[Lilly's Mommy]

Oh the memories! When DD was a newborn I said so many times, "IF I make it through this, I will NEVER do this again!!!!" The lack of sleep alone really undid me too. There could be something very real to the fact that we don't have the discomforts of pregnancy to prepare us for the night wakenings. As a fellow "10 hour" sleeper, a few hours here and there was pure torture. That alone zapped my coping mechanisms down to nill.

The witching hour crying was also the time I needed DH to step in. I just couldn't take it. I felt so guilty, but he handled it better than I did. I would actually put in earplugs and sleep from 7-10pm, and then take over for the rest of the night, since DH had to work the next day. Like I said, I felt guilty, but without those few hours of sleep, I could NOT face the rest of the nighttime hours. Would that be possible for you on the nights your DH is home?

I share my experience because it helped me so much to know that others had felt the same thing. These forums were great sounding boards for the struggles of new motherhood and adoption. I hope you'll find the same support.

(Ironically, the other post I made today was about the fact that we're considering a second adoption, so I must be the insane one! If we do, you can encourage me when I'm crying, "What have I done?????!!!!!!")