The Sleepless Challenge

by E-NewsCast Team
March 12th, 2010

For me, it was “welcome to motherhood”. Ready or not, I was infor a wonderful experience. But my first challenge was toovercome the first few months of literally no sleep. It was myfirst baby, and I felt the pressure of doing everything “justright”. I wanted to be a perfect mom. But I quickly learned thatparenting was going to be a lifelong journey and that I wouldmake plenty of mistakes along the way. After stumbling out ofbed frequently for middle of the night feedings I’d wake uparound 6 a.m. to my newborn crying a joyful solo for yet anotherfeeding. After about three weeks of this, and then another monthI was completely worn out! Following a cesarean section, Iimmediately thought I could be Supermom, Grand InteriorDecorator, and the House Cleaning Company all at once, and ofcourse I thought I could simultaneously juggle theresponsibilities of a baby that I was so certain would sleepthrough most of the day and night. After a few restless nights,and having noticed that my sweet infant was rarely sleeping atall, be it night or day, I began to really wonder about her. Wasthis going to be the norm? Did infants really stay awake forhours at a time demanding a feeding every hour and half? Was Idoing something wrong? I couldn’t help but wonder if thispattern would ever end. I’d read all the many parenting articlesthat tell you when your infant should stop waking up sofrequently and begin sleeping peacefully through the night.Well, I dare say that my little one kept waking up again andagain for nights on end. After a few months I began to think Iwas the only mother out there suffering from severe sleepdeprivation! Of course, I knew that I wasn’t REALLY the onlyone, but it sure hits home when it happens to you. My young oneis now an active toddler, and things have definitely improved asfar as her sleeping habits go, but I learned quite a few thingsduring those seemingly never ending nights of sleeplessness anddays of extreme fatigue. If I had to do it all over again, Idefinitely wouldn’t have tried to be the Grand Interior Designerand the House Cleaning Company (and following a c-section atthat)! Here are some handy tips that I should have used and willkeep in mind when I have my next baby:•Rest, rest, rest! Okay, it sounds trite, and while pregnantyou’ve probably heard everyone in the world tell you to rest,but once you’ve given birth it’s even more important that youstill adhere to the resting phase the first few days you arehome from the hospital. I can’t even begin to explain how muchrest is needed after a cesarean section…but in either type ofdelivery, your body needs time to recuperate, so take it easy.What does resting mean? It could mean using paper plates sothere are fewer dishes to wash. It could mean having a friend orrelative come sit with you a few hours a day and help you aroundthe house (which is especially helpful if you have other youngerchildren). And if you have older children, it could mean havingthem help out with more chores around the house. Most of all, itmeans to just let some things go. The dusting doesn’t have to bedone right away…perhaps it can wait a few more days, or weekseven. • People say to sleep while the baby is sleeping. Well,that didn’t work for me, mostly because I was attempting to getthings done around the house that I couldn’t do efficiently whenmy daughter was awake. So here’s what I say: REST while the babyis sleeping. Sit down, take a break. Schedule that time, andgive yourself at least 30 minutes to do absolutely nothing.•Thicken baby’s milk. I breastfed my daughter for severalmonths. In the beginning nurses were telling me that breastfedbabies need to get fed more often because breast milk apparently“goes right through” their systems. After my daughter was a fewweeks old they gave me the go-ahead on thickening her breastmilk with rice cereal (about a teaspoon full). It did wondersfor her nightly waking ritual. Instead of waking up every hourand half she slept about two hours longer than usual. I saythat’s good for mom and baby! Of course, check with yourpediatrician first, and again, there are differing views onthickening baby’s milk, so do (or don’t do) what you feel isbest. •Breastfeeding mothers take a break. For mothers whonurse, I highly recommend pumping so the baby can be given abottle by other members of the family while you rest up.Breastfeeding is a demanding job and takes quite a bit of energyreserves. Did you know you burn approximately 500 caloriesduring one nursing session? That’s equivalent to the amount ofcalories I burned on the treadmill a few days ago. So there’sanother reason for you to take a breather. •Take your prenatalvitamins. Keep taking these. You’ll need them, especially duringthis time of recovery. Your body needs all the minerals andvitamins necessary to boost your immune system and promoteoverall health. You’ll be glad you took them daily. •Continue toeat for two. If you are nursing, this is an especially importantconcept, since you’ll need to eat enough to keep your milkreserves flowing. It’s very easy for postpartum women to want tobegin dieting right after giving birth. However, the healthiestchoice is to simply continue the intake of nutritious foods, andto eat enough to keep your energy levels up, because you willdefinitely need energy in the wee hours of the morning! Inaddition, doctors recommend that postpartum, nursing womenintake anywhere from 2000-2400 calories per day. So eat, and eathealthy. •Keep others in your life. Don’t ever feel alone orisolated. If you don’t have relatives nearby who can help, seekfor help within your community: churches, civic groups and nonprofit organizations, as well as friends. In addition, there area host of online communities and discussion groups specificallygeared toward pregnancy and parenting issues that are helpfulfor new moms.Most of all, do the things you like to do most: read, meditate,write, and work on crafts. Do something you truly enjoy everyday for as much as you can. With time, your baby will startsleeping through the night, and one day you will realize thatyou can finally catch your “z’s”.Demetria Zinga is the founder and owner of www.faith-media.com,a technology and consulting firm which specializes in web designand hosting, graphics and print designs, internet marketing, ande-training. She is also the founder of www.christianladies.net,an interactive ezine, blog, and podcast for Christian women.

Popularity: unranked [?]