After giving birth to Micah, I couldn't wait to bring him home, picturing sweet snuggle-fests, leisurely stroller rides, and playing dress up with all of his tiny monkey outfits. I am an overachiever, so of course, I had a list of other things I wanted to accomplish during my 12 week "vacation" as well. I had imagined I would have plenty of time to not only be a Mom, but to also perfect my newborn photography skills, make priceless home videos, and work on different projects around the house. But once we arrived home, reality set in. Life became a series of 24-hour breastfeeding, catnapping, and diaper-changing marathons that all rolled one into the next. Typically, by the time I look at the clock, the day is well into the afternoon. Forget about checking anything off of my "maternity leave to-do list", I usually have not even eaten lunch or taken a shower. There are times when an entire day can fly by and I have not moved from the vicinity of my living room.
Nighttime feeding and sleeping sessions take me back to my years in residency when getting any sleep, even if 1-2 hour increments, was considered a "good night". After a few nights of waking up to the "Micah pager" every hour, I chronically felt "post-call". I attempted to catch short snoozes during the day, which doesn't amount to much. Unlike residency, however, this pager never turns off. After a week of being on "Micah call" 24/7, sleep deprivation set in, as did the dark circles under my eyes. The days went by, one blurring into the next. I began to wonder how I was going to make it through weeks, months, and *gasp* years of this. Two weeks later, we introduced a bottle and CR took over one early AM feed. Four wondrous hours of shuteye later, I was a new woman. We have our routines down now and Micah is sleeping slightly longer periods at night...sometimes. The mental fog from sleep deprivation has slowly dissipated and we are adjusting to life with a newborn. We even manage to squeeze in some sweet snuggle-fests and leisurely stroller rides. On really good days, we play dress up in monkey outfits and I play photographer.
Enjoy Micah's newborn pictures!
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