Wednesday, March 4, 2009

One word. Why.

Why would I go and change things if there wasn't anything wrong in the first place? Why would I go and disrupt Morgan Kate's schedule when everything was moving along quite nicely?  Why would I do all of this only hours after immunizations?

Why? Because I am a new mommy. Because I am still learning. Because I am human.

Last night was our first attempt at letting Morgan Kate sleep and wake us up when she was hungry. As I was lying (laying?) in the bed wide awake at 1am all I could think about was, "How am I going to know if she is hungry?" Now, I know this may seem like a ridiculous question - it sounds ridiculous just saying it out loud, but it was on my mind for what seemed like the entire night. You see, we have never, ever, let Morgan Kate tell us when she was hungry. Because of her weight and need for calories we have had to feed her on a pretty tight schedule. She gets fed long before she has the chance to get hungry or cry. Every twenty minutes last
night I would wake up and listen. 

Around 2:30 she started making some pretty loud grunting noises. She wasn't c
rying, but grunting and squirming. I thought to myself, "This is it, she's hungry." I went to the kitchen, warmed her bottle, went to her room and...found her fast asleep. Go figure. Maybe I should have let her sleep, but I went ahead and fed her. I mean she is eating this high dollar formula and I can't just toss it down the drain. She woke up enough to eat and then started to drift off back to sleep. I tried burping her and she started screaming. The screaming continued for about thirty minutes. I wasn't sure if her stomach was bothering her, if she was too tired, if her legs were sore from shots. I didn't have a clue. I eventually got her back to sleep and I headed for the bed myself. Oh, and by this time it was 3:30am.

Around 7am she started crying again. I jumped up, warmed the bottle and headed for her room. She was awake this time, but not really interested in eating. After a little "dinking" and rocking I was able to convince her to take her bottle. She ate, burped and went back to sleep. At 10am she was up for good. She was wide awake and smiling and I felt like I had sand paper in my eyes. I did not sleep well at all. I just kept waking up and wondering why in the heck I thought changing our schedule would be a good idea. Personally, I don't mind getting once at night and I pretty sure Travis doesn't either. I actually like feeding her at 1am. It's very quiet. I pray a lot during that time and I whisper all my thoughts to her. I even spend an extra ten or so minutes loving on her after she is all done. Last night just felt all wrong.

Needless to say I quickly got us back on schedule and I don't intend to change it again until she is feeling lots better. Who knows? I might still be waking her up at 1am when she's three. Just kidding.

The moral of this story is - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

She has had a pretty rough day today because of her immunizations. She has even run a slight fever. Poor baby! She has been quite cranky and just wants lots and lots of loving. I happen to be thrilled about the loving part, but every now and then even Momma has to take a potty break. 

She might not have felt good, but she sure looked cute.

Oh, and these are especially for Uncle Owens and Uncle Kyle. She happens to be just as fascinated with them as I am. Pay close attention - neither one of them will touch any part of her other than her foot or leg. It's hilarious. 


11 comments:

THE SPIVEY"S said...

Hey there girl. I just have to start off by saying that Chrisitan has that same Gamecock outfit...how cute they should wear them at the same time and take a picture together...ha. She looks so cute, adorable, big, etc. I can't believe that she is 11 lbs. She is not that much smaller than Christian. The last time we took him to the doctor he was 14 lbs. Can you believe how big and fast they grow? I can't believe that she is 6 months and he is 3 months...oh how times flies when you are having so much fun. Well, I know it has not been all fun and games but just think of what the rest of your life has in store...fun times. We just can't wait to meet her in person. We love the picutres and get so excited about your posts. I talk about her all the time to Christian and he is in that smiley phase and so he just smiles. I think he really knows what and who I am talking about, so he is smiling for her. I use to talk to him about her while he was in my belly. So he knows exactly who she is.
As far as the night routine goes, it doesn't get any easier. We have been letting Christian get us up in the middle of the night for some time now and it never fails that each night is different. One night he might do what Morgan Kate did...grunt and then fall back asleep before you can get in there to give the bottle. Or he might cry to wake up and then you get him up and he starts smiling and does not want his bottle. Or he sleeps through the night and I wake up wondering "Did I sleep through him crying...did I miss something?" However, it gets better and each night might be different but I am like you...I would not trade it for the world. I like to rock him to sleep and read him his bible stories or sing him some country song from the radio. Singing not so good but he smiles and likes it. Keep on doing what you are doing. You have the mother gene for a reason (my mom has said to me) so we have to make sure we use it the way we know it is suppose to be used.

Hollie Heming said...

Those shots can be tricky! One time Will cried and cried and slept and slept and ran a fever, but the other two times, he hasn't seemed to bothered at all. It's all a mystery. There are no answers to any of these questions we torture ourselves with, but luckily we have other moms to talk with to "try" to figure it all out! When you have all the answers, let me know! ha! I hope you get some rest :). Love you.

The Fricks said...

Heather, she was probably not feeling well because her outfit was hurting her eyes. Let me get her some orange and then she'll forget all about her shots!

She's too cute!

Anonymous said...

Did Dr. G recommend you give her infant Tylenol after her shots? Our pediatrician did and it worked beautifully--Joel has never had any problems with shots. Just a thought if Dr. G says it's okay.
I have asked that "why?" question SO many times---why did I change what was working AND why didn't I change things sooner when something wasn't... live and learn (and learn and learn and learn....!) I hope her uncles will start holding that precious niece soon! She certainly won't break and has proven to be one tough cookie!!
We have to plan a daytime outing soon! The time is coming! yea!

Kelly Lee said...

UGH...I hope tonight (or last night) goes better. Can you blame her...having shots are no fun! I'm going to have to say she's the cutest little gamecock I've seen, still think we'll have to stick her in an orange cheerleader outfit like we used to wear. Hope you gets some walks in the weekend, it is supposed to be gorgeous! She's got to get used to the sun...beach time and boating is coming up:) Love you guys, Kelly Jean

Anonymous said...

Hey little momma
Once you get it all figured out- trust me. It all continues to change rapidly. Routine Shmootine.
once comes shots, then comes teething, then comes molars, with every season comes new allergens, with the sun comes sunburn, once you have her contained she will be crawling and once you have moved everything to the up up position she will be walking and climbing. then comes the potty training.
With day cares/ or pre-schools come new schedules. It is a never ending process of Change- so for the most part keep doing what you do best- pray.
you are a wonderful mother- and you are right it is all a learning process and in this process the best thing we get out of it is the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, goodness, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22
love chi

Anonymous said...

Hey Wonderful Momma, and Wonderful Daddy, Life is full of changes right up to the time they get married and have kids of their own. Just enjoy her and love on her. MaMa and Aunt Jan will love on her also and we cannot wait. In the meantime give her lots of love, kisses Hugs and squeeze her gently for us. We Love you guys very much.

Love,
Aunt Jan

Anonymous said...

She is such a doll!!

Sorry for the long night. Being a parent is one of the greatest ways to grow and change there is!!!
Even with grown children and grandchildren.
Hold on Heather, your in for a wonderful ride!!!!!
Your doing a great job, just look at that beautiful smiling face she has!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

she is so stinking cute! that's funny about owens and kyle. i remember john wesley was terrified of ella when she was first born. he didn't touch her for a long time after he first met her. and now they wrestle and play like she's as big as he is.

mary

Anonymous said...

I love all the new pictures! I think that I agree even when you feel bad it is better with a new outfit on. She looks so grown up!
Wendy H.

Anonymous said...

I notice you have a house full this weekend. If you have two Gamecock fans in there, I have two tickets for the baseball game on Sunday afternoon against Long Beach State.

Keith