When my daughter was a newborn, and nursing what seemed to be all the time, I had a hard time not being bored out of my mind. During the day, it wasn’t as much of a problem because I had the TV and computer to keep me amused.
At night, especially when she woke up in the middle of the night for an hour long (or more) nursing session, I’d feel like I was going insane. I had one of those pillows that let me sit up in bed, and my daughter slept in a pack & play next to our bed.
I would look enviously at my husband as he slept without hearing our baby cry, while I’d get up to nurse. I was fairly comfortable in bed, but I didn’t want to fall asleep so I was just sitting there staring at the walls.
I really don’t remember how I came across audio books, but I do remember it was a godsend. I started with the Harry Potter audio books, which are wonderful, and expanded my audio library from there. It was wonderful because my mind was able to be engaged while my daughter nursed at night.
Now that she is 2 1/2 years old, I don’t listen to audio books as much. I do when I’m putting her down for her nap and at bedtime. But it takes me longer to get through an audio book now since she does sleep through the night.
I’d recommend audio books for any new mom – there are lots of geeky books to choose from and can be put on an MP3 player. I know that these really helped save my sanity in the early days of my daughter’s life.
I used to watch Top Chef on my iPod during the night 😉 As for audio books – they are perfect when you work fay from home and spend a lot of time in traffic jams (or buses/trains etc.)… Now I’m waiting for my boy to be old enough for fairy tales – I have plenty of audio books with fairy tales as well.
What a great idea! I wish I had thought about that when Punkin’ Butt was little! I should try it now since all she does at “naptime” is yell and scream. Talk about losing your sanity! Great post!
I wish I had thought of that when Miss Impertinent was small. I used to occupy my mind during those night feedings by pondering things. Like… where the heck did Princess Leia get that dress she wore in the Ewok village during Return of the Jedi? Seriously? I mean, when she was packing for the mission to Endor, did she pick that dress up and think, “Hey, you know, this would be perfect if I find myself in a village of short, suede-wearing, sentient teddy bears! I’ll pack it!!”
Yes, I know, but it kept me from losing my mind!!
Audiobooks and podcasts are saving my sanity now and they did when my daughter was born. In the hospital, they kept me company when I was waiting for my daughter to wake up hungry:-) Great Post!
Lol, your post brings memories! Just like you said, during the day things weren’t too bad. Actually, they were good and I caught up on a lot of reading. After a month of trying to stay awake through night-time feedings, I simply took my son to bed with us and nursed him half-asleep. When he was a year old, we listened to audio-books in the car on long car trips. Now he’s 4 and we continue listening to lots of audio-books, but it’s all his choice now 🙂
I love audio books for working out. On long walks they are great, better than music. I have never extended my walk because of a great song but I have added a couple miles to get through a couple more chapters of the book I was listening too.
My sister had the same problem with her kids at night. She did the same thing.