I know you are tired. Scrap that, I know you are weary to your very core, but can I tell you something? You are one hell of a mom.
I know you dream of the time you get more than a couple of hours sleep at a time, but can I tell you something? You are rocking this mothering gig.
I know you feel miserable some days and it’s hard to hold back the tears, but can I tell you something? Your baby appreciates your commitment.
I know you find it hard to talk about what’s going on. I know you feel fragile and often times, when you do open up, people just want to ‘fix’ your baby’s sleep and suggest things that don’t sit well in your heart, but can I tell you something? You don’t have to pay them any heed. You know your baby. Follow them and your heart.
I know you will go through painful patches of anxiety and doubt as you watch other people with their babies and see how easily sleep seems to come. But can I tell you something? If your baby were theirs, they’d be struggling just as much as you are.
I know you regularly question yourself and worry that maybe it is something you’ve done that has created this wakeful pattern, but can I tell you something? It’s not. You are simply responding to the unique person you’ve created who happens to have an intense need for comfort day and night.
I know you wonder if it will ever end, but can I tell you something? It will. I can’t tell you exactly when but it will, once that tiny person of yours is ready. Our clever little people are biologically designed to grow more independent with sleep in time.
I know you wonder some days if you can go on much longer like this, but can I tell you something? It’s okay to ask for and accept help. We were never meant to do this alone. You matter too and doing what you need to keep you chugging is vital if you are going to be able to keep meeting the needs of your baby.
I know you may be desperate to try something new, but can I tell you something? Be careful who you turn to because not all support is created equal and not all support has both your best interest and that of your child in mind. Ask questions, trust your gut and follow your heart. Don’t be afraid to walk away and look for a more suitable alternative, because they are out there.
I know you think you aren’t doing very well, like a wakeful child is somehow a signal of failure, but can I tell you something? I now know sooooooo many mamas who have had wakeful babies and each one of them is stronger, more compassionate, intensely proud and endlessly grateful for the experience and lessons that baby brought to their family.
Mother of the wakeful baby, it’s time to give the guilt and the doubt a break. If you feel like shit today, feel it. But after you’ve had a big cry and a nice hot shower or a yummy cuppa and vent to a trusted friend, look at that perfect human you’ve made and think of all that is right about them. It may be their winning smile, it may be the way their fingers curl around yours, it may be the sweet milky breath, it may be their contagious chuckle, it may be their chubby arms reaching desperately for you or clinging to your neck.
They are sensationally in love with you. They couldn’t be where they are without your tender loving, time and patience.
It really is okay tired mommy. You aren’t doing anything wrong.
Chin up, shoulders down, deep breath in.
You can do it xxx
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