Sleeping Through the Night

I completely understand. I have had my share of sleepless nights. They do not end when the baby starts sleeping through the night. With this in mind, I feel compelled to respond to a blog I read earlier today. In this blog, the writer talks about counting the hours away to get through the days as a new mom. I am not sure why I feel so compelled to respond–

Maybe it’s because I never have enough time with my own “babies”–

Maybe because the one who screamed non-stop for three months (as her older brother knocked over everything in sight and climbed every wall he could see at 19 months old) grew to become the most loving, patient, beautiful young lady I could ever imagine–

Maybe because I went back to work full time when the youngest was only 4 weeks old–

Maybe because every time one has stopped nursing, I wished for just one more sleepless-cluster-feeding-endless-night– Or maybe it’s because I had to say goodbye to one before she (or he) could survive–

Or maybe it’s because the last thing the doctor said to me before I met my third child was, “If we don’t deliver her now, we ARE going to lose you BOTH”–

Maybe it’s because I spent too many hours “counting the hours” when my second baby was born–

Maybe it’s because waiting for the “baby” took much, much, much longer than I ever thought it would–

Or maybe I just KNOW how hard it is to get through a day without complaining, because I have four “babies,” and they do not always bring out the best in me. Sometimes they do. Thankfully, they decorate the walls of my office with artwork recreations of the best of my moments instead of my worst.

Without a doubt, if there were one solid piece of advice I could offer every new mom, especially if the new baby is her second (yes, adding the second baby was the MOST difficult), this would be it:

Stop complaining about sleepless nights, dear sister, precious friend, tired mother. There is someone, maybe even someone you know, who would trade many barren years for every single one of your sleepless nights. Never forget how excited you were to learn that you were about to become a mom, and never forget how relieved you were to exhale with the final push that brought your sweet baby into your arms forever.

For more encouragement take a look at this http://fiveintow.com/2012/03/01/counting-the-hours/