Growth spurt

While Clive was in Hong Kong Cat went through a growth spurt. Or at least I am explaining the difference in her behaviour as the growth spurt, it could’ve been something totally different. Instead of waking up only once during the night as she did for weeks, she was waking up at least three times. During the day I, by that stage used to her predictable 3-hourly feed-play-nap pattern, was totally bewildered by her 20-minute naps (the usual ones are almost exactly one or two hours); demanding cries and desire to feed often. By the end of the day exhausted by our lack of synchronisation with each other I was grateful to bath her at seven o’clock and put her to bed for the night. I even cheated once or twice and put her down as early as 6:30. Then after simple dinner and quick read of blogs and emails I would collapse into bed myself at before 9pm only to be woken up a bit later. After few days of this I felt so extremely tired and downhearted, but the memories of the first few newborn weeks kept me going. During every one of the 10-20 minute night feeds and nappy changes I had to remind myself about the first weeks when it would take at least one hour to feed, change and rock her to sleep. How did I survive the total lack of sleep during those weeks plus the stress of having to learn so much in such short period of time? I remember having full-on hallucinations at the end of the first week due to sleep depravation. The first 4 weeks are just a blur of feeding, nappy changing, incredulity at being someone’s mother, ecstatic happiness, worry, tears and laughter. I’m grateful for all the hormones that were flowing through my system as I think they kept my mood high and to my husband, who somehow managed to survive those weeks without the help of the hormones and remained loving, supportive and helpful. Consequently I’m now more appreciative of having to wake up only once during the night again.

Since I spend every day with Cat her growth remains unnoticed to me until something triggers the reminiscence of her newborn tininess – a photo, her old clothes, a sight of her in her cot or her body compared against Clive’s.

Photo from 13 December compared to one from yesterday: