Every baby’s sleeping habits are different. So why did I think our situation would be just like everyone else?
My daughter is a happy, energetic 7 year old- She rarely gives us trouble and really, she’s always been like that. Whenever I share my ‘when she was a baby…’ tales, I tell people that I didn’t go through any ‘challenging new mom phase’. Which is true. Sort of. But then I look at pictures of myself during that time and realize how challenging it actually was. What’s the term people tend to use – ‘death warmed over’? That was me.
Tired doesn’t describe how I felt. Sure, it was a joy being a new mom experiencing all of the wonders of a newborn but when it came to sleep, we just couldn’t find a routine that worked. And as result, none of us slept much.
We tried everything.
We swaddled her tighter than a drum (she likes to sleep like a starfish!), we tried the cry-it- out method (I think I cried harder than she did), we tried the ‘rocking & shushing’ method to make her feel like she was still in the womb (I got a headache – she got motion sickness). And because she didn’t sleep, I didn’t sleep. We eventually got into a rhythm but it took almost a year. A full year of little to no sleep. They always say it’s harder than it looks. I wish had listened. I wish I had known.
I wish I had known that when they say ‘nap when they nap’ is advice you should actually listen to. I wish I had known not to stress over about it as much as I did. I wish I had known that eventually we would figure it all out. I wish I had known.
And I wish I had known about the Lulla doll! Granted, it’s only been on the market for a couple of years now so it wasn’t even an option when my daughter was first born, but I sure wish it was. For the past 5 years, our daughter snuggles with her favourite ‘stuffy’ and that is how she finds comfort. And she sleeps through the night. I wish I had known! Had the Lulla doll been around when we went through our struggle, perhaps our story would have been different. Of course, it’s never too late to keep a good thing going...
- Contribution by guest blogger Marnie