Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Last night was, easily, the best night we’ve had so far! What makes this declaration remarkable is that it was immediately preceded by, without question, the worst night we’ve ever had.

The night before last was hideous. I slept from around 1:45 am until almost 4 am, and then only got two 20 minute naps after that…all day. She wanted to feed for looong stretches at a time, but would get fussy and restless while feeding – pulling off with her head, pushing off with her fists, squirming, and generally just refusing the breast. Then the second (the second!) she got off of it, she would start munching her mouth and bobbing her head to find it again. I was so tired and we were having so much trouble…I was bawling (and so was she), and I even contemplated giving up on breastfeeding altogether (a shocking statement for me).

However, we went to the breastfeeding support group at the hospital yesterday, and between the lactation consultant’s advice and wisdom and Allison’s encouragement and tips, I got talked down off the ledge. Poor Allison – she talked to me on the way to the group, and she didn’t get any further than, “How’s it going?” before I started crying. She’s awesome, though, and talked me through it. It’s so awesome to have such wonderful, supportive friends.

Oddly enough, though, our great night followed a change in our normal schedule (or perhaps not oddly enough, who knows?). I’ve only left her twice since she was born, and the first time was with my mom. I’d been wanting to see this amazing concert for-ev-er, and of course I trust my mom to take care of Cora, but it was still excruciating to leave her. She did beautifully, by the way. The concert, in case anyone is interested, was banjo player Bela Fleck and a fabulous group from Uganda that he had recorded with before. Awesome concert. Worth it!

Anyway, the second time we left her was last night…also for a concert. Lyle Lovett and his Large Band were here at a local pavilion – pretty intimate venue, really awesome artists – how could we resist? So, Andy, Jen, Coleman, and I went to the concert (loved it!), but since my mom is back home, I had to bring in the reserves: my amazing friend Liza who is a total pro at the mom thing.

At any rate, I don’t know what kind of magic Liza worked, but apparently she was awake most of the night and ate like a horse (I had pumped so she had a couple of bottles of EBM – expressed breast milk…I’m getting this mom lingo down!), so it was a great setup for us last night.

And let me tell you, the world looks different on decent sleep. I’ll even go beyond decent: relative to what I’ve gotten since the little ma’am arrived, this was great sleep! Not only did we have great (if short) feedings, but she slept for a couple of hours at a time – every time! Twice I even had to wake her for feedings – can you believe it?!?

And I certainly needed it. Either God heard my desperate prayers or Cora knew I couldn’t keep up much longer like we were going…or both, but I’m telling you, I needed one good night of sleep and good feedings. Needed, I say, and anyone who saw me yesterday could have told you that.

I don’t know what phantom baby I had the night before last, but my sweet little girl is back…and improved. This may just be a fluke night, but I’ll take it! Hopefully, though, we’re on track to keep getting better, but I don’t think I have the energy to hope for that. I’ll just keep my expectations low and gratitude high.

Your prayers are still coveted, though. We still need them!