Sleep Support (For Moms)

To say that these last two months have been difficult would be an understatement.

Let me preface by saying that I've always been a person who has enjoyed their sleep. I'm told that I slept 8 hrs a night since day one upon being brought home from the hospital. My mother says I never had any sleep issues and made having a baby seem super easy. Growing up, I was always the first to fall asleep and last to wake at slumber parties. In high school, I went to bed at ten in order to get a full 8 hrs (if not more) before waking to go to school for a good parking spot the next day. In college, I decided early on that "all nighters" were not my thing. I was always wanting to leave the bars early to go home and just sleep. During my pregnancy, I napped at least once a day. I love love love sleep.

Of course, those days of taking sleep for granted are over.

I'm not writing this blog to be bitchy or gain pity or sympathy. I've simply noticed in all my searching for help and advice that there's a big lacking in motherly support. There's plenty of places to go where sites are telling you what's right/ what's wrong, what works and what doesn't, what's safe and what's not.

I'm simply here because I've tried everything that I'm personally comfortable with and none of it has worked. I'm still sleep deprived, baby isn't resting well, husband isn't resting well, and we are completely out of ideas. This blog is for those in that position with me.

You are NOT alone.

This is a hard concept to grasp when you have just laid your head down for what feels like ten minutes. Just long enough to start to feel the wonderful relaxation of sleep start to fall on you and pull you into dreamland. Then you hear your child calling out for you desperately again. You go in, and you do whatever it is you do to try to soothe, or put him/her back to sleep. My routine, which varies, usually ends with me rocking her. While I'm doing this, I play games online (currently on level 26 of Candy Crush....), I chat up who ever is online ( thankfully my brother in law is up at this time overseas a lot, along with fellow mommies), and I scour through Pinterest for crafty ideas and recipes that I'm sure I won't have the energy to try for some time.

There's something about nighttime that can be incredibly isolating. Plus it is really hard to find people that understand how hard every day is when you aren't sleeping. Every task becomes daunting. My days are pretty much spent recovering from the night before. Which also means I'm not exercising, not really getting out to see other people, and watching way too much Netflix.

So to the mommas out there who feel like they are at the end of their ropes, just know that you aren't alone. Surely if you are awake for the umpteenth time at 3am, so am I. So if you want to chat, cry, or bitch about how exhausted you are...hit me up. The only thing I've realized that really helps right now is talking about it with someone who understands. THANK GOD for my understanding husband. Because if he ever accused me of being whiney or bitchy, I think I'd lose my ever loving mind.

Not sleeping is hard. Not having anyone to talk to about it is harder. TALK to someone.

(P.S. HUGE thanks to my mother, MiL, husband, and my husband's amazing RN cousin, Lindsey, for being my support when I felt like I couldn't get up another day. You guys are my rocks! Elise and I love you all!)