The Fleeting Fourth Trimester Memories: A New Way of Sleep

Prior to being pregnant, we slept quiet well. I had also done night shifts a nurse prior to getting pregnant so I know what it's like to be awake and asleep at odd hours. 

During the pregnancy, sleep definitely changed for me to having to lie down on my side, and experiencing back aches, frequent washroom trips, and just insomnia on some days. So I know what it's like to not get sleep or have it interrupted and just live with it.

With Joanna being in the picture I felt like it was a big joke when people would kindly say "Make sure you get some rest!". It felt like a big joke as I barely got sleep and the baby had her demands on me as well. Once she did rest I was not finished nesting and had the urge to get more work done even though that would mean I wouldn't be resting my body. (In retrospect: my fault... should have just let things go and let people help more.  I just like being in control...)

It was probably a couple of weeks in that we realized this effort to put Joanna in the crib at night wasn't working, as none of us were getting rest and it was so much work to get Joanna to sleep on her own. My heart broke as I know we spent about 9 months together and now she was in another room and I either couldn't stand her crying or when she was asleep I was wondering how long she would stay asleep for (or whether she was still breathing!).

One night, I nursed her in bed and fell asleep. When I woke up she was still there! Our midwife actually recommended we do this - nurse to sleep as long as we followed safe sleep precautions it was actually fine. I felt guilty for accidentally bed sharing the other night but relieved to hear that it could be done safely. Plus, I had more rest that way!

So since then we have been bed sharing with Joanna especially at night (as I edit this post... with at least one nap a day). It's been great to wake up in the morning with her, and see her grow more and more each day. I loved seeing her wake up with her newborn sounds, and all "balled up" beside me. A few memories before they drift away from the "4th trimester"

• Her all balled up, making those newborn sounds
• Asking hubby, "What is that sound?" and him saying "That's Joanna breathing...". Oh. I had mistaken her breathing for trees hitting our window, cars, strange horns, etc.
• Waking up and asking hubby- "did she fall off?" when I fell over to the side of my bed and he told me she was on the other side between us
• Changing sides in the middle of the night to feed her
• Diaper changes at the middle of the night. Sometimes hubby would get up to do it, while I take a washroom break
• Sitting up to burp her 
• Her kicking me/dancing while I feed her (I later recognized this is a sign of upper/lower gas, or fast milk flow)
• Sitting her on my tummy while I bicycle her legs for a poop (she doesn't poop at night anymore, and we EC her in the morning).
• Eating snacks/drink water/go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (I don't really do that anymore)
• Wrestling Joanna to bed (we discovered this is due to overtiredness - not enough naps during the day)

I am really glad that hubby is okay with this sleeping arrangement. I know this is temporary and I hear stories of kids who sleep with their parents for many years (the family bed) and some who grow out of it sooner than the parents expect (and the parents end up missing sleeping with the child!). I never thought we would go this route at all but it makes sleep so much better for our family and breastfeeding is so much easier with not having to get up at night. I am experimenting with naps now (she is 3 months and a week~ 6 months and a aweek) and seeing if she can nap longer away from me.

I was going  to post this  when Joanna was around 3 months but now it is 6 months and we are still bed sharing. I think I was hesitant to post this at first since I wasn't as confident in our choice in bed sharing and less worried about getting Joanna sleep trained out of fear of messing up her future sleep. Everyone seems happy so I am fine with keeping this up. I want to sidecar our crib to the side of our bed eventually so we all have more room. I have a library book I borrowed called Sweet Sleep from La Leche League. I hope to read through it sometime. In the mean time the evidence and practicality seems to point more and more that bed sharing is a great option for the whole family.  I would write more but I think the book would speak better than I could...

General updates and ramblings

So Joanna is napping and hubby is out to work. It's been a while since I posted on here.
The weather is certainly getting more bright and sunny.
Great is thy faithfulness... your mercies are new everyday.

What I have been reading 
I just finished my first book reading of this year (it seems)... Treasuring Christ when your hands are full by Gloria Furman. I received it from a child dedication class. Out of the parenting books I have read so far on all sorts of topics this book points me back to Christ and the true purpose and origin of motherhood. It goes back to the first mother Eve, where after the fall God gives them the promise of future offspring and pointing to future redemption in Genesis 3:15. Even though God said that they would surely die when they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God chose that through an offspring (Jesus) that the world would be delivered from this death. Offspring then implies motherhood. Offspring implies that we are still living today because of this prophecy. Ultimately this all points to God's mercy in giving us life, and then the offer of eternal life through Jesus coming on earth to bear the wrath that we deserve for our sins. Motherhood then ought to point to the supreme worth and value of Jesus and delight in God's great mercy in granting us breath and life each day. The books talks about future grace a lot, which is a topic I haven't thought about as much before. That helps bring a long-term, eternal perspective on things. Thoughts that come to mind as I finish off the book are that ultimately womanhood does not mean motherhood. Womanhood means conforming to the image and likeness of Christ, and so does motherhood. It ultimately is for the glory of God and our worship and enjoyment of Him.

Personal/Post-partum Recovery/Health
I generally feel better since day 1 of course. Lately my back has been bothering me. I decided to buy a Manduca baby carrier (thanks hubby) which is much more supportive for an almost 20 pound baby. However my back is still bothering me and I believe I just need to work out my core muscles more. So hopefully I will figure out an exercise/stretching routine. I find myself also needing to drink more water as I get dehydrated from nursing. I joined a bible study on Nehemiah at church which allows me a nice break from Joanna and time to study the word and hopefully meet some new friends. I come to the mom and tot play group but so far it's a lot of talk about how your kid is doing and debriefing it seems while the kids have fun and making sure other kids aren't getting hurt. I told Stephen that something I miss after having Joanna is just having the moments of quiet to just read a book. He graciously took Joanna while I went for a walk to finish my book and pray. I also want to go swimming more but not in a rush to do too much.

Family
Hubby is almost done his Hebrew (not Hebrews) class! That is exciting. We are still leading a Bible Study on John. No exciting travel plans yet however we have talked about getting Joanna a baby passport. Reading the book of Daniel as our family devotion. The topic of Christian relationships has also been of conversation a lot lately. We thought that when we stopped dating it was the end of the dating game and all of its anxieties. However we want to be there for our single friends so the complexities are back in discussion. We need to be praying and trusting in the Lord while acting and speaking truth in love wherever we can. We are still also serving in the Missions Deacon committee at church as well. We have some chats on what we are interested to do this summer while small group season is on break...Joanna is also doing very well. She is figuring out how to crawl lately. We also introduced solid food (banana, cucumber, chicken) the past few days. We are trying the baby-led weaning route at the moment. It is fun to watch and wonderful to see God's design in watching Joanna grow. He gifted us with such a beautiful baby that he had knitted in my womb! We are open to having more children in the future in God's timing.

Home
In short it's a work in progress. I have ton of things to put in storage and things to throw out. I always imagined that when I moved out I would be a minimalist. But here I have clutter to deal with now!? Hopefully time will be dedicated to some spring cleaning. My main priorities right now are just to wash the diapers, wash the dishes, and get food on the table. Tidying up in the living room and kitchen. Everything else is a bonus. I also want to side car Joanna's crib to our bed but that is for later...Also have shopping to do to replace items that have worn out (e.g. shoes) and things for babysafe-ing the place (e.g. guard rails for the kitchen, blocking off electronics) before Joanna gets crawling.

Blog
I am not sure what I want to do with this blog yet. Only 2 people really know about it as far as I am aware. There have been times I wanted to rant on this thing but I had needed to bring to prayer instead. I hope it will be a place where I can store memories so I can look back on and see how things have changed and what I have been learning and struggling through.