Sleep When the Baby Sleeps...

Says the mom who apparently and clearly has an enormous village to herself caring for her & her baby's every need. I'm kidding and not at all bashing mothers who truly could and can sleep when the baby sleeps, (my husband is upstairs right now napping while our son sleeps-I still wish I had it I me to do just that [he also woke up at 3:45 AM to go to the gym before Jack & I woke this morning so, I will give him that]) but gosh if it were that simple. And as they grow older and naps become fewer and far between, it just gets that much harder to do, if you're trying to balance spending as much time as you can with your awake babe.

I remember in the very early stages of motherhood-let's say the first 6 weeks-ish, I would be able to AT TIMES do this, probably more so on the weekends than anything when my husband was around. But for those of you who can sleep when the baby sleeps, I would love to know how you do it!

I am not saying I do not have a fantastic village behind me. I truly appreciate the help and support that my family offers to me when they can. But quite honestly, all week for three months it was me and little Jack with daddy leaving early in the morning to go to work and coming home late. Mama was responsible for all things home- (he helps a lot more now that I am back to work) cooking all the meals, laundry, bills, researching and purchasing all things baby as needed, cleaning (I have a cleaner also come once a month which helps so much with this aspect-if it's in your budget I highly recommend finding someone you trust during your third trimester or before baby comes for that peace of mind and one less fight with your partner) oh and taking care of a tiny human all the while AND producing his only source of food and nutrition. The first 2 months I was also exclusively pumping only-meaning I was glued to my breast pump every 3 hours and the best time to do that was, you guessed it, when he napped (until he woke up unexpectedly making it a whole fucking THING and I'm running around with this box-like thing and tubes hanging and trying to soothe him with bottles attached to my teets so I can just at least get 15 minutes into this pumping session-that happened more than I like to admit).

I am digressing over here, but what I am trying to say is, do not let Great Aunt Martha make you feel like it's SO EASY to sleep when the baby sleeps, and that it's all just peaches and roses and unicorns. Because it's fucking not. It's hard. You pick and choose, and you do it with your child in mind. But it IS okay to choose napping or sleep over your housework that you are feeling guilty about right now. Mama, if you are abso-fucking-lutely exhausted, take the damn nap. The laundry can wait, the dishing can get done later. But gosh is it hilarious that society thinks that that's just an absolute option for all moms out there. It's not. If it is for you, great! I am thrilled for you, truly. Because I hate to think that anyone would have to struggle the way I did and so many new moms that I know. But if you're alone like I was, and still often am (mornings, pickup & dinner time til daddy gets home) I get it, and you are NOT totally alone, because I get you and I am here for you!

xo Courtney