As cute as he is, this little man has let me know right off the bat that although he looks just like his older brothers (we refer to him as the same model, different version) he is his own person with his own sleeping patterns. After three newborns I felt pretty confident in my knowledge of how to get them to sleep for longer stretches at night (aka the really tight swaddle). It is simple, you feed, swaddle very tightly and Voila - baby settles right down and sleeps. For how long - you never know with a newborn- but the point is they will go to sleep.
The feed, swaddle routine seems to have the opposite affect on Chase. The first week he actually seemed stimulated by this and would be wide awake when I laid him down. That had me scratching my head and I had to resort to measures I never had to do with my other three to get him to fall asleep at night (rocking/pacifier etc.). I wasn't even getting to bed until 2:30 because he would not fall asleep. So after the first week of misery I wised up and have had him on a pretty strict bedtime routine so that he is actually tired by bedtime. At 9:15 pm I wake him up and keep him up until 10:00. The more screaming and fussing the better - that just makes him tired. At 10:00 he gets a bath, which entails more screaming. At 10:15 I feed him, swaddle him and down he goes. It will still take 10 or 15 minutes for him to fall asleep, but that is a heck of a lot better than what he was doing.
I will say that the past several nights he has been doing a lot better. He is only getting up once at night to eat. BUT if there is anything I do know about newborns, or kids in general, it is that they are unpredictable. So I can say with complete confidence I know he will throw me a curve ball soon and let me know that although I think I am training him he is still in charge. That is o.k. I at least feel that we are moving in the right direction toward nights filled with sleep.
And how are my other boys adjusting to a newborn in our house?
Well I can assure you that they are watching plenty of t.v., playing plenty of video games and eating huge amounts of junk food. I am feeling guilty about this but I can only do so much right now. They will survive and when I get more into a routine I will start weaning them.
Taylor and Bennett have been quite helpful and have actually wanted to hold Chase. They ask me a lot why Chase cries so much. They also don't understand why the pacifier isn't the magic cork. They will attempt to stop him from crying by putting it in his mouth and holding it there - regardless of whether he wants to suck it or not. I have caught both of them holding Chase when I haven't been there to help them. I just hope they remember to support his head. I can't get after them because they are just trying to be helpful.
Bennett told me the other day that Chase' head smells good and that he is totally awesome. I would guess Bennett thinks he is awesome because Chase gave the boys some Legos when he came home from the hospital. The other day Bennett also tried to get Chase to hold a lightsaber. I told him he would have to get a little bit older before he could join in on the fighting. That or they would need to find him a smaller one.
Owen on the other hand has been whining non-stop. I know part of it is because I am sleep-deprived and it is just bothering me more and the other part is that as of about 3 weeks ago he decided that naps were a thing of the past. Add to that a newborn that has taken his place as baby and you have a difficult child to deal with.
As far as myself, all things considered I think I am doing pretty well. Recovery has been fairly easy and I am itching to get on my treadmill again. It has only been 2 weeks so I know I need to be careful and not do too much. I am getting some sleep and my body is adjusting to just living on less. I know for certain that if it weren't for Scott I would be an absolute wreck. He has been more than willing to stay up at night, cook meals, clean, do laundry etc. I don't know what I would do without him.
I have always said the the first two weeks with a newborn are the hardest. I have passed the 2 week mark, so it's smooth sailing from here on out. Don't I wish!
