnant!
yep... mccombies hit the nail on the head.
DS' first night home from the hospital DH and I got 2 hours of sleep in a 48 hour period (and unfortunately it wasn't even 2 hours straight. DS nursed for an hour at a time, then needed a diaper change, then got too hot/ cold, then wet thru his diaper, then the paci came out etc. etc.
we survived... and are even brave enough to do it again!
Eh, everyone's experience is different. With my first PG, I was never really that uncomfortable (even though DS was 5 days late) and he was a pretty easy baby-- the sleep deprivation that I was expecting was never a factor, pre- or post-baby. Just so it doesn't sound like I'm bragging, nursing was another story; it was much more painful than I expected (and I wasn't under any delusions that it would be easy), but that's because I developed thrush. The 8w point was when it started to get much better.
This time, I'm definitely uncomfortable enough to have trouble sleeping. And I know that even if I'm blessed with easy babies again, simply having more than one is going to certainly limit the amount of sleep we'll be able to get. BUT, I won't have heartburn that I can feel in my eyeballs, and I won't have to pee every 3.5 minutes-- I'll take getting up with a baby (or two) over laying awake in discomfort any day.
BFP #2 1/22/2012 ~ DS2 & DD ~ BIRTHday 9/13/2012 ~ unplanned C-section @ 38w1d
I think "snow" is the closest I have to practice.
Think about it - when it's snowing, a trip to the grocery store means going and shoveling your driveway, digging your car out of the snow, letting it warm up enough that the frost melts off the windshield so you can see and then, finally, finally, driving very slowly and cautiously to your destination.
In my mind, that's what a baby will do. Now that I live in Florida, I've gotten used to being able to jot out for a trip wherever on a moment's notice and I think it's going to be like winters in IL and MI were..a careful consideration of whether or not I really need to go somewhere.
Anyhow, as far as the lack of sleep? I think that's practice too, but vaguely. I think things change once you give birth, in some ways for worse and in a lot of ways, better. STMs are obviously doing it again, so it can't be that devastating.
Sometimes, I'm hilarious.
So I'll just speak to the getting up every two hours thing. It does suck more after delivery because each time you're up, you're up for a good 3045 minutes feeding/changing/pumping etc. while pg, you're up for a few minutes to try to get comfy/pee. That's the main difference.
BFP #3 via cancelled IUI ~ C (2lb 3oz; HELLP) 5/16/11
BFP #4 via the natural (free!) way ~ E (8lb 11oz) 9/13/12
I get so annoyed when people say that to me. I disagree that it is good practice. At least when I was only sleeping 2 hours at a time between nursing sessions I was actually sleeping and not in constant uncomfortable pain. Carrying around an extra 30+ pounds just plain sucks! Yep it's exhausting to have a newborn, I had a vaginal birth with tears and EBF and was obviously tired but I wasn't ridiculously uncomfortable all the time. The adrenaline that comes with having responsibility for a helpless infant is pretty awesome.
I would much rather have a brand new infant than be 36+ weeks pregnant! Hang in there.
Dexter 08/31/2012~Summer 07/25/2011~Jack 10/21/2008~Aaron 08/12/2007
I would rather be 36 weeks pregnant than deal with a nb's sleeping postpartum :
Everyone's different!
Exactly. And for me, PP recovery (at least for me - I tore and had stitches all up in my business, cried every time I had to go to the bathroom, bled for 6 weeks) is much more painful than being sore, achey, and tired in the late 3rd tri.
Carter Robert 7.18.08 | Brynn Sophia 5.24.10 | Reid Joseph 9.10.12 | Emerson Mae 1.27.14
I think your answer will be different depending on who you ask, and what their situation is/was. I had a hard time sleeping at the end of pregnancy #1... but DD was a super easy baby, and I enjoyed much better sleep once she was born. We also co-slept and nursed - which I felt, in my case, helped us out a lot. This time I'm having a LOT more difficulty sleeping... and for all I know, I might be blessed with a super high needs baby, and end up being a zombie for a while.
Just never know. It depends on you, your baby, and your situation.