I Just Want A Nap!

Three weeks ago today, we had our second baby girl. This is her just a couple of hours old ready to come home from the birth centre:



This also explains why I haven't posted much this past little while. Seriously, who starts a blog a month before they have a baby and expects to get anything posted? What was I thinking?

The past three weeks have been great, except when they're not. Which is pretty much any time I'm over tired. I'm one of those people who NEEDS sleep. I get particularly grumpy if I get less than 9 hours a night. Yup, forget 8, I want the extra hour. I spent months training our older daughter how to sleep so that I could have that blissful full night's sleep. And now it's all gone out the window.

You've heard the saying “sleep when baby sleeps.” Whoever came up with that one obviously only had one child. That saying is a joke. The incredible amount of planning it now takes to try to get a nap when you have a newborn and a 2 year old is amazing. And exhausting. Hardly worth it really.

To make matters worse, our girls share a room. This happened for a few reasons. I know many people keep the new baby in the parent's room for the first few months. Our master bedroom is not big enough for any kind of baby sleep contraption to fit in it and us to still be able to open doors or drawers. And there is no way we're doing that “family bed” idea where the baby sleeps with us. Just like I NEED my sleep, I also NEED my space when I sleep. I already have to share with a husband. That's plenty.

Our second bedroom is in our basement and on the opposite end of the house from our room. If you know my 2-year-old at all you know it would be a ridiculous idea to put her down there, so far from us and with so much opportunity for mischief. Our girls also share a room because it's character building. I shared with my sister growing up. And if dealing with my mess didn't grow her character of patience, I don't know what did! However, I didn't realize that it could also be character building for the parents.

Since the little one has come along we have done a lot of furniture rearranging in their room. Some people plan out these nice nurseries for their kids. We had to plan what would cause the least amount of trouble the older one could get into. We had to lock the closet. After Kaitlyn was born, Mady would empty it on a daily basis. After re-folding and filling her dresser 2-3 times every day after she made a pile of clothes for her to “jump” into, we moved the dresser into the closet so that it too could be locked. Each new day with the baby brings yet another challenge we need to address with the older one.

Which brings me back to my nap. All I want today is a nap. I was quite excited because when I looked at how the baby's feeding schedule was lining up for the day it looked like I could put the older one down, feed the younger one, put her down and then get a good couple of hours sleep myself.

Here's how that turned out:

1pm – Daddy put Mady to bed in her room, I fed Kaitlyn.
1:15pm – Kaitlyn is now asleep enough I can transfer her to her crib. Mady has been quiet so she's probably good and asleep and I don't have to worry about any issues. Bed here I come!
1:17pm – I walk into the girls room to find Mady with a pile of diapers around her. She's proclaiming, “Poop!” I lay down Kaitlyn and change Mady and put her in her bed.
1:22pm – Crawl into my bed. Ahhh!
1:24:30pm - I hear a clunk. Daddy goes in to check and Mady is on the change table (which is at the head of the crib) trying to reach the cubbies on the wall above the crib to get the “treasures” out. He puts her back in her bed. (note: he's trying to leave to go run errands so we don't see him after this). I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep.
1:28pm – I hear clunking again. I go in to find Mady STANDING in the crib (right above her sister's head) trying to fit her sippy cup into a cubby. Out she comes and into her bed. I go back to mine.
1:32pm – More clunking. I find the exact same picture I just left the last time I walked through the door. Put Mady back in her bed, I head back to mine.
1:36pm – I'm getting smart to the sound of climbing and catch her on her way UP the change table. I have another brainwave of genius and move the change table because surely this will stop her from climbing into the crib. My bed hasn't even had the chance to warm up I've been in and out so many times. And it's barely been 20 minutes.
1:40pm – too bad she's smarter. She uses the side of the crib to climb in. I find her in the crib standing over her sister's head again. This time playing with the baby monitor that resides in one of the cubbies. Now she gets in big trouble. Wailing from her.
1:41:30pm – We repeat what just happened. More wailing. I have given up going back to bed and am now just standing outside her door.
1:45pm – I catch her 2 steps earlier (before she's IN the crib and just on her way UP it). She gets in trouble again. More wailing.
1:47:30pm – Another repeat of what just happened. Even more wailing.
1:50pm – Kaitlyn now is awake. There goes my nap.
2:00pm – Mady falls alseep behind her door. Sigh.