Thankfully, Carter stayed at G'ma's house Sunday night so Tom and I (and Shae'!) could do our Christmas shopping and go to dinner. It allowed me to nap more on Monday morning when she napped (and I would normally have Carter to take care of at those times).
And speaking of Sunday night....we were so excited about our 'date'. I mean, dinner out withOUT a toddler to deal with=BLISS, right? Well, I didn't anticipate the missy being cranky...uggh! Our wonderful PF Chang's dinner was less enjoyable because one of us had to hold her through most of it (makes it kinda hard to eat!) and then we were rushing to get out because she was screaming wanting to eat as we waited for the check. :/ Not to mention our 'too large' stroller that was NOT made to fit through the aisles of Changs....what a night! But I had forgotten how many comments you get when out with a newborn.....the attention is fun...sometimes.
Ok..back to my original story....last night....Oh my....what a night! She was awake every 1-2 hours in pain. Broke my heart to see her hurting. I gave her EVERYTHING trying to help, but nothing seemed to work. By the time her first feeding of the day rolled around, she was hurting to much to eat for more than a few minutes. She did better the rest of the morning until after lunch when all of a sudden I couldn't lay her down awake or fully asleep without her crying. Clingy? For some reason today, yes. And it's lasted up until now...10:30p.m. Tom or I one have had to hold her all night. Here's PRAYING our night tonight is a better one!
So, what does all of this have to do with my post title? Well....I've been thinking through all of this about something I read in one of the GFI books (if you don't know what GFI is, you MUST look into it!) In the infant book, they are talking about your baby's routine, etc. The discussion is about when to move your baby from a 3 hour routine to a 4 hour feeding routine. They make this statement: "Many Mom's make the mistake of trying to transition to a 4 hour routine too quickly. Don't rush it. Enjoy the process." This statement has really stuck with me. I don't know...maybe because my firstborn is 2 1/2 already and I feel like he was born yesterday? (seriously...his birth is more vivid in my memory than Shae's...which is SO crazy to me!) Because of that, I realize how quickly it all goes by. How easy it is when I'm going through the sleepless nights to wish that we could hurry up and get to the next phase instead of taking the time to enjoy this one. I know...not a lot to enjoy about being up at all hours of the night, right? But it IS time I get to spend all alone with my sweet girl....holding and rocking her and bonding. During the day I'm often too busy with Carter to really be able to take that kind of time alone with her. And so often I do find myself wishing we would hurry and get to that 4 hour routine...OH the 4 hour routine! But then I won't have that special time of nursing my baby and enjoying that special togetherness as often in the day as I do now.
My point with all of this is that it would do us all good to "enjoy the process". Whatever that process might be for you.....it could relate to anything, but there is something about taking the time to enjoy where you are NOW and what you are going through NOW. There's beauty in the process. There's joy to be found (although you may have to really look for it!) in the process. And for me....as I type this and my sweet girl is sleeping right beside me and I wait for her to wake for her last feeding before I can get some sleep, I'm reminding myself to enjoy this...every bit of it. Because tomorrow when I wake up, she'll be 2 years old and I'll barely remember this part of it all. :)
Enjoy the pics....they are all of my sweet baby girl (no Carter pics this post!) And were all taken over the weekend. I LOVE my Shae' Shae'! :)
1 comment:
Its funny as I read this I remember with Ally my first born how she went through this stage. She has the worst tummy issues and all she would do is cry....... and of course I would cry with her... I felt so helpless nothing I could do for her. Although it feels like yesterday believe it or not she will be 6 in just a couple weeks. Where on earth did the time go? I look at both girls Ally almost 6 and Riley 4 going to be 5 in March and I wish so desperately I could go back in time and enjoy the process..
I am encouraged by your words of wisdom!!
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