Isaac woke up screaming to be fed at 1am, exactly a month after we heard his baby wail for the first time. Delighted. Chris and I celebrated this milestone by snapping at each other in the wee hours of the morning. No, we actually celebrated with a day of groggy, sleep deprived $ucce$$: the movers finished carting off our belongings, we cleaned for tomorrow’s final inspection, and—most importantly—Chris picked Isaac’s passport and Consular Report of Birth Abroad from the US Embassy in Tokyo!! Happy one-month, baby—now we can take you to America!
Also, in further success, I wore my pre-pregnancy fat jeans in public for the first time post-baby. In un-success, Isaac has decided to stop sleeping for three-hour stretches at night and wakes up all Mr. Fussypants at 90-minute intervals. I haven’t slept more than an hour and a half in five days. So when Mr. Wiggly-kick-you-in-the-stitches-Fussypants comes calling he is sometimes accompanied by my acquaintance Ms. Vicodin.
Anyway, this has been a crazy month (photo: Isaac the day we brought him home from the hospital). Isaac has been to Yokosuka, Tokyo and Kyoto and has lived at home and now in the BOQ on base. He met Grandma, took his first train ride and got his first passport. We celebrated our third Japanniversary in Kyoto just days before moving out. And I am in such desperate need of sleep I’ve turned into an anti-social grouch.
Anyway, this has been a crazy month (photo: Isaac the day we brought him home from the hospital). Isaac has been to Yokosuka, Tokyo and Kyoto and has lived at home and now in the BOQ on base. He met Grandma, took his first train ride and got his first passport. We celebrated our third Japanniversary in Kyoto just days before moving out. And I am in such desperate need of sleep I’ve turned into an anti-social grouch.
Isaac goo-ed and grinned up at Chris and me tonight after dinner. “How could anyone not love that smile?” fawned Chris. “I know!” I gushed, “…Except in the middle of the night, when it feels like he’s mocking you.” Chris agreed: “‘Try to sleep now, suckers!'” 
Besides his blossoming ability to smile and giggle, Isaac can almost hold his head up (photo: Isaac at one month). He can look around, make eye contact, squeeze your fingers, and flash gang signs with his startle reflex. Sometimes he smiles or sticks his tongue out after I do. And Chris and I figured out why we’ve been at odds (understatement) since Isaac arrived: “I’m in pain all the time, I’m never well-rested, and I’m completely overwhelmed with the move,” I told Chris. “So I’m super frustrated, but when the baby’s crying and crying, I can’t be mad at him—he’s a baby; he’s supposed to cry. But I can be mad at you for any number of things that wouldn’t normally bother me.” “So true,” said Chris, nodding. That is probably obvious to normal people, but in this month’s fog that seemed like quite an ah-ha moment for us.
Besides his blossoming ability to smile and giggle, Isaac can almost hold his head up (photo: Isaac at one month). He can look around, make eye contact, squeeze your fingers, and flash gang signs with his startle reflex. Sometimes he smiles or sticks his tongue out after I do. And Chris and I figured out why we’ve been at odds (understatement) since Isaac arrived: “I’m in pain all the time, I’m never well-rested, and I’m completely overwhelmed with the move,” I told Chris. “So I’m super frustrated, but when the baby’s crying and crying, I can’t be mad at him—he’s a baby; he’s supposed to cry. But I can be mad at you for any number of things that wouldn’t normally bother me.” “So true,” said Chris, nodding. That is probably obvious to normal people, but in this month’s fog that seemed like quite an ah-ha moment for us. 
And here we are at Kyoto’s Heien-Jingu Shrine last weekend, adding to the chaos. What were we thinking? We were thinking we wanted Isaac to have seen some of the country he was born in before it’s too late, I guess!
Riding Japan-easy and the Angel in the Pink Scarf
Oh Snow!
Winter’s Budding Hope
Happy Girls' Day!
The entire summer after Lilia was born is still a zombie blur to me. I now refer to it as my time in the trenches. I was THE anti-social grouch. Who is happy when they are only sleeping an hour and half at a time? Chrissy used to come over in the evening and I would kick her out at 7pm so I could try and maximize my cumulative sleep. Ha! It gets SOOOOO much better, though. When you get stateside and are around family, pump a bottle and hand your little angel off for at least 6 hours. He will be fine and you will be AMAZED at what a little CONSECUTIVE sleep can do for you. You will look back at all of this and laugh someday. Laugh and cry, but mostly laugh. He is so handsome Mari! I'm so glad his passport came in time!! Can't wait to see you guys!!!
I would say a new baby AND a trans-Pacific move would have anybody overwhelmed to say the least. It gets waaayyyyy better and once you are settled into Pensacola, things will fall into place.
I used to DREAD night time because we were up all.the.time with feedings and pumping. Then it slowly got better. Once we added solids into the routine, Naomi started sleeping through the night…. I guess I would be starving by 3am if my belly was the size of a golf ball too 🙂
you are going great Mari! We are all in that grouchy way after the new babies. Nobody holds it against you and that part will fade away with all the good times! I hope to see you before you go!
I'll echo the others and tell you what you already know (intellectually, if not emotionally, at present). It will get better. Everyone's different but I found the first seven weeks the hardest. And the first month was the hardest by far. Hang in there.