This Thursday, for my "what I've learned" post, I am going to attempt to explain two things that can be kind of hard to understand before you have children. I often need a clear picture of something to understand it. And if anyone reading is anything like me, hopefully this post is helpful.
SLEEP
I know that I am not the only person who wondered about sleep before having a baby. You hear it a lot when you're pregnant, "Get sleep now because you won't get it later"... (as if sleep is just something you can store up on and go into your storage unit to pull out when you need it later). The point is that it often doesn't make sense before you have children how hard it is to get sleep. I mean, the baby sleeps A LOT, right? Young babies sleep at least 15 hours out of the day. So, just sleep when the baby sleeps and you shouldn't be short on it.
Here's the hold up and why, for me personally, sleep has been so hard to come by. Imagine settling in to your warm, cozy bed. Your eyelids are heavy and you just can't wait to sink into bed for a peaceful night's sleep. You've entered the euphoric state of dreamland feeling blissful when suddenly..an alarm clock goes off out of nowhere. It won't go off on it's own, so you have to get up and turn it off. But it can take thirty minutes or more to turn it off.
When you go back to bed, you've now been startled out of your peaceful state. And you don't feel like you can go back to sleep because what if that alarm goes off again? Something in the back of your mind is constantly thinking about that alarm and can't stop. So, you really cannot mentally relax fully; thus, what sleep you do get is not that refreshing.
Before the first day of school, most teachers can't sleep. There is too much excitement or anticipation for what the day will hold. I'm sure the same is true before starting a new job, going to an interview the next day, etc. Just imagine always feeling like that every night. That is exactly why I have found sleeping is so hard with a baby. My mind will not stop thinking about him (which is a good thing). Even when somebody else is watching my baby and I KNOW he is in good hands, I still have "what if it needs me?" playing in the back of my mind.
Plus, it would be fabulous if I was rich enough to have a maid, nanny, housekeeper, etc. so I really could sleep whenever the baby slept. But, sadly, I am a commoner and my house would be in total disarray if I slept whenever he slept. Plus, I'd never get a shower or eat. So, just in case anyone else was wondering what makes sleeping so hard when you have a young baby who sleeps a lot, maybe that helped make sense of it. I know I would have appreciated an explanation beforehand. :)
I don't mean to make it sound like a burden--it's just one of the ways life has changed for me since having a baby.
GETTING OUT
You hear about parents who talk about having a hard time getting out of the door with little ones. Again, this is one of those things that might seem like it would be pretty simple. Grab the baby and go, right?
Well, I'll spell out a typical day for me trying to get out of the door with the baby
1.) Feed the baby, burp the baby, feed the baby, burp the baby (takes somewhere from 20-30 minutes and even longer with a brand new baby)
2.) 5 minutes later...EXPLOSION...change the baby
3.) Is the diaper bag together? Do I have wipes, a change of clothes, diapers, etc?
4.) Put the baby in his car seat...dang it...he just spit up everywhere
5.) Change his clothes
6.) Since he just spit up, he's hungry again
7.) Feed the baby again
8.) Put the baby back in the carseat, grab my purse, grab my keys, grab the diaper bag
9.) Out the door..Who knows what time this would be, but I have to make it back by nap time or else I will have one cranky baby on my hands.
And this is on a day when perhaps he isn't all that fussy. Those days, we just aren't going anywhere because he will scream no matter where we go.
You do learn a thing or two about preparedness to make it easier to get out of the door. But one thing I've learned is that babies are unpredictable and sometimes you just can't be fully prepared.
BUT I wouldn't trade seeing his sweet little face every day for anything in the world!
SLEEP
I know that I am not the only person who wondered about sleep before having a baby. You hear it a lot when you're pregnant, "Get sleep now because you won't get it later"... (as if sleep is just something you can store up on and go into your storage unit to pull out when you need it later). The point is that it often doesn't make sense before you have children how hard it is to get sleep. I mean, the baby sleeps A LOT, right? Young babies sleep at least 15 hours out of the day. So, just sleep when the baby sleeps and you shouldn't be short on it.
Here's the hold up and why, for me personally, sleep has been so hard to come by. Imagine settling in to your warm, cozy bed. Your eyelids are heavy and you just can't wait to sink into bed for a peaceful night's sleep. You've entered the euphoric state of dreamland feeling blissful when suddenly..an alarm clock goes off out of nowhere. It won't go off on it's own, so you have to get up and turn it off. But it can take thirty minutes or more to turn it off.
When you go back to bed, you've now been startled out of your peaceful state. And you don't feel like you can go back to sleep because what if that alarm goes off again? Something in the back of your mind is constantly thinking about that alarm and can't stop. So, you really cannot mentally relax fully; thus, what sleep you do get is not that refreshing.
Before the first day of school, most teachers can't sleep. There is too much excitement or anticipation for what the day will hold. I'm sure the same is true before starting a new job, going to an interview the next day, etc. Just imagine always feeling like that every night. That is exactly why I have found sleeping is so hard with a baby. My mind will not stop thinking about him (which is a good thing). Even when somebody else is watching my baby and I KNOW he is in good hands, I still have "what if it needs me?" playing in the back of my mind.
Plus, it would be fabulous if I was rich enough to have a maid, nanny, housekeeper, etc. so I really could sleep whenever the baby slept. But, sadly, I am a commoner and my house would be in total disarray if I slept whenever he slept. Plus, I'd never get a shower or eat. So, just in case anyone else was wondering what makes sleeping so hard when you have a young baby who sleeps a lot, maybe that helped make sense of it. I know I would have appreciated an explanation beforehand. :)
I don't mean to make it sound like a burden--it's just one of the ways life has changed for me since having a baby.
GETTING OUT
You hear about parents who talk about having a hard time getting out of the door with little ones. Again, this is one of those things that might seem like it would be pretty simple. Grab the baby and go, right?
Well, I'll spell out a typical day for me trying to get out of the door with the baby
1.) Feed the baby, burp the baby, feed the baby, burp the baby (takes somewhere from 20-30 minutes and even longer with a brand new baby)
2.) 5 minutes later...EXPLOSION...change the baby
3.) Is the diaper bag together? Do I have wipes, a change of clothes, diapers, etc?
4.) Put the baby in his car seat...dang it...he just spit up everywhere
5.) Change his clothes
6.) Since he just spit up, he's hungry again
7.) Feed the baby again
8.) Put the baby back in the carseat, grab my purse, grab my keys, grab the diaper bag
9.) Out the door..Who knows what time this would be, but I have to make it back by nap time or else I will have one cranky baby on my hands.
And this is on a day when perhaps he isn't all that fussy. Those days, we just aren't going anywhere because he will scream no matter where we go.
You do learn a thing or two about preparedness to make it easier to get out of the door. But one thing I've learned is that babies are unpredictable and sometimes you just can't be fully prepared.
BUT I wouldn't trade seeing his sweet little face every day for anything in the world!
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