Torture

Shall I continue torturing them or have they really had enough?

I am coming out of the haze......

It's been 6 weeks since we slept the night through, and rather than improving, matters had become worse. I've already had my whinge, but in short, just to recap, and simply to vent once more and express the enormity of our situation, let me say that on average I was feeding Poppy 1.5/night and Luke and I were waking another 2-3 times/night, you know just for a cuddle, a chat and a nervous breakdown. Not to mention, only cat napping during the day.

Thank you to a friend that quipped "Poppy may be gifted!" and then quickly corrected herself that in fact, it is one supposedly comforting response to a sleep deprived mother's complaints about her restless child. Not thanks! I don't want a genius child, I just want a sleeper.

So, after sensing a great affinity with the Guantanamo Bay inmates we decided serious action was in order (may I add, Luke had to see me totally lose it before he was convinced). Anywho, 'Hard-Ass Herring' as he likes to call himself, and I (I need no nickname, I know who I am!) embraced some new techniques. In short, we finally unwrapped Poppy (I know - looooong overdue), transferred her to a sleeping bag and prayed that she would finally find her own fingers, rather than insist on sucking ours (ironically, we were the suckers, not Poppy).

Of course, our extreme exhaustion had to clash with some extra curricular work commitments for Luke which meant me doing the first night solo. This is how it worked:
Night 1
1 Hour of screaming and crying*
20 mins sleep
40 mins screaming and crying*
25 mins sleep
1.5 hours whinging and whining
1 breastfeed
4 hours sleep

Night 2
30 mins crying and whining*
11 hours sleep!!!!!!!!!!

= 2 delirious but satisfied parents.

We woke at 5AM amazed, relieved and well with my two mega-tits ready to explode. Now, I do realise that one swallow doesn't make a summer, but it's progress.

*Denotes Poppy was accompanied by me, at first frustrated and emotional, but then, realising the ludicrous nature of our position (ie. created by us)...

In my hours of sitting beside a screaming little Poppy it occurred to me my friend was right - she is a genius, a delicate genius! A little clearing of the throat evoked absolute hysteria, every time she appeared to be down and out, a minor burp or wind massively upset her equilibrium. I feared that the only safe way out of her room was to be harnessed out, a la Mission Impossible style , or otherwise the whole process would have be restarted.

Aside from operation sleep, I'm struggling to remember what exactly it was that filled our days so I'll pick some of the highlights.
-Early lunch with girlfriends and kids here.... was lovely and relaxing and I can't think of a single thing we spoke about!
-Passport photos with Poppy (I'll show the end product when it arrives.... CUTE)
-Mia playing with her favourite boys on a stormy morning (dress ups again!)
-Lunch with my sister and the girls
-Accompanying a friend pregnant with twins to her 6 month ultrasound.... AMAZING!
-Revisiting Jew Wed with a friend. Popped into Glicks, Caulfield Park, & my mum's shop. I spotted enough bad ghetto drivers to fill the MCG twice over, enjoyed some excellent kosher goods and managed to raise adrenalin levels by feeding a pack of highly aggressive geese (at one point had to order Mia to run for her life, or at least to the playground).
- Mia occupying herself for hours by playing with her latest acquisition: Cousin's old Barbie car

I swear this is Mia's independent creation of gangster monkeys complete with bodies in the boot

-Four hours to myself at home on Sunday afternoon. Pure bliss. It took some getting used. Not flinching at every sound, wondering who needs what now? Not worrying about Oscar barking, not worrying! I couldn't sleep so I watched 3 episodes of my new favourite TV show- 'Big Love' and started a painting for Mia.
-And simply continuing to watch our two beautiful girls together!