Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Who Needs Sleep? Not me, not me at all

But apparently M. needs lots and lots and lots of sleep. Lots. I forgot how much having a newborn makes me hate all men. Oh, I know that sounds harsh, and M. really is a great dad and very willing to do anything for me and his kids, but there always seems to come a time, a few weeks after the baby is born, when he goes back to work, leaving me in the proverbial trenches, and no longer having the same single-minded focus on the babies anymore, like I still do. It's that lonely feeling that I know other mothers must get, too. And the other thing is daily annoyances. He just makes a mess. He doesn't intend to but he is a bit of a mess-maker by nature. And so, in times like this, when I'm still relatively out of commission, extra mess really gets on my nerves. For instance, he exploded a bowl of refried beans in the microwave last night and said he'd clean it up, but, of course, he didn't. I can wait for tonight and remind him to do it, or, I can just do it myself. I'm sure today I'll just do it myself. Also, I need the huge mountain of dirty clothes brought downstairs but I still can't lift things that heavy. I think this huge mountain is invisible to him and I can't remember to remind him to bring it down for me. And lastly, Little Guy is now having sleep issues (due to new baby being here and our absence for 4 whole days and nights, I guess) and now M. is laying on the futon in his room every night until Little Guy falls asleep. At that point, you would think M. would quietly get up and sneak out to come help me with Miss Newborn or just to come talk to me. But no, he falls sound asleep, can't hear any crying coming from Miss Newborn, washes no bottles, does no feedings, and ends up sleeping soundly most of the night. This was not the plan. But to end on a more positive note, he did make us a lovely burrito dinner last night (hence, the refried bean explosion), and took Little Guy outside to play after work. Pardon the crankiness. I guess I do need sleep despite the huge 8-cup pot of coffee I made just for myself this morning. Anyone want to bring me a venti caramel macchiato or a vanilla latte?

5 Comments:

Blogger Suzanne said...

Oh, those early days are so hard. I would love to know how some men can sleep through a baby crying at night -- or perhaps it's just the knowledge that mama will always be awakened, so there's no need to get up.

Hang in there, Camille!

4:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks, Suzanne! It really is a comfort knowing there are people out there who can totally relate. :)

5:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's amazing how clueless men can be sometimes, isn't it? I don't think they intend to be that way, there's just something in their genetic makeup that makes them sometimes not see the little (but important) details.

Too bad Starbucks doesn't deliver, eh?

11:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lesley-Yes! That's what it is--clueless. He has no malicious intent at all, he just doesn't realize what's going on around him sometimes. And yes, I wish Starbucks delivered in times like this. Or when a baby is sleeping in the carseat, I wish they had a drive-through window.

8:16 AM  
Blogger CM said...

Hi Camille! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I can relate -- my husband can be a big help with the baby, but I learned way at the beginning of our cohabitation that if there's a mess I have to clean it up because he just doesn't see it. It's frustrating now that the baby is here. I can ask him and he'll do it, but who wants to nag their spouse all the time about chores? But then, of course, the crankiness -- when you only have two hours between feedings, cleaning the kitchen counter isn't high up on the list of things you want to do.

4:33 PM  

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