Everyone was out of sorts. Lexi wanted nothing but to sniff Sebastian to death. We wanted to kill Lexi, and Sebastian wanted to be held all night long. He wouldn't breast feed (and he's a champ) and he would NOT sleep a wink if he was put down in the co-sleeper along side our bed. I didn't sleep 5 minutes all night long. Carlos probably slept 10 minutes if he was lucky. I did hear him snoring a few times, so he managed some sleep, though!
I was so stressed out in the morning that Carlos called in reinforcements without my even knowing. He got my mom to come to the rescue and take Lexi for a few days until we can settle into a routine with Sebastian and Adrian (who may come home as early as Sunday or Monday, but we'll see). My mom had been offering to take Lexi all along when the boys came home, but I wanted to at least see how bad it would be. Now I know. She actually wasn't bad. She just has to get her fill of sniffing the boys. And I don't have the patience for her drool everywhere right now, and her being underfoot all the time makes me worried about tripping over her. But hopefully once both boys are in a routine of sorts here at home, Lexi can do all of her inspecting and sniffing, get it out of her system, and stop fussing so much about their presence at home.
This morning we barely made it to our pediatrician appointment at 10:30. It was so crazy. Sebastian slept the second we put him in the car seat. He just misses feeling like he's in a tight space. We had him in a sleep sack to sleep (to prevent SIDS), but he's used to being swaddled in a blanket and then padded with a nice little preemie mattress and sometimes towels and blankets. He was so "free" in his sleep sack that he could actually turn himself on his side, which sort of defeats the purpose of the sleep sack!
I think he was also so tired from lack of sleep that he didn't have the energy to breast feed. At first I couldn't get him to stop crying long enough to even try to feed (although he would take a bottle). Finally, this afternoon after he'd calmed down a bit, Lexi was gone, and I felt more relaxed, he was able to feed well. Then he slept in the co-sleeper and we took a nap for 3 hours. I woke him up to feed and take his iron and vitamins and he went back to sleep in his bed again and is still sleeping. I hope he can continue this during the night...
Today was the first day that we didn't go to the NICU to see the boys. When I called to speak to the nurse earlier today, I actually asked for the nurse in charge of the "Kirkcaldy boys." I completely forgot that one of them was home. So, poor Adrian didn't get a visit today, and I felt terrible about it. But, the visit was really about us, not him. The reality is they take wonderful care of him and it doesn't make much difference to him if we miss a day. The nurse on duty (who we don't know) encouraged us to stay home today and nap and try to establish a routine with Sebastian instead of sending just me to the hospital and leaving Carlos alone with Sebastian. As much as I hated to not go see him, he'll be home soon enough, and the nap we took this afternoon was much appreciated and needed! And, Adrian is a superstar all of a sudden--the transfusion did him a lot of good.
Let's hope tonight goes better.
2 comments:
I see that Lexi is also supervising your mom ;) Congrats on getting one baby home, hope the other little guy comes soon.
Good job deducing what might have made the night so horrible... hope it goes better tonight! I'm always amazed at how well the nurses in the hospital can swaddle babies... it's hard to duplicate at home.
Don't tell anyone, but I often put my newborns on a much softer mattress or foam topper and a couple of my newborns loved to sleep on their side instead of their back, so I'd rig a little wedge support for them. SIDS is as scary as they come, but sometimes you have to get a little creative to figure out how the baby is most comfortable so that they will actually sleep. Lack of sleep can be dangerous too... like my sister's friend who diapered her baby's head instead of bum in the middle of the night and luckily figured it out when she heard some muffled cries.
Or like how I tried to go nurse Ana (age 5 at the time) instead of crying baby Elsie because I was so sleep deprived delerious. Ana did not like me trying to get her to latch on, and I couldn't figure out how the baby had suddenly grown so much hair!
Good job taking a big long nap too.
You are such a great mom! Those boys are so lucky to have you. Glad you got to just be home all day for once. I bet that felt nice.
Hope your nights go well, but if they don't, don't worry.... someday in the far future you will sleep for a whole night all the way through and you will jump out of bed in a panic wondering what's wrong because it is such a strange feeling to get eight straight hours of sleep.
It's all worth it though.
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