I well remember the shocking initiation into motherhood that was my 24 hour labor followed by weeks of interrupted nights. That was quite honestly my biggest shock--something that just couldn't be understood beforehand. A reason I would get depressed and downright panicky was because I didn't know if my baby would ever sleep. When she hit two weeks she seemed to sleep worse than when she was born! I didn't know this was normal. Thankfully as weeks turned into months her clock set itself on par with the rest of the world and by the time she was a year old I think we thought we were sane again.
Then, boom. Pregnant again. Not quite expecting it, but looking back, I'm so grateful for that timing. My girls are two of kind who do everything together. Wouldn't change that for anything. But. I had a baby. And I was pregnant. Talk about TIRED. But I pretty much assumed if I got through that I could get through anything. Good thing I didn't know any better :).
Now that I am a mom of four I feel the deep-bone tiredness that I think is deeper than I expected. But since it's gotten better with time before I'm just holding out for the future. One thing I've learned is to never say, "it can't get any worse." It always can. :)
My seven year old had a freak playground accident last week and broke her leg. There was no bruising or swelling so I waited a day to take her to the Dr. I had no idea how serious it was. Her first night clued me in, however, as I was up every few hours as she whimpered in pain or needed carried to the bathroom.
Thankfully we got in the next day and got her cast, wheelchair, and the good pain meds. Just being a mother of four now seems easy compared to being a mother of four when one is wheelchair bound. You live and learn. We all have our own trials and my compassion for those who parent special needs children has increased. I don't know how they do it, but I'm sure they need our continued prayers for their strength.
I am a Mom of four grown children, and now grammy to 7! I look back on those years and wonder how in the world I managed. It was totally exhausting, and sometimes I felt like I was in a fog. Now that I'm a grandma, I can sit back and completely enjoy the little ones. There is a time and season for everything. Sounds like you are a typical Mom, struggling like we all do, so rejoice in the fact that you are not alone. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend:)
ReplyDeleteI remember when my oldest was just a couple weeks old, and one night during a middle-of-the-night feeding, the extremely sleep-deprived me sat and bawled at the realization this would last for YEARS.
ReplyDeleteI also thought things would get easier, but realized in time they just get different. I couldn't handle more than two - you're doing a fabulous job girl!
I am so with you on the lack of sleep! My last 3 (of 7, soon to be 8) have been horrible sleepers. One had night terrors beginning when she was about 9 months old and finally tapering off around 18 months. Shortly after that I had another newborn, who at 3 is still not always sleeping through the night. We are, thankfully, down to one or two nights a week now when she wakes. BUT, I have a 15 mo old who is up at least once, and sometimes as many as 3 times, a night... with another newborn coming in about 6 weeks. Add to that time frame the lack of sleep from pregnancy woes, and I've hardly slept at all for the last 4 years. Some days I wonder how I make it... others, I fall asleep sitting up or in the middle of reading books to the younger ones. LOL Good thing I have older helpers around here. ;)
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