Sleep deprivation

I have been pretty open on Facebook about Richie's sleeping. For the first 3-4 months the colic kept Richie (and us) all night long. People told us at 2 weeks it would get better. It didn't. Then they said at 6 weeks most babies mellow out. Nope. Then someone said at 3 months it would change. Haha, not. We literally got up and down all night for months. To soothe, to feed, to change, to rock, sometimes just to put the binky back in his little piehole. The mornings when he would get up and babble like this would drive me nuts.

I lost my temper so many times. I said swear words I normally NEVER say. I screamed into my pillow. I punched walls and laid on the cement floor of the laundry room and cried. Yes, I am confessing all this. Why? Because if anyone of my friends/family reads this, they should know that it's ok. If you've been there, you know. Maybe we scarred Richie for life. I don't know. To be fair, he scarred us. It's amazing how a tiny, adorable, helpless child can make you feel like you are the worst human being on the planet. But it's okay. We survived through it. As a friend told me, through these experiences you build a great reservoir of strength. I hope so.  Sleep deprivation really brings out the worst in good people. It makes you depressed, unsatisfied, confused, etc.

This is how we felt most days for the first 6 1/2 months...

 Since Richie was awake so many hours at night this is what he did during the day on and off irregularly....

 At least, when he wasn't doing this.... (Koda and Porsche are the greatest dogs ever)

 

 

 Also, I found some pictures of Justin and I as a baby (yes, I had flaming red hair for a few months). Richie is such a great combo of us.