I love the way newborns smell...especially their sweet breath. I love the way they curl up in your arms. I love listening to them laugh in their sleep long before they can laugh out-loud when they are awake. I love the innocent way their eyes cross when they try to focus on you, making me break out in hysterical laughter. One of the things that I enjoy the least about newborns is the sleep deprivation. First, they have to figure out the whole day vs. night cycle. Then, there is the fact that they need to eat more frequently than I want to wake up. If you add to that all the leaky diapers and germs they have to fight off, you really have little hope of a full night's rest for what feels like ages. As they age you have new challenges to keep them awake like ear infections and teething or even night terrors. Part of my anger has cycled around the amount of sleep I have. I do best on a full 8 hours of sleep. In most stages of the past decade, I've had to make do with less...sometimes significantly less. It wasn't until I had my third child that I gave up the notion of getting enough rest. I accepted the fact that in this stage of life it just wasn't feasible to count the hours of sleep I got, and somehow expect to get my "perfect" amount. I do have to admit that my fuse is much shorter when I've had a couple of rough nights. I've learned the benefit of 20 minute naps/rest periods and meditating during the day for just as long (usually on something I read during my devotional time). This pregnancy I've also learned how much regular exercise (i.e. running) helps me feel less tired and fatigued.
I'm looking forward to our newest edition, but not the tired haze that I will walk around in, especially during the first year. I have a friend, Libby, who does this amazing caberet all about the joys and trials of motherhood called "I'm Her Boobie: The Realities of New Motherhood Revealed in Song". I didn't know her very well when I saw her perform this the first time (and honestly I hate the word "boob", so I even debated going...turns out that it's from a line in the song "Honey Bun"). I absolutely adored the show! I laughed a lot, and I cried too. There was so much that I could identify with in it...I loved my friend even more when she honestly shared her failings and specifically those regarding her temper (and a few creative solutions). Since then, I've seen her perform it two more times (most recently as a fund-raiser for my MOPS group); and it has been just as wonderful. It ranks right up there with my other favorite musicals: "The Sound of Music" and "My Fair Lady". I love to hear it over and over again because it validates that I'm not alone in my struggles as a mom (and besides that she's just really talented and funny--period).
Last week I was talking to a mom who is in that seriously sleep deprived stage. It brought back all the memories from my experiences. Motherhood is challenging because your job never really ends. Since I am a full-time stay-at-home mom, I take my "job" very seriously. If they are puking all over the bed in the middle of the night, it's mommy to the rescue. If they've had a bad dream, they run to my bed to ask me to cuddle them and pray for them. If there is an accident, I might be changing a bed at 3am. It's the best job in the world, and the toughest (in my experience) because they need you night and day.
Here is a link to a clip from Libby's caberet that I think you will find funny regardless of your walk in life:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=aSU9-LOeeKU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DaSU9-LOeeKU
No comments:
Post a Comment