When we were planning on having a baby and all throughout my pregnancy the thought of not having a full nights rest for a long time never really occurred to me. Sleepless nights never crossed my mind. I was always just thinking about the cute perfect cuddly baby that would be in my arms one day. I never realized how much work a baby really is and how much patience you must have.
Cash was a little handful from day one, I remember our first night in the hospital he was up ALL night long. Scott and I were exhausted from not sleeping for over 48 hours. I remember our nurse came in to check on us and she could see that Scott and I were a little overwhelmed and frustrated. She then told us that crying is the only way our baby can communicate with us and that he is experiencing everything for the first time. Of course in a sense I knew this, but realizing it in that moment, that instead of getting frustrated I needed to try to understand. This made his crying more bearable. We were so confused as to why no one ever told us that babies DO NOT sleep. No one told us how hard having a baby was.
However, no one could have prepared us for how much love we feel for our baby boy and how much happiness he brings to us daily. He is the most precious, and I am obsessed with him. Every sleepless night, every baby tantrum, every crying episode, every spit up, every load of laundry, every diaper explosion, every late night feeding, every unproductive day, and all the worry is worth it.
All the sweet moments make the hard times easier. I long for a full nights rest, but the hours that I would be sleeping I now spend holding and comforting my sweet baby. I can't help but smile when Cash looks at me cooing and smiling at 4:00 AM while I'm changing his diaper, knowing he's not going to go back to sleep anytime soon. Cash likes to keep Scott and I on our toes. One night he will sleep amazing and the next night he will wake up evey hour. 5 hour stretches are far and few and oh so great. Scott and I wake up feeling like we've won the jackpot. I must say the most surprising thing I've found out about babies are they are NOISY sleepers. Whoever came up with the expression 'sleep like a baby' must have never slept in the same room with one. Cash wakes me up with all his little noises but I love seeing him laying next to me in his bassinet. In the moment I may say otherwise, but when Cash does wake up I am always eager and happy to see his sweet little face and to pick him up and comfort him. It's a little ironic that I always immediately miss him when he is sleeping. He will never be as little as he is right now, and he is growing way too fast!
Some days, I may lay in bed way longer than I should with Cash, hardly ever fix my hair, or get ready for the day. But I'm going to enjoy him while he lets me because I know one day he will just want to run around and be busy getting into everything ;). I always want to remember these simple moments laying in bed with my little one. I know one day he will stop needing me to rock him, to hold him, and cuddle him so for now I will hold him a little longer while he sleeps and not worry about the fact that I haven't showered and am still wearing sweats from the day before. Motherhood is the most fulfilling job and I LOVE it.
Cash was a little handful from day one, I remember our first night in the hospital he was up ALL night long. Scott and I were exhausted from not sleeping for over 48 hours. I remember our nurse came in to check on us and she could see that Scott and I were a little overwhelmed and frustrated. She then told us that crying is the only way our baby can communicate with us and that he is experiencing everything for the first time. Of course in a sense I knew this, but realizing it in that moment, that instead of getting frustrated I needed to try to understand. This made his crying more bearable. We were so confused as to why no one ever told us that babies DO NOT sleep. No one told us how hard having a baby was.
However, no one could have prepared us for how much love we feel for our baby boy and how much happiness he brings to us daily. He is the most precious, and I am obsessed with him. Every sleepless night, every baby tantrum, every crying episode, every spit up, every load of laundry, every diaper explosion, every late night feeding, every unproductive day, and all the worry is worth it.
All the sweet moments make the hard times easier. I long for a full nights rest, but the hours that I would be sleeping I now spend holding and comforting my sweet baby. I can't help but smile when Cash looks at me cooing and smiling at 4:00 AM while I'm changing his diaper, knowing he's not going to go back to sleep anytime soon. Cash likes to keep Scott and I on our toes. One night he will sleep amazing and the next night he will wake up evey hour. 5 hour stretches are far and few and oh so great. Scott and I wake up feeling like we've won the jackpot. I must say the most surprising thing I've found out about babies are they are NOISY sleepers. Whoever came up with the expression 'sleep like a baby' must have never slept in the same room with one. Cash wakes me up with all his little noises but I love seeing him laying next to me in his bassinet. In the moment I may say otherwise, but when Cash does wake up I am always eager and happy to see his sweet little face and to pick him up and comfort him. It's a little ironic that I always immediately miss him when he is sleeping. He will never be as little as he is right now, and he is growing way too fast!
Some days, I may lay in bed way longer than I should with Cash, hardly ever fix my hair, or get ready for the day. But I'm going to enjoy him while he lets me because I know one day he will just want to run around and be busy getting into everything ;). I always want to remember these simple moments laying in bed with my little one. I know one day he will stop needing me to rock him, to hold him, and cuddle him so for now I will hold him a little longer while he sleeps and not worry about the fact that I haven't showered and am still wearing sweats from the day before. Motherhood is the most fulfilling job and I LOVE it.
Such beautiful photos! I had similar thoughts about the noisy baby sleeping (I couldn't sleep because I thought every noise was him choking or dying)... But it went away with the months and now he's a quiet sleeper. :) Hope he starts sleeping better! It gets easier, I think!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures and post Kelly. He is such a handsome little guy. Kinsley will be two next month and still doesn't sleep through the night every night. Many nights she ends up in our bed, some kids are unfortunately just better sleepers then others.
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