Oh sleep, how I long for your sweet, sweet embrace!

My brother once told me that a person is not a true parent until they've had at least two children.  His theory is based on the idea that more than one child creates a lot more work.  I think the theory is a bit harsh and dismissive of  parents with an only child.  Despite my darling brother's ominous warning of impending chaos, Greg and I decided to go crazy and have one more baby.  We felt that E. deserved a sibling.  A playmate, or rather a side kick with whom to share toys and get into trouble.  So last October, we had another girl, A., who was born on my birthday.  Guess I was the first in the household to learn to share with the new arrival.  She is a sweet baby, although a bit of a mama's girl when in distress.  She is also exclusively breast fed, which differs from my eldest child, who proved difficult to breastfeed.

Here's the thing about breast feeding.  It takes effort to express milk and tends to be easier to directly feed the sweet bairn when it is the middle of the night.  In other words, I am now the sole parent getting up with A. at night.  With our first child, we took turns getting up for the feeds.  Now there is also, of course, the extra complication of having a toddler to deal with in the day.  I must say, the world looks different when seen through eyelids.  Caffeine, normally my best friend, isn't so great when passed into breast milk.  Sometimes that max of 300 mg caffeine per day taunts me.

This is not an attempt to get sympathy.  I realise that I am not the only woman in the world to procreate.  I am definitely not the only mother in the world who walks in a haze reminiscent of the undead..  Typically, now that A is nearly 5 months old, she sleeps a bit better....once asleep.  Unfortunately, to fall asleep in her crib independently is not part of her plans.  Recently, we tried controlled "crying it out" for 2 hours per night for a week.  This technique worked wonders for our eldest child who was trained in 2 days.  Sadly, A., normally a very happy baby, morphs into a screaming banshee when any attempt is made on this front.  So far, she does better with shushing and laying in the crib with my hand on her chest, which takes about 30 minutes.  Or 40 minutes.  Or an entire hour.

Fortunately, my oldest is reasonably independent and understanding.  In fact, today, she lent her baby sister her toy kitty to help achieve slumber.  Still, it makes for a busy day, running after a not-quite-toilet-trained  toddler while attempting to get the banshee to sleep.  Perhaps there is something in what my brother said.  Hmmm.