To Hell and Back

As first time parents, Aaron and I are learning as we go.  Poor Penelope has to put up with inexperienced parents.  We are taking things one day at a time and learning new things each day.  

During the night Penelope wakes up every 2-3 hours to have her diaper changed but mostly to be fed.  Oh how I miss those 10 hour sleeps I loved so much.  Since her birth we have had a total of 3 sleepless nights.  These nights include non-stop crying and a baby that just wont settle down.  However the first 2 nights were nothing compared to last night.  And by last night I mean all of yesterday and all of the night.  Penelope hit her 2-3 week growth spurt that the midwives warned us about.  This was the growth spurt from hell.  And I am in no way exaggerating.  She literally wanted to eat non-stop all day.  She would finish eating and as I would burp her she would be viciously rooting around for more food.  This wasn't the cute "Oh look she is looking for a nipple."  She was throwing her head into my shoulders hoping to find a nipple up there.  Screaming when she realized there wasn't anything up there she wanted.  She was grabbing at my tank top and at one point got ahold of my hair and wouldn't let go.  Aaron had to save me from her death grip.  Violent and vicious Penelope.  I sat in the exact same spot on the couch for more than 5 hours and then who knows how many hours in the rocker because Penelope wouldn't stop eating and screaming.  Eating and screaming.  It wasn't only mentally draining but physically as well.  It literally felt like shards of glass were racing through my nipples.  And there was no break, none at all.     

Today we re-watched "The Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD we received from my Aunt a few months back.  Aaron has been practicing the "5 S's" and we are now enjoying a little quite time.  She is finally asleep and we are slowing restoring our sanity.