So I know I should be so happy that my brother and sister-in-law had a baby one month after I did--my son has a cousin close in age, we can go through everything together, family events will be so fun...but it is really, really hard. I had to promise myself today not to go on the blog again that they made about her, which brags about how she is the angel baby and at one month old already sleeps through the night and into the morning, smiles all the time, is only fussy when she's hungry...this is what I read after getting up every two hours last night and EJ is not too into the smiling yet...and as hard as I try to just remind myself of all the reasons I am grateful that EJ is who he is and how we are so lucky to have him, it's hard for me not to get really down when I read how easy this is for someone else.
That's why it's good for me to read this blog and know that other mothers are going through what I am and have mixed emotions about this whole parenting thing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hardship mothering stories always touch me, cause I had it tough with baby number one! From the day he was born, I asked myself "What the HELL did we do?", "Why did we do this?", "What was wrong with our lives?". This after wanting a child for a decade and after babysitting kids of all ages (also newborns) for many years. I had been cocky going into my mothering experience and it was a SHOCKER! The baby just NEEDED me all the time, cried all the time for who knows what reason. Sleep? Who got sleep? Waking up 5-6 times a night was normal for a very long time. I don't mean weeks. It might have been months. I can't say things started getting easier until probably age 1 1/2! Is that crazy or what?
I don't have good advice to give. But I can say that I understand! I've been there. I'm afraid of being there again with baby number two. At least this time I'm not going in cocky. This time I'm going in knowing full well that I have NO IDEA what it's like to parent two kids, knowing full well that I might be at the same place I was last time, but hoping to make some better decisions this time.
That said, I simply DO NOT believe that it is ALL our fault. I think different babies are simply different. Some cry more, some less. Some eat more, some less... But I also believe, that the reaction and impression made by a parent is different. Different people see things differently. One might describe "sleeping through the night" as a baby who just woke up to nurse/feed and went right back to sleep, even if it was 6 times that night.
Anyway, my words of wisdom, and what get me through every day still, is that we all do OUR BEST, and that's all we can do. I'm sure other can do some aspects better than I, but my son is stuck with me and I do the best I can and that just has to do!
Post a Comment