How Many Days...

Does it take to make a habit? Or is that break a habit? Oh, the habit I am referring to is sleep.

Internet, I am exhausted. If you know me well, you know that I am a 9+ hour a night sleeper. I have always loved to sleep and toward the end of my pregnancy, I slept 9+ hours a night and then another 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon. It is truly unfortunate that my body cannot store sleep like it has chosen to store fat.

Nash is not a sleeper. He's much more like KP than me in that regard. He's awake most of the day, then snoozes in his daddy's arms when KP gets home from work, only to be up again for multiple feedings before "bedtime." He does go two stretches in the night, which equate to 2 to 3 hours of sleep for me, per stretch. Then it's time to play all over again.

Don't get me wrong, when I pick the baby up in the middle of the night and take his little sweet self to his room for changing and feeding and cuddling, nothing in the world is more important, not even sleep. But, when our little guy cries incessently during the day, which he has been known to do lately, a few more hours of sleep the night before could go a long way with my ability to soothe for long periods of time.

I feel like I am still just getting to know Nash and how he operates, what he likes, and how best to help him. The biggest issue so far has been that he seems very bothered by his stomach. Could it be reflux or gas? He also seems to dislike pooping. KP and I are treating it like everything to see what helps. So, we elevate Nash after feeding for at least 30 minutes, let him sleep in an upright position (read: swing), and burp him very well. Last night I started using Mylicon drops and Nash seems to be responding well to those. Hopefully we'll get this stomach stuff figured out so that he can have some better days (and take some naps).

I am not going to sugar-coat it; motherhood is hard and tiring and emotional. I just want Nash to be happy and healthy and getting him there is no easy feat sometimes. But of course, when all is quiet and calm, the rewards of the hard work are very, very evident.