As the parent of two toddlers and a 5yo, “sleep” isn’t a word I’m familiar with. Unless its in the sentences of “I got no sleep last night” or “I need 12 hours of sleep!”. I certainly never use it to describe that amazing amount of sleep I got last night. And I used to think I was tired with no kids, working a full time job and then gaming during my free time. HAHAHA. I often have daydreams of going back in time and warning myself of what was to come!
Being a newborn is the first culprit. Newborns have a reputation for sleeping horribly, but there is a good reason for it. Their tiny tummies are the size of a cherry when they’re born. I’d be hungry all the time too if my tummy could only fit a teaspoon of food. Once their tummies finally grow and can hold a fair amount of sustenance…they begin teething. Teething was a nightmare for our family. Lots of crying, very little sleeping. Again, understandable since teething is unbelievably painful!
Even if you make it through the first year of challenges, there is always that odd thing that just happens. Night terrors are a good example of one such thing. Bad dreams don’t help. Lets not forget the nighttime potty training phase and them having accidents at 2am that wakes everyone up. Those are extra fun b/c it requires a bedding change, a wash down of said child & getting everyone back to sleep again. Easier said than done!
Once you get through the first year and the odd things…then you get life changes. Any major change messes with their sleeping. A growth spurt, a cognitive leap, moving homes, starting school, a life event such as adding a sibling, so on and so forth. Their sleep once again, goes out the window! My husband and I went through a couple weeks of hell with our oldest (5yo). She was up so much it was like having a newborn again! We never did figure out why, she was just going through something and we were along for the ride.
IF you get through ALL of the early years, the random things and the life changes…you get the stage of independence. AKA: The tween/teen years. Now your just awake because your worried, not because they don’t sleep through the night.
What can you take away from this? That sleep is not for parents. I have yet to hear a mom or dad describe parenthood “its the best time of your life! You get so much rest & relaxation, you never do anything, you get lots of free time to hang out with friends. Its the best thing ever!” While I do agree that it is the best thing ever, it is best to enter into parenthood with the expectation that your mattress is going to miss you dearly, and you, it. You may get to redevelop your sleepy relationship in 10 years if your lucky. Maybe 15. Until then, get used to sleeping standing up.
The post Sleep? I’m Sorry, I Don’t Know What That Is. appeared first on ANU Fertility Consultants.
source http://www.surrogacyincanada.com/sleep-im-sorry-dont-know/
No comments:
Post a Comment