Life with a newborn
Hey there, Sweet Shoppers!
Libby here checking in from a very sleep-deprived state. As most of you know, I gave birth to, quite possibly, the cutest baby on the planet 2 weeks ago today. We are still trying to adjust to life with a newborn. Being as my older daughter is 14, it’s been a while since we’ve had to do these middle-of-the-night feedings and things like that. While there is something to be said for being older and wiser (and more patient in my case) when you have a baby, I have to admit that my body doesn’t cooperate quite as easily as it did 14 years ago. I’m pooped!
The hardest part for us right now (aside from the breastfeeding issues which we are working on) is the fact that little miss Chloe has her days and nights turned around. She has a nice long period of being awake until about 2 in the afternoon, but then she crashes and sleeps for the rest of the evening. There is NO amount of stimulation that will wake this child. I have to wake her to eat during this period, and that is such a challenge because she’d be perfectly content sleeping through it. Unfortunately, since she rests so well during our waking hours, she is up every 2 hrs to eat at night. And sadly, due to the aforementioned breastfeeding issues, she takes a LONG time to finish a feeding. So, it’s not unusual for her to eat for an hour, sleep for an hour or so, and then wake up and want to eat again. If anyone has any tips for getting her on a different routine, we’re up for trying anything!
Having said all that, I do have a few pictures to share. If you’re my friend on facebook, I have to apologize in advance as you’ve probably already seen most of these. What can I say though? I’m too sleep-deprived to edit new pics for this blog post. LOL
And if getting to look at that precious face isn’t enough, I’ve got another little treat for you! In honor of my new little angel, I’m releasing a kit named after her this weekend! I’m offering up an early little sneak peek here as well as a chance to win it before you can buy it! If you like what you see, just leave a comment on this blog post (be sure to include your SSD forum username), and I will choose one winner to receive the kit for free! Deadline to enter is 8pm Central Time on Friday 3/2/12.
Finally, did you notice that it’s Leap Year!?!? Did you see Robin’s little announcement in the newsletter? If you missed it, check out this one-day-only sale! You won’t find prices this low on our kits again for 4 years!
On that note, I’m off to try a final feeding before I go to bed for the night. Hoping that maybe she’ll stretch out tonight’s feedings to at least 3 hrs!
Rachel (seatrout) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:12 am
She is just soooooo cute. Hope the slepp deprivation doesn’t go on too long
Wendy (wprice) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:17 am
Oh, I just want to pick her up and kiss her! She is ADORABLE!!! Congrats! Hope she learns her days and nights soon!
Martina (majula) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:31 am
Such a precious little angel. Congrates so much!
And thanks so much for the chance to win.
Tanya (TanyaH666) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:33 am
She is so precious! Congrats, you got yourself a future heart breaker =)
Jennifer (JMC1988) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:34 am
She is just too darling! Just adorable! Congrats Libby!
Brittney (Milmomma) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:48 am
She is so cute! I love her little fingers and toes! I’m no help with the sleeping schedule, sorry. Though I love the colors of the kit!
Adrianka [helenvader] said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:53 am
She is beautiful, Libby. Don’t be afraid to share pictures anytime. 🙂 Congrats!
Majda (pomi) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 2:33 am
Oh my, she’s so beautiful, totally perfect. Actually, I wanna see more pics! :o) I hope she soon realises what hours are the best for sleeping and when it’s good to be awake.
Judy (Moodyjudy) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 5:06 am
Congrats! She looks like a cute little angel.
Jennifer C (ryliesmom) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 6:09 am
She is beautiful Libby! I love all that hair (I had bald babies). 🙂 Congratulations!!
Happy Now said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 6:46 am
Adorable, Libby… So happy for you!! Hang in there!
Stacy said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 7:00 am
Again, Libby, she is absolutely darling, positively perfect! I hope she straightens out her sleep pattern for mommy and daddy’s sake soon! I know the both of you are totally in love with this little doll! God bless you all 🙂
Amy K said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 7:21 am
Oh my goodness, she’s absolutely the sweetest! She’s the definition of baby-fever! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
Amy K said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 7:24 am
…I apologize – forum username: thekkrew
Leah said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 7:38 am
Congratulations!! She is beautiful.
Having had a baby not too long ago (she will be two next week) I remember the early feeding struggles. First, you can do it! I promise it will get better and easier. The difference for my daughter and I from when she was born to a month old was amazing and at 2 weeks you are halfway there.
The one thing that helped me the most early on was joining a breasfeed support group offered by a local hospital. I was able to get advice from a certified lactation consultant as well as support from other mommies who were learning jus like me. Those Wednesday mornings were the highlight of my week and unlike the many well meaning friends and family members my LC was able to give me the most current information about breastfeeding. I got so much breastfeeding advice and much of it was outdated and would have actually caused breasfeeding setbacks. People really do mean well but they are not up to date with the most current research.
I can not say enought for finding that support. It made it possible for me to easily breastfeed my beautiful baby girl until she decided to wean at 18 months. It is also the place I made some great mommy friends. In fact we still meet every Wednesday morning for playdate. They will be here in 2 hours, I can’t wait.
So, find support! You won’t regret it.
Giseli Freitas said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:07 am
She’s SO adorable!!! Congrats again. Hopefully soon enough you’ll find a great routine for you and her. I know it feels crazy right now, but remember to kiss every little toe, take tons of pics… Sometimes we are just so focused to get in a nice routine and between feedings, diaper changes and sleep deprivation is easy to forget to enjoy the nice part of the ride (I’m saying that cause I have some regrets with DD #1).
xoxo
P.S – my username is Giseli Freitas (ta-da!) lol
Kimberly Morris said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:14 am
She is so darling! Thanks for the chance to win your gorgeous new kit!
Forum UN – KimberlyMorris
Kim (kimintx) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:19 am
Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl!
sherly aka nietis said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:25 am
such an adorable baby she is! I hope her sleeping cycle will be better soon!!! *hugs*
Heidi said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:41 am
OMGosh! I almost want another one!!! **sigh …** ♥♥ Congradulations from the bottom of my heart. 🙂 I am loving the bible verses in the kit! The perfect foundation in which to raise her. ♥♥
Heidi said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:42 am
gah. So wrapped up in Chloe forgot to put user name scrappurple
Marla said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:47 am
Oh gosh. She’s adorable and that kit looks amazing. My user name is marlathrall.
Sara(kscwgirl) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:52 am
Oh Libby, she’s just gorgeous! Look at that hair!!!! <3
Jennifer said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 8:53 am
She is absolutely precious!
Congrats to you and your family.
Thanks for the chance to win.
user: iScrap
Nadia said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 9:03 am
She is just too adorable….and your kit looks as adorable too. Thanks for the chance to win it!
user: nadsann
Jengerbread88 said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 9:14 am
I love it! It’s so cute! But not as cute as miss Chloe!
My forum username is jengerbread88, and my store username is happylilgrahamcracker.
Jeanye Labaya said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Oh Libby, I just think she is beautiful! I wish I had tips for helping you get her on the right schedule but unfortunately, my youngest baby is 14 too and I am way out of practice. 😉
I love the looks of your new kit. Thank you for the chance to win!
Hugs,
NeeNee
Leontine (Leontine78) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 11:35 am
Hi Libby,
Those pictures of Chloe are so adorable. She is really precious and ofcourse you’re proud of your little girl!
Please enjoy her as much as you can and the sleep will probably return earlier than you might expect (I hope).
Hugs,
Leontine
Helen (winipeg1) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Chloe is really cute. Enjoy every moment I know it’s really hard when your tired but as you already know, you blink and the have grown so much. Thanks for the chance, the kit looks lovely.x
Julie Marie said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Congrats Libby! She’s adorable! My 2 girls are 14 years apart too (although they are 6 and 20 now) It is definitely quite an adjustment having a baby in the house again after so long, but so worth it 🙂
Melissa Buhler said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
she is precious!! (and this new kit looks AWESOME!) Thanks for the chance to win! (k23m)
HeatherKS said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Libby, she’s just precious! The kit looks amazing – thanks for the chance to win!
Teri said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Daughter and kit are adorable! I hope she can get her nights and days turned around for you soon. I didn’t have that problem with either of mine, but I know it’s quite common so you’ll get some great advice, I’m sure 🙂 Keep posting pics for us to see. I’m totally in a stage where I want another baby. LOL
Christy said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Wow – Chloe is just precious. Thanks for sharing the pictures! And the kt looks absolutely fab. (ChristyHC)
Loriebug66 said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 5:01 pm
My goodness, I think she is the cutest thing ever! What great photos. I keep thinking the next little baby in my life will most likely be a grandchild. I can’t wait. (Well, I can really, my kid is only 20.) Thanks for sharing the photos and for the chance to wind Chloe’s kit. 🙂
Megan (glumirk) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
She is so adorable, Libby! My MIL gave me amazing advice that cleared up a lot of breastfeeding issues right away. She told me to try to stretch out feedings to 3 hours, and only feed for 5 minutes on each side. I was skeptical, thinking she would starve, but after my 3rd infection doing it my way I did it her way, and it worked, and my baby girl didn’t starve, and my nipples healed up right away. It was amazing! Now, my baby girl was/is an amazing latcher/sucker, and I’m a super milk-producer, so if there are latch or supply issues then it may not help. I would also repeatedly fix her latch, but only because I remembered from DS how the latch was supposed to be since I was still breastfeeding when I got pregnant (but even that didn’t take away the pain! Yikes!). *hugs*
And for switching night to day, the whole 3 hour thing worked wonders for us as well. It took a little while, but we just stretched her out a little bit each day (my hormones couldn’t stand much at all!) and once she was on a 3 hour feeding routine where I just fed her when she woke up life with a newborn was easy breezy and she started sleeping long stretches at night. It really helped to have my MIL there for support and help.
The book I always recommend is The Baby Whisperer Solves all your problems by teaching you to ask the right questions. It’s so true and I am much more understanding of my kids’ needs. I was clueless before, but now I recommend the Baby Whisperer to everyone I know because I wish I had it before. She is compassionate and practical and helps meet both you and the baby’s needs so that having a newborn can be a lovely experience instead of tearing your hair out every day. For me it’s just the 2 year old that makes me tear my hair out! 😉
Holly Ann said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Congrats again on this beautiful little girl. I am so jealous of all that hair!!! She is just too cute for words!
And the kit looks great!
Holly
(hollyxann)
abm234 (Amy) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
She is gorgeous Libby! I hope you get some sleep!
Jennifer (littlekiwi) said...
on February 29th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
she is soo gorgeous!
Kendall said...
on March 1st, 2012 at 6:57 am
I know I’ve said it on FB already, but she is absolutely GORGEOUS, Libby! I just wub those little dimples! 🙂 The new kit looks great. Thanks so much for the chance to win!
Kendall said...
on March 1st, 2012 at 6:58 am
Gah! Forgot to include my user name! It’s kendallt. Obviously I should not be posting this early in the morning! :p
Kari (dotcomkari) said...
on March 1st, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Oh my golly gosh! Congrats Libby! she is simply stunning! enjoy that precious new addition! Thanks so much for the chance to win!
JulieB146 said...
on March 1st, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Oh my, what a gorgeous head of hair and dark eyes! She’s lovely! Congratulations on the newest family member!
It’s been 11 years since I had a baby in the house. I solved the problem of night wakings by just having him in the bed next to me. Yeah, I was a co-sleeper, I guess. Worked for me. I don’t know how enthused my husband was about it, but hey, it didn’t last *that* long. I think.
Anyway, I hope the sleep issue is resolved easily and soon. Sleep deprivation is awful.
My store name is “javamonster”. 😀
Natalie said...
on March 2nd, 2012 at 9:17 am
The layouts in the sneak peek thread look amazing!!! Thanks for the chance.
-NatalieKW