Anatomy of a Night with Guppy

[ellenmillion]

7 PM: NOT sleepy.

8 PM: Nursing. NOT sleepy.

9 PM: Fussy fit with fists in mouth. You aren't hungry yet, baby girl... you just ate! Oh, you really ARE hungry. Okay... Nursing. Down to sleep. (Yes!)

9:15 PM: Mom gets to go to sleep. (Double Yes!)

11:30 PM: 'Eh! Eh!' New diaper. Nursing.

12:30 AM: Mom gets back to sleep.

2:15 AM: 'Eh!' New diaper. Nursing. I inform her that if this is a growth spurt, it's supposed to be a temporary thing, but this has been going on like this since Sunday night. She yawns.

2:45 AM: Back to sle--

2:46 AM: Loud gross diaper noises mean we're up for a new diaper.

2:55 AM: Back to sleep.

4 AM: Diaper change - Guppy has peed through her diaper, so this means a full bedding change... and she throws up on her new outfit as I'm changing her, so there's a third outfit. While I'm changing her, she decides to contribute some more, so we change the diaper again. By this point, she's wide awake and hungry, so we nurse. I point out that I could get a lovely few hours of sleep before morning things happen if she decides to let me, and wouldn't that be great for everyone? She agrees, but there are no witnesses.

4:30 AM: Back to sleep.

5 AM: Another diaper, are you serious? Yes, she is. Though it was contained this time (I suspect it would not have been, with the Pampers). I point out to her that the average baby is supposed to go through 8 and 12 diapers in a whole day. She is unimpressed.

5:10 AM: Back to sleep.

6 AM: She says 'eh!' I say 'uuuuuuhhhhh'. She insists. We change the diaper... and while I'm switching between them, she decides it's a perfect time to peeeeeeee, so we get to switch outfits and bedding again. While I'm changing out the bed and she's strapped on the changing pad, we get more gross diaper noises and get to change the diaper AGAIN.

6:40 AM: Have laid down to sleep, but hear noises of husband waking up next door. Take baby in to him for cuddles. Steal cuddles for myself. Husband has to get up and start his day, Guppy begins fuss-engine. Nursing. I remind her that the paperwork we got from the clinic says that by 3 months, she should only be nursing 4-5 times a day. She smiles hugely at me.

7:20 AM: Back down to sleep. Please, sleep. Need SLEEP. Starting to hallucinate about diapers.

8:20 AM: 'Eh!' Diaper change. Throws up on outfit. Another new outfit. Looks incredibly cute. WIDE AWAKE. Mom cries a little, then goes and makes bread.

Oo... she's snoozing, I'm going to try another nap. Have 2.5 photos that remind me why she hasn't been left outside for the wolves to raise yet:

Comments

[jenny_evergreen]

Aw. You are WAY nicer than me. I always wiped the kid off and let his outfit air dry. He got one outfit per day unless he had a poop leak or a really BAD pee leak.
And I left those diapers on till they were FULL.
Also, both my kids ate like champs, which means all the time and hugely. The brochures TOTALLY lie.
Absolutely love the 2 seconds apart shot.

Eventually, eventually, she will slow down. It's only temporary. I promise!

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

This is why they were made cute, indeed. :)

[raventhourne.livejournal.com]

That is a lot of diapers and spit up for one little girl. Did you eat anything odd lately? That can affect the diapers and the feeding etc.

Boy, she is awfully cute!

Sleep when you can...it will get better.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's being mom to a baby. You really don't get much time to think/sleep/breathe. :,

I was grateful that bottles allowed me to offload feeding to other people while I got some extra sleep. While I didn't breastfeed, I know friends who expressed into bottles for that purpose. -_-

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

My children lived in onesies and blanket sleepers for a LONG time. Makes changing clothes much simpler.

Might I suggest you get a chair that you can sleep in? It won't hurt either of you if both of you fall asleep while she's nursing.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

oh, sweetheart, growth spurts last weeks, not days. at least in my experience. :) Also Henry was nursing 6-8 times a day at 3 months; 4 is unrealistic for someone that little, I think. Their tummies are too small to hold much milk.

She really is tremendously cute. :)

[jenny heidewald (from livejournal.com)]

OMG! The way you wrote this makes it totally hilarious, except, you poor thing, no sleep?! *HUGS*

I betcha she didn't know that your camera was so fast, to catch her Sweet Innocent look that changed into the Evil Plotting look. "I Will take over the world!!!! Starting with Mommy and Daddy's world!" :D

[snippetchick.livejournal.com]

I really love reading about your life with guppy :)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Elsa apparently has fussy-butt - she will NOT tolerate a partially wet diaper, and gets diaper rash faster than you can say 'poo.' According to my mom and sister, I was the same way. Genetics! Bah!

I'm probably overly fussy about dry outfits...

And those brochures are full of LIES! :P

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Thank goodness they are!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Each spit up was quite small - a little mild overflow, and I'm probably over fussy about changing her for it, but I hate damp clothing myself, and she's really sensitive about a wet diaper. Nothing new or strange in my diet, nope! Thank goodness she's cute!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I've got some bags of milk in the freezer and am really, REALLY looking forward to passing baby and bottle off to the husband for a giant block of time this weekend. I plan to put in earplugs and hide in my (real!) bed for as long as I need.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I love the chair idea... but my broken tailbone is less fond of it. (That is not helping things in general...)

Yes! Blanket sleepers are the only way to go. (I kind of want one for myself...)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

6-8 times would be fine, I think. Let's aim for that, Elsa!

I'm ignoring that first sentence. LALALALALALALALADON'TWANTTOKNOWTHATLALALALALA.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

She has totally mastered the taking over the world look. :P

It's pretty from that side of the computer screen, isn't it!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad for that - I was afraid I was going to drive away my regular readers and friends with my massive change of focus, but apparently I underestimated the power of cute baby photos.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

http://www.bigfeetpjs.com/

[phoenixelement3.livejournal.com]

Poor exhausted Ellen. *hug* She IS excruciatingly adorable though. It must be a natural defense mechanism babies have to force moms to keep them against all reason. ;)

I also love your adorable photos and tales from the warfront. :3 Your Elsa entries are always enjoyable because of your natural and lighthearted storytelling style. The new-mom journals that turn me off resemble data logs (how many mL they pumped, how many mL baby ate, how many times a day, every single day) rather than anecdotes. Your guppy updates are too cute and too fun (and okay, gross poopy diapers, but we like gross stories too). :3 And even when you're writing an entry about how exhausted you are, you sound so loving and optimistic <3

[rix_scaedu]

Hang in there, it does get better. Mind you, I did find out I'd been sleep walking one night when he was very small because of where I'd left my glasses...

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I totally approve of this devious Mom-plan!

[jenny_evergreen]

Oh, dear. You, my friend, are screwed. If the Huggies don't work too well, look for the ones that place the most focus on keeping the urine away from the baby's skin to buy yourself the most time. Try the Huggies Goodnights.

Don't fuss. It's not worth it. The kid will be fine.

SO. MANY. LIES. ;)

[pixiewildflower.livejournal.com]

So cute pics!

[pseudopagan.livejournal.com]

Dear god. I think I'd leave MYSELF out for the wolves.

[amchristian.livejournal.com]

I love reading about your journey as well. <3

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

The earplugs REALLY make a difference. I am a light sleeper, and will wake up when she cries anywhere in the house, otherwise, even if someone else is there to take care of her.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I have to be optimistic! (She WILL sleep someday! She WILL!) :P

I'm really glad you're enjoying them... I didn't want to be one of THOSE new-mom journals.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Stupid genetics. She'll probably have poor vision, too. (sighs)

I have willingly taken all night shifts, since Jake's job requires wakefulness and early mornings and pays really well so it's worth it. Since I'm breastfeeding, it makes the most sense, and MOST of the time, I can hack it. The mid-day naps make it pretty bearable and the weekend earplug naps are heaven.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

This made me laugh for about twenty minutes straight. Possibly I am a little punch drunk. :P

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Yay! :)