Sleep Archives - Roubinek Reality

What IS Our New Normal?

August 16, 2012 By Jamie Roubinek 19 Comments

So how’s it been since we’ve been home?

{Sigh….)

I wish I could tell you the last eight days have been full of hugs, snuggles, and smiles.

I can’t.

The truth is, it’s been hard. Really hard. There have been lots of hugs, snuggles, and smiles, but there have also been lots of flailing fits {the boys}, fighting {the boys}, and crying {the boys and me}.

We have had a hard time adjusting, learning what our new normal is supposed to look like.

Fortunately, this child has done a lot of this.

Jeff had to go right back to work the day after Brantley was born, but we didn’t think it would be a big deal since my mom had planned to be with me the rest of the week.

No problem.

Then my mom got sick on Wednesday, the day after Brantley was born.

She had to leave the next morning because she was miserable and contagious.

That’s when my crying started. I lost count how many times I broke down feeling so overwhelmed.

On Friday, I got a sitter for the boys, thanks to my amazing neighborhood babysitting co-op. My friend, Elena, kept the boys for a few hours so I could take Brantley to the pediatrician for her newborn checkup.

Our pediatrician said she looked great and even told me I could skip the 2 week and 1 month visits, and not come back until 2 months. Woohoo!! That saves us $50 in co-pays. It made the frugal side of me so very happy!

She was hungry, not tortured, like she’s making you think.

After weighing in at 8 lbs 2 oz right when she was born, she dropped to 7 lbs 14 oz two days later, but was already gaining by the time we got to the pediatrician the next day. She was back to 8 lbs. She’s a great eater, thank goodness.

Friday night, we planned to have a quiet night at home, but little did we know we would be getting NO SLEEP!! It wasn’t because of the baby, either. It was Riverson!

He woke up at 1am. Jeff brought him to our bed so he wouldn’t wake Langston up. The child did not go back to sleep until 5am. FIVE A.M.!!!!

My dad and step-mom knocked on our door at 9:30 on Saturday morning with plans to help us around the house. As you can imagine, Riverson was a hot mess and honestly, so was I.

I went to put him in his bed, which was an idea he absolutely hated.

He screamed, cried, and all I heard was, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy” over and over.

All he wanted was me, but he was exhausted and I needed him to sleep, so I walked out…

and burst in to tears.

The guilt was eating me up. What was I doing wrong? Why was he so unhappy? I felt helpless.

Thank goodness my dad and step-mom were there to talk me off of the ledge and remind me that we are ALL adjusting to this new normal.

By Sunday night, the big kids were here for their last two weeks of summer vacation. I was still an emotional mess.

When Jeff mentioned something we needed from the store, I immediately said, “I’ll go!!” He stared at me for several seconds and with a small smile on his face said, “You’re not going to have a nervous breakdown and leave us, are you?”

I said, “I might have a breakdown, but I’m not leaving.”

I actually didn’t have a nervous breakdown.

Things are better. I’m done crying. I’m getting a grip and realizing I CAN do this.

Riverson got out of the bathtub last night and after I spent the last 10 minutes of the bath getting on to him for splashing all over the bathroom, he walked in to their room and peed on the carpet. I could have cried.

But, I didn’t.

I may figure out this new normal after all.

So what’s the silver lining in all of this?

I love seeing the boys love on their new baby sister. I think they might let us keep her after all.

Filed Under: Baby, Boys, Family, Parents, Sleep

Just Keep Swimming! Just Keep Swimming!

November 9, 2010 By Jamie Roubinek 7 Comments

Since we have been home from the hospital, I have been BUSY, to say the least!

Riverson was born on Thursday morning at 3:55 and we went home from the hospital on Friday evening, around 6:00. One of the main reasons I wanted to go home was due to our insurance. Because Jeff is self employed, our insurance is on an individual plan. That means we don’t have maternity coverage and I was afraid of how much we would have to pay out of pocket for our hospital bill. Little did I know there would be a letter in our mailbox when we got home saying I was approved by our insurance company to be there for three days. I could have cried when I read that.

Even though my mom was at home with us for a few days, it just wasn’t the same and the rest I got was practically non existent. Riverson needed to be fed every couple of hours and Langston needed me in between those feeds. I was truly jumping from one baby to the next, and back again! Thank goodness for Jeff and my mom, who were both so helpful with Langston.

I also joined the mom’s club for our neighborhood just a few weeks ago. It turned out to be great timing! They have set up a meal calendar for us, which means a dinner will be provided for us by someone in our neighborhood every Monday and Wednesday for the next four weeks! How awesome is that?!? We are truly blessed. But, they didn’t stop there. Just days after we got home from the hospital, I had a little basket from them on my front porch. It held a package of wipes, hand sanitizer, travel size lotion and body wash, and personalized diaper tags with Riverson’s name on them! I was so impressed!! So far, I just LOVE them and I can’t wait to get more involved with these girls!

We are getting better with the sleep pattern we have going at night. Last night, I was fortunate enough to get 8 hours of sleep, with a 30 minute feeding session thrown in there at about 4:30am. I really can’t complain about that. It’s definitely much better than the nights when I was getting up 3 and 4 times to feed him.

Sounds like things are going great, huh? Well, they are…..except for today.

Langston has been coming down with something and I noticed it two days ago when I started hearing a cough I didn’t really like. I just knew something was coming. I was right. It has turned into a little cold. He wakes up with snot all over his face and the horrendous cough is still there. It’s sad to hear him. Nevertheless, I had to go to the grocery store. I had put it off for a few days out of fear. I was so afraid to take both boys together. Langston is usually great in the grocery store, so I decided to put my big girl pants on and get it done. By the time we got through the third aisle, Langston was starting to get upset and I knew I needed to hurry. By the time we got through the 6th aisle, I knew I had to abort my plan and head to the checkout line IMMEDIATELY! There was a lot of crying and pacifier throwing going on in the meantime. Not to mention all of the snot that was all over his face from all of the crying. I was sweating profusely from the hurrying I was doing and the embarrassment. Fortunately, the lady behind me in line said, “He’s not bothering anyone that has kids. We’ve all been there.” It made me feel better, but I hated that there was nothing I could do for him. He wanted me to pick him up so badly, but with the baby in the sling on my body, there was no way it could happen.

We got out of the door with some help from the guy who bagged our groceries and got loaded up in the car. By this time, it was turning in to a ridiculous fit I had never before seen from him. The screaming from the back seat was out of control. At one point on the way home, both boys were crying and I was on the verge of tears, myself. We finally made it home and I put him in bed. He slept for three hours!

I will definitely have a better plan for the next time I hit the grocery store, which will have to be soon since I didn’t get to get everything that was on my list. Maybe I will just send Jeff.

As you can see, my motto for these first few weeks of Riverson’s life has been “Just keep swimming!” I know it will get better as we start to get into a routine, but until then, I’m just trying to keep my head above water!

Filed Under: Boys, Langston, Riverson, Sleep

Lay Down, Close Your Eyes, Go to Sleep…..Or NOT!

February 4, 2010 By Jamie Roubinek 5 Comments

It seems like we have been working on Langston learning to put himself to sleep for EVER now. It’s not all his fault. It might have a little something to do with consistency and the fact that we are not always on the same schedule everyday. I really need to get better about having a schedule, but our daytimes are WONDERFUL. It’s just the nights that are so hard on us. Last night I was not home during bedtime, so it was up to Jeff. Now, Jeff can’t stand to listen to Langston cry himself to sleep, so I’m sure you can guess how Langston fell asleep last night. Yep, that’s right, in his daddy’s arms.

So, tonight, it was back to the old plan and when I put him down for the night, minutes later, Jeff told me he was crying. I said, “Ok,” and continued cleaning the kitchen. I’m not sure how long we listened to him cry, but it DID finally get quiet. After a few minutes withouth hearing any crying, I went in to check on him.

This was the first thing I saw:

(Please excuse the quality of the pictures. I was deathly afraid of waking him up so there was no way I was going to use a flash in there. I didn’t even get my camera out. These are just snapped with my iPhone.)

The top of his head above his bumper in the crib.

When I walked around to the side of the crib, this is what I saw:

I guess he was in a pretty comfy position, but I couldn’t let him sleep like that all night, so we fixed him up. (Did I just say “him” and “sleep” and “all night” in the same sentence. HAHAHA! THAAAT’S funny!!! Maybe one day.)

As I was walking away, I stepped on his paci. So obviously, he has started throwing his paci out, too! Wonderful!

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Filed Under: Jeff, Langston, Sleep

A sweet crib addition

January 18, 2010 By Jamie Roubinek 2 Comments

Well, you might be thinking from the title of this post that I’m talking about my sweet Langston, but I’m not. Well, at least, not on purpose. Langston is exclusively sleeping in his crib now (thank goodness!). From the day we brought him home, we were using a Sleep Sheep made by Cloud B.

We use it every day, for naps, and nighttime sleep. It’s fantastic for white noise and I love the different options it gives us. We can pick between heartbeat, rain, ocean waves, and whale noises. We have found that Langston loves the noise of the waves, so that is the only noise we hear now.

We made an addition to the noise he hears when we moved him to his crib. We added a Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium and he LOVES it! He loves to look at it and he loves the noise that it makes. It’s so soothing and it really does help him fall asleep. He actually has already learned how to touch the blue button on the bottom of the aquarium to start it. It’s great!

Obviously this cute little baby is not Langston but I copied this from the Fisher Price website. I do get this similar result, though, and that’s why I love this thing!

If you are a mom looking for things that will help your baby sleep when they come home or get moved into their crib, these are two GREAT things to invest in!

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Filed Under: Baby, Langston, Sleep

So I’m probably not the worst mom, but I’m still struggling

January 7, 2010 By Jamie Roubinek 3 Comments

Thank you for your comments to my post yesterday. I know we are on the right road and it’s always good to get that reassurance. Langston slept really well until 1:30 when he woke up and his diaper had leaked. Luckily, Jeff let me sleep and he took care of everything. He got Langston back to sleep pretty easily once his diaper and clothes were changed.

Langston then woke up again at 4:30 and was hungry this time. I went in to feed him for about 10 or 15 minutes and then I laid him back town. He turned over and went right to sleep. Yessss!!

I had to wake up early to substitute today and Langston went to Jeff’s mom’s (his Meemaw). We left at 6:45 and I had to pick Langston up out of his crib while he was still sleeping to put him in his car seat.

When we got home this evening, at about 5:30, we had bathtime and he got in his high chair to have some butternut squash. He LOVES that stuff and even had two food cubes. He nursed at about 7:00 and then had a little time with Daddy. He was really tired and it was very obvious when I looked at his eyes while he watched TV. By 7:45, I took him in his room to get him ready for bed.

I laid him down and of course, the crying started. I knew this was going to happen and my only hope was that it wouldn’t be as long as it was last night. I had to go back in twice to readjust him and put his paci back in his mouth, but he was asleep in 25 minutes, which is 10 minutes better than last night’s time.

After Langston was asleep, we watched Modern Family. I don’t know if any of you have watched this show, but it cracks us up every week! Tonight was especially funny because the two dads on the show were working on Ferberizing the baby. We could TOTALLY relate because one of them was the driven parent and the other was the softy! That was definitely us. Jeff can’t STAND to hear Langston cry like he does in his crib, but I’m determined to make it work. One of the dads was even crying at the sound of the baby crying so hard. It was definitely Jeff on TV. We laughed and laughed. If you missed it, I’m sure you can watch it on hulu.com.

Here’s to hoping that tomorrow is even better!

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Filed Under: Jeff, Langston, Parenting, Sleep

I felt like the worst mom….

January 6, 2010 By Jamie Roubinek 6 Comments

A few days ago, I wrote this post here about Langston not sleeping. Jeff and I were so miserable and I really was at my wits end. I knew something had to be done. Not long before that, we had moved Langston out of his pack and play and into his room. I don’t think he really minded his crib. When he did sleep, he looked so comfy. Things have gotten better everyday.

Today, the kids went back to school and will be at their mom’s house until Thursday. I knew this would be my window to start his sleep training tonight. He took two great naps in his crib today and I hoped that his napping would help him sleep tonight. I totally agree with my friend Lani, when she said she believes sleep begets sleep.

After Langston’s 7:00 feeding, he played with his Daddy for a bit and then I saw he was getting tired. I went in to his room with him and rocked him for about three minutes, just long enough to see his eyes get heavy. I put him down in his crib and turned on his Sleep Sheep (which I LOVE and have used since he was born). I kissed him goodnight, told him I loved him, and walked out of the room. Of course, he immediately began to cry. I walked into the living room and said to Jeff, “Be strong!” He knew what I was referring to and had a smirk on his face. We listened to him continue to cry and I went in every 5-7 minutes to soothe him and put him back in the position I left him in.

One time I went in and he was at the other end of his crib on all fours, crying his head off. Another time I went in, he was sitting up, staring at the wall, crying some more. In the meantime, Jeff was pacing around telling me he didn’t think he could do it. He wanted to go in there and pick him up to console him so bad, but I held him back. We both knew that Langston needs to learn to console himself and this is just the beginning of the process. All the while that I was listening to him cry so hard, I felt like such a bad mom because I wasn’t picking him up to make him feel better.

The good news is we didn’t give in. The bad news is, this went on for 35 minutes. Fortunately, he did finally fall asleep on his own.

My pediatrician told me at our 6 month appt that we needed to do it for three days straight and it should work, but if we mess up on any of the days, we would have to start back at square one. We have one night down and two more to go. I hope it gets better tomorrow night and even better the next day. Ultimately, I hope she’s right because I don’t know if Jeff and I can handle much more than that!

We’ll see how long he actually sleeps tonight……

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Filed Under: Jeff, Langston, Sleep

Why won’t you SLEEEEEEEPPPPPP??!?!?!?!

January 1, 2010 By Jamie Roubinek 6 Comments

This is a beautiful picture of a beautiful little baby, but this is NOT our baby because our baby is NOT sleeping so peacefully. Nope, not our baby. Not our baby, at all!

Jeff and I have been SOOOOO frustrated with our little guy the past few nights. It’s unreal how difficult it has been with him at night. We don’t have any problem getting him to fall asleep. Granted, he still can’t self soothe and fall asleep on his own, but we are trying to work on it. Last night, I fed him at 7:00 and he went to sleep around 8:00. By 9:00, he was awake again and I decided to try and let him cry for a while to wear himself out and possible stare at the back of his eyelids, eventually. No such luck!

By 10:00, he was still crying, so I decided to just feed him and see if he would fall asleep. By 10:45, he was asleep again. I thought for sure that it would give me a break and possibly make it until morning.

At 12:45, he woke up again and I fed him again. I thought that putting him back in his bed would be no problem, but I was wrong. He started screaming and crying. Since the big kids are here, I can’t let him cry like that when they are sleeping. I decided to take him to my bed so I could get some sleep, too. By 2:00, he was still fussing and kicking at me. I was at. my. wits. end! Luckily Jeff heard him and came in to rescue me (he was still up). I got some sleep until 5:00 when Jeff brought him back to me because he was hungry again. Again, I fed him and he didn’t fall asleep. He continued to fuss but the whole time, fussing with his eyes closed. By 7:30, he was still awake and so was I! At about 8:30 or so, H came in and offered to take Langston to the living room so he could play while I slept some more. So that’s what happened.

I don’t know what to do. I think he’s big enough to sleep through the night without eating, but at the same time, I don’t want to keep him from eating if he’s really hungry. I have friends whose babies sleep 12 and 13 hours at a time and I’m wondering, “What in the world am I doing soooo differently? Why will he not STAY asleep once he falls asleep?” Any mom help would be so appreciated!!

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