What To Expect With A Newborn And Your Sleep
As you know, I love to share about honest motherhood experiences, so here you go- when it comes to sleeping with a newborn, the STRUGGLE is real folks.
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YOU’RE NOT ALONE!
#TEAMNOSLEEP
It’s expected for new parents to feel absolutely drained from a lack of sleep the first few weeks (or months) after bringing a newborn home from the hospital… but I don’t think you can fathom this type of exhaustion, until you’re in it.
It’s pretty well known that newborns don’t sleep through the night from day one, which is completely normal; however, we are probably not used to that type of schedule.
AKA, not sleeping at all.
And quite frankly… it’s brutal, it hurts, and it will throw you for a loop.
Physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally.
Dragging yourself out of your cozy bed every other hour is trying. Every single time. You are already SO sleep deprived, you’re healing it usually feels like you just closed your eyes to go back to sleep.
Being a parent takes a huge amount of sacrifice and selfless love. And it starts from day one.
The GOOD news is, it will get better eventually and you’ll learn so many new things about yourself and your partner during this time too.
Our Experience:
Bringing our first child, Jaxson, home from the hospital was the start of those lovely dark circles that formed around our eyes. Honestly, those first few weeks (or longer) are a little blurred due to the delirium.
As a new mom, there was SO much to learn, which was also accompanied by a great deal of anxiety.
As soon as Jaxson would wake up in the middle of the night, the whole process would begin. And after finally getting him back to sleep, I would almost worry about how much time we had before we were back up again to feed, change, swaddle, etc. He also didn’t nurse well for the first month and developed some colic, which contributed to our lack of sleep.
Let’s just say, we felt like we were drowning in it all and I was and wreck.
I was emotional, moody, forgetful and was starting to develop sleep disorders because of it.
There was also the worry of his well-being that played into the sleeplessness. Is he warm? Cold? Hungry? Is he breathing? Does he need a new diaper? Etc! I remember countless times that I would wake up in a panic to check on him because I didn’t know if he was breathing or needed something.
This part was just NOT enjoyable. .
In seeing our struggles, my mother-in-law gifted us the Owlet. This little device tracks heart rate and oxygen levels while your baby sleeps. It’s basically a sock that your baby wears for monitoring. There’s a separate base that you can put next to your bed and a little alarm will go off if there are any issues or drops in either heart rate or oxygen level. You can also track other sleep patterns! This gave us so much peace, in knowing our little one was being monitored all through the night.
But, it still took a while for us to adjust to having a newborn in our room. Jaxson and I are both light sleepers so if he made ANY type of sound, I’d wake up and vice versa.
Developing the “mother’s ear” seemed like a blessing and a curse. I honestly felt like I just wasn’t sleeping, which is obviously not healthy.
#Mamaneedscoffee
Over time, it got better. We learned what worked best for him, got him into a routine (somewhat because they’re always changing), and he eventually figured out how to nurse normally.
Despite all of the sleepless nights, tears, and breakdowns, it’s obviously well worth it. I LOVED my sweet new baby. I LOVED being his mom and the new role I played in life. And I’d do every sleepless night all over again if I had to.
Nothing can really describe a mother’s love. It’s what keeps us going day in and day out. When you become a mom, you realize just how strong and selfless you have to be.
And want to be.
You’ll give every ounce of yourself to care for child and give them the best life possible. It’s a natural instinct and such a beautiful process.
Your children will teach you something new everyday. They’ll change you forever- in the best ways possible.
A PIECE OF ENCOURAGEMENT
To the exhausted, worn down, and SLEEPY Mamma-
You WILL get through it!
You are TOUGH and made for this.
The dark circles under your eyes will begin to fade.
You will sleep through the night again (along with your baby).
It takes time. Be patient.
It won’t always be enjoyable and easy- and that’s OKAY!
If your partner, family and/or friends offer their help, TAKE IT!
Give yourself GRACE and know that you are NOT alone in this.
Leave a comment below! we're all in this together.
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♥ Jax