I Go Back In

“I was in the National Guard, and I was trained with sleep deprivation, and that doesn’t compare to how little sleep you get after having a baby.”

I stared back at my coworker with fear and anxiety in my eyes.

My pregnant belly and I were just passing by in the hallway and in return we got this unsolicited story about how little sleep I would be getting in the first year of my baby’s life. I let out a half-hearted chuckled and made some trite remark,

“So I’ve heard. I am doing all the sleeping I can now.” Then, I walked away and probably sobbed a thousand tears.

As it turns out, a lot of people like to warn new moms-to-be how drastically their lives will change in the sleep department.

Well-intentioned, I am sure, but as if I didn’t have enough (food) on my plate to begin with, I now decided my life mission was to learn all I could about baby sleep.

I bought books. I read sleep experts’ blogs. I acquired DVDs. I took classes. I downloaded music guaranteed to soothe a baby. I took detailed notes. I briefed and trained my husband like we were preparing for battle.

And it worked! Our son was born and immediately we began implementing what we learned.

Sure, we had our fair share of exhausting days and even more exhausting nights, but I could not be more thankful for these sleep experts and all the wisdom they bestowed on us.