A night in the life of a Mom

The last few weeks Joshua has been having less of the painful bowel movements he had been experiencing.  He has been on antibiotics to help control bacterial growth in his intestines.  I do not know if the antibiotics are the reason the bowel movements have been less painful for Josh, I am just so happy he has had some relief from the daily painful poops.  Less pooping does not necessarily equal more sleep for Mom, however. 

To give you an idea of what I mean, last night went like this:

1:00 AM - I make it to bed an hour later than normal because I decided to spend some much needed time with David.  Some days it seems like we are strangers passing in the hallway since our schedules are so different.  We hang out on the couch talking and I reward myself with a few glasses of my favorite wine.

2:15 AM - I am rudely awakened by one of Joshua's pumps alarming.  There is air in the line so I need to remove the tubing from the pump and thump it until the air bubbles go back up into the bag of fluids. 

2:30 AM - The pump is working again.  Now it is time to warm Josh's 3 AM bottle.  I climb into bed and drift off while I wait for him to wake up.

3:00 AM - Josh wakes up promptly for his bottle.  He poops while I am feeding him.  When I go to move him back to his side of the bed, I realize there is poop everywhere.  I scrub Josh's back, change his diaper, his whole outfit, and the blanket he is sleeping on. 

3:30 AM - I have Josh settled back to sleep, but it still is not time for me to lay back down.  I have to pump for half an hour. 

4:00 AM - After putting my milk up and making a feeble attempt to wipe the poop off my sheet, I crawl back in bed and think about the fact that Josh will be waking up in less than two hours for his next bottle.  It's 4 in the morning and I have only had an hour of sleep, this is not shaping up to be a good night.

5:25 AM - Josh wakes up crying and I jump up to get his bottle warming.  I fall down next to him and try to console him while the bottle warms.

6:00 AM - Josh has eaten, but now he is babbling up a storm and not ready to go back to sleep.  I plop him on my chest and hold him still for 15 minutes until he finally passes out. 

7:35 AM - Another piercing beeping rockets me out of a deep sleep.  Josh's lipids have run out early because it took me too much fluid to prime his tubing last night.  Sometimes it is really difficult to get all of the air bubbles out of the line.  I slide Josh off my chest without waking him somehow and get out of bed to turn the pump off and clamp Josh's line. 

8:25 AM - Josh begins to squirm in his sleep and I know I need to get his 9 AM bottle warming.  I drift off while I wait for him to wake up to eat.

9:00 AM - Josh is once again punctual with wanting his bottle.  I change his diaper before I feed him hoping that getting rid of the pee pee diaper will help keep the poop in the next time.  He poops while he is taking the bottle.  Son of a ...!  The poop escaped from the diaper again so it's time for another full outfit change. 

9:30 AM - I have Josh settled, but he is not going back to sleep.  I realize it is time for me to pump again so I couldn't go back to sleep anyway, no matter how badly my body needs more rest. 

9:45 AM - While I am pumping, Joshua lays next to me babbling sweetly away.  He rolls over to hug my leg and looks up at me with the biggest Joshua smile.  My heart melts.  I play peek a boo with him and he squeals with delight.  I marvel at this precious gift I have been entrusted to care for and protect. 

10:15 AM - Time to shake off the cobwebs, strip the sheets, and get ready to soldier through the day knowing I will be doing the repeat of above 12 hours from now.  Because that's what moms do.

I would like to wish an early Happy Mother's Day to all the dedicated mothers of the world.  I consider myself privileged to count myself among you this year.