Open All Night

Oliver and Logan tag-teamed us last night and brought the entire household to its knees. Oliver was up every two hours desperate to nurse. We think he's going through a growth spurt, he's insatiable. Then, Logan woke up at 5 AM screaming for Larry. I think the time change and the excitement of Grandma and Grandpa's visit threw him off. I think there was maybe a 30-minute window last night when nobody was crying.

Coincidentally, last night before all of this happened, we were discussing whether baby #2 is easier or harder than baby #1. I recalled someone telling me the biggest adjustment is from 0 to #1, and that it gets easier with #2. This is true in some respects and very, very untrue in others.

Ways it's easier
1. This time around, we know what we're doing. We're not perfect, of course, but we're much more confident in our baby skills, and that goes a long way.

2. The silver lining of the NICU stay. Logan came home with us just days after my C-section, which means I was still recovering from a pretty intense medical situation while caring for him. With Oliver, the NICU stay at least gave me time to recover physically before he came home.

3. Asking for help. When Logan was born, we were much too shy about asking for help. This time around, because of the NICU experience, we accepted all offers of help from friends and family, and there were many!

Ways it's harder
1. Logan, of course. A toddler requires...uh, demands, a lot of attention. When Logan was a baby we could tag team, with one person getting a break while the other cared for him. With the two of them, it's no such luck.

2. Our friend the oxygen tank. Although it's much better now that Oliver only gets oxygen at night, the tank is unwieldy and instrusive, and makes the night feedings that much harder.

3. The emotional impact of the pregnancy and the loss of Avery. It's easy to think that once you get out of the NICU it's smooth sailing. We knew better. We'll be dealing with the emotional repercussions of this experience for years.