The Crib: A Blog for New Parents

Posted by pecuellar on 01/02/08 - 03:56 PM

The last prenatal visit, one week before my scheduled c-section, totally caught me off guard. The doctor said labor was progressing naturally so we needed to deliver now. Two hours later I was in surgery desperately regretting all the things I procrastinated until the last minute. I guess this is just a reminder than when the baby is ready, you have to be also.

A few minutes later my third child and first girl was delivered. She was perfect! Her and my husband were whisked away to get cleaned up, foot-printed and examined. We spent the next four days in the hospital and then it was time to bring the baby home on Christmas Eve.

My wonderful family moved all of the Christmas celebrations to our house and the next 24 hours were survived by pure adrenaline (and a little pain medicine). The baby was wonderfully sleepy. She floated from one set of welcome arms to another, waking only briefly to work her charms on various family members. It was a beautiful Christmas!

Once the family has gone and the adrenaline fades, reality set in. Our nights are filled with bottles, diaper changes and sitcom reruns (nothing good is on TV at 3 am). She settled on a pretty consistent three hour schedule, a diaper change, bottle and a cuddle and she is back to dreamland (most of the time).

As the sleep depravation begins to accumulate, I just remind my self that this time will not last forever. As much as I would like to have an uninterrupted nights sleep, I savor those few extra chances to cuddle and gaze into the eyes of my little girl. She will never be as small and helpless as she is now. I look forward to watching her grow and learn, but for now I am enjoying our middle of the night bonding secessions.