I am! I wonder how my body can function after the cumulative lack of sleep I’ve experienced since my first child was born. Anyone else in the same boat? If you have little ones under four years old, I am going to guess that is a loud, “Yes!”
I came across a study that revealed the stats on how Americans spend their time on average, on a given work day. The study included Americans with kids. I was shocked that the time spent sleeping on average was 7.6 hours. Those lucky people! I would say my average is 6 hours a night, but the sleep occurs every 1 to 2 hours at a time. The night goes something like this….wake up, feed baby, go back to sleep. Repeat.
My husband and I went to a parenting class before our first child was born. I remember the instructor said, “You will be sleep deprived but the bliss you will feel when you hold your newborn will be what gets you through.” PLEASE! I thought that sounded strange at the time and my experience tells me she was trying to make the reality of the deprivation positive.
In the spirit of my blog, my attitude and perspective about parenting, I will do the same.
Sleep deprived we are and will be for some period of time. Is it fun? Nope. But, instead of trying to bask in the “bliss” of it all, I look at the time spent in the middle of the night comforting my little ones as time well spent. It helps them get the sleep they need. It helps them feel secure, comfortable and inevitably helps them develop the sleep habits they will use in the future.
“Bliss” is not exactly how I’d describe the lack of sleep, rather the sleep I do get on occasion is blissful.
Stephanie Lema 