Kathleen is three weeks old today. She is growing so quickly, she has already gained 400g on her birth weight. It has been a very long three weeks but at the same time it feels like just yesterday she was born. But of course I have had her for 21 days AND 21 nights so it does feel like a long time. Every day is different, yet every day is the same as well - consisting of feeding her, trying to get her to sleep, trying not to wake her up, and washing masses and masses of nappies.Peter has been great and has helped out so much. Especially last night when he fed her overnight so that I could sleep and he then slept during the day today. Looking after Kathleen is so much harder than I thought it was going to be. Everything sounded so much easier in theory than it is in reality. Of course everyone has different advice and it's now a matter of trying everything until we find something that works for us. Some myths that I have found:
Myth: I'd been getting Braxton Hicks "practice" contractions since early on in my pregnancy and I thought 'If this is what contractions are like it won't be so bad'.
Reality: Braxton Hicks contractions are NOTHING like real contractions.
Myth: If they're tired, put them to bed and they'll go to sleep.
Reality: If she's tired she'll let you know by screaming and crying and kicking and wriggling and fussing and grizzling. In fact she'll do everything EXCEPT fall asleep.
Myth: All newborns do is sleep, eat and pee. If she's crying it will because of one of the above.
Reality: She cries if she's tired. She cries if she's hungry. She cries if you change her nappy. She cries if you put her down. She cries if you don't cuddle her. She cries if you DO cuddle her.
Myth: They will feed until they are full and then stop.
Reality: Yes she will feed until she is full, or until she falls asleep, whichever comes first. Most likely she will fall asleep first and then wake up 15 minutes later still hungry. And tired. And grumpy.
Having said all that, I am exaggerating a little bit. She doesn't cry all the time, but she certainly isn't shy about letting you know if she doesn't like something. In three weeks I have learnt a little bit about what Kathleen does and doesn't like.
LIKES:
- Cuddles
- People
- Going for walks
- Showers
- Daddy
HATES:
- Being put down
- Being left alone (i.e. in her cot)
- Having her nappy changed
- Baths
She is very good at nighttime though. Yes, she still wakes up in the middle of the night wanting a feed, but she will usually go straight back to sleep afterwards for a few hours. It's only during daylight that she doesn't want to sleep and then gets over-tired. She likes going for walks though and they usually put her to sleep. In the last couple of weeks I've walked around Beach Haven more than I ever have in the four years we've lived here. And have met more neighbours than I ever met in the last four years as well. And they all look at her and say "Isn't she beautiful. You forget how small they used to be".
More pics have been uploaded to Flickr in the last couple of days.
