An Open Letter to all sleep deprived parents
"The days are long, but the years are short."
I had no idea what this phrase meant, until I was forced to understand it as life with a child began the cycle of sleepless nights and frequent naps. Here you are, up for the 2nd (or 7th time) in the night feeding/rocking/burping and thinking..."they said the days are long... but what about the nights???” Cue the insanity…
Yes, those first days, nights, weeks, months are l-o-n-g. The nurses don’t come home from the hospital with you and show you how to care for your newborn. Babies don't come with an instruction manual (or return label), and they certainly don't come with any sort of internal clock that even hints at a circadian rhythm. So, here is my unsolicited advice to you, my dear sleep-deprived friend: have a plan to teach your new little family member the art of sleeping.
That's right, learning to sleep is a skill, one that must be taught… Prioritizing that skill by creating a schedule is one of the healthiest and most liberating things you can do for yourself and your family. Schedules exist so we can plan, right? Right. So, once your baby is on a schedule, then you can plan to rest, shower, or even GO ON A DATE!
