07-10-2008 - SLEEP - the REALITY

My mood while writing this blog: tired!

Okay, I am just going to put it right out there - nothing can really prepare you for the REALITY of becoming a parent!! SLEEP is a perfect example. I know that almost every single first time parent out there, myself included, has thought to themselves "it can't be that bad" when other parents tell us that you need to get all the sleep while you still can! I know all of the pregnant women say what I said - "I CAN'T WAIT to have the baby, so I can finally sleep" and "At least when the baby is here I can acutally be comfortable enough to sleep!" and when it comes to feeding, "Well, I get up every hour as it is right now to go pee!" Let me tell you, I will be the first to put it out there - it is SO much more difficult after the baby arrives! So, "it can't be that bad"??? Let me tell you pumpkin, it IS THAT BAD!! Here is the catch - yes, you ARE so much more comfortable and you CAN fall asleep - but the kicker is, YOU DON'T HAVE THE OPTION TO SLEEP!!! What can be worse than actually FINALLY being able to sleep, and not being able to! Because NOW, you have to wake up to feed the baby!!! I remember some of the first few nights I would literally cry, because I was SO tired, and it seemed as soon as I fell asleep, the baby was ready to eat! Sure, you get up to pee every hour while you are pregnant - but then you can go lay back down. NOW, you have to wake up to a crying baby, change his diaper, grab the Boppy, feed for 20 minutes to an hour (breastfeeding), try to get him back to sleep, and when you finally get to lay back down, what do you know, it's time to do it all over again!!! BUT HERE IS THE REWARD~ yes, it is difficult to adjust to, but you WILL adjust because there is no way around it. Just remember that this is your precious little baby, and no matter how much he screams, how long he cries, how many times he poops right after you just changed him, or how much sleep you lose - you are the ONE person in this world that he knows will make everything better - he is your heart and you are his!!!