Adventures in the Night!

Back so soon? Why yes I am! I am getting used to Emily's schedule and I know when I have a few minutes to spare.

Oh what a night!

Being a parent is a complete life changer. I used to be able to do whatever I wanted. Now all I get to do is feed Emily. Not that I mind. But it is different. Last night she was out at 7:30 and I thought, "How fabulous! I can set her in the bassinet and read for an hour before I go to bed." (And yes, I would gladly go to bed at 8:30 at this point. I'll take my sleep where I can get it!)

So... I set her in the bassinet, brushed my teeth, grabbed my kindle, and got into bed. I got to read one paragraph before Emily decided she missed being held in my arms and the squawking began. Seriously? Part of me was delighted that she noticed I was gone, but most of me just wished she would conk out for the night.

Two hours and a feeding later Emily finally decided to go back to sleep. So much for my plan to relax for a bit. By the time she passed out I was exhausted. So I just went to sleep too. The good news is that she slept until 1:30. Which means I got a full four hours of sleep. Before I was a parent four hours of sleep would have been atrocious. Now it sounds like heaven. And it felt like it too. How quickly things change!

Mike and I got up with Emily, who was howling with hunger. She latched immediately and went to town with the feeding. All good. Until she decided she was done. At that point, still clamped firmly on my nipple, she pushed her little body back as hard as she could and threw her head back. Now, I was kinda prepared for this (because she has done it before), but not totally.

The pain was excruciating! It felt like she was going to pull my nipple off while biting it! I screamed. Yes, I actually screamed. Then I burst into tears. Meanwhile, content little Emily was giggling up at me, totally unaware of what she had done. I have to admit, there was a small part of me that instinctively wanted to slap her at the moment it was occurring. It reminded me of a story my mom always tells. A story where I was actually slapped for doing the same thing. Granted, I was much older and had teeth, but still... I guess turn about is fair play.

After I finally pulled myself together and stopped crying - at which point Emily had started to cry since she could not figure out why her meal was interrupted - I had to start the feeding all over again and brave another bite. Luckily for me (and Emily) there were no further episodes.

Except... that when she was done she was pretty fussy and daddy had to rock her to sleep. Because I don't have much ab strength due to the C section, my rocking chair skills are somewhat limited. Mike, on the other hand, rocks "con fuerte". His words, not mine. It's pretty funny to watch.

Daddy and baby both relaxed. Baby fell asleep. And then, baby spit up all over daddy and just kept spitting up. I think she lost about half of what she ate all over Mike. I had to rush in with a burp cloth. I bent over to wipe up the spit up and just fell over. Having no ab muscles just hinders coordination. I was sprawled out on the floor, stunned. Mike was half concerned, half laughing. And Emily just kept spitting up.

It took about 45 minutes to get Emily cleaned and relaxed again. After a total of two hours awake in the middle of the night we could finally go back to sleep.

The good news is that she then slept from 3:30 to 6:45. And after her early morning feeding she slept till 9:00. I got about 7 hour and 45 minutes of sleep in all. I feel pretty good about that. And this morning Emily and I are both doing just fine. And Mike bears no lasting scars from being used as a human burp cloth.