Everyone always says, “make sure you sleep before the baby comes”, or “say goodbye to sleep”. But you soon find out that it’s not just when the baby comes you end up with restless nights. It’s those last few months of being pregnant that you soon find yourself tossing and turning and up every 5 minutes running to the bathroom.
No one warns you about the sleepless nights before you have a baby. In the movies it’s always after the baby comes where parents looks exhausted. Movies always make things look much more glamorous or, not so glamorous than real life.
You can’t rely on that information when it comes to real world situations. No matter how bad you want to be one of those moms who look like they have it all together. Trust me when I say, you won’t have it all together 100% of the time. You will get a little glimpse of what together looks like, then it’ll all fall apart.
It feels like motherhood is just constantly trying to put those pieces back together to somehow mirror the thought of togetherness.
But really, what is together anyways? If your kids are happy, and you are happy, you are doing a great job. So give yourself some slack if the dishes have sat for a few days or that laundry has piled up over the last week, or month in my house. Take those few minutes baby is down for a nap to just relax yourself. Your sanity will thank you.
So how to cope with no sleep?
Sleep When Baby Sleeps
Have you heard this saying before? Everyone always says it, sleep when baby sleeps. Its so much easier said than done. 
Baby sleeps in the car, on walks, while your getting groceries, or anytime you can’t seem to get to a couch or bed to sleep yourself.
It would be pretty great if we could fall sleep in those places too. Imagine it, while your driving, or pushing the cart at the grocery store, snoring away. Paints a bit of a funny picture, doesn’t it?
If that were at all possible then we wouldn’t need help on this topic, would we? Instead, were forced to find time in among other things.
The term sleep when baby sleeps is really just a blanket term, not literal. Or at least that’s how I see it. Take it as, let the dishes pile up and take a nap with baby.
My little girl only naps a whole 30 minutes at a time, unless we sleep together then she can go a lot longer.
Let them nap with you in bed, even if you feel like you can’t actually sleep. Sometimes all you need is to lay there with absolutely nothing going on. Leave the TV off, put the phone on silent, and just lay there.
Be Selfish
Like I was saying earlier, it’s so much easier said than done, right? Letting everything go is something you have to actually be OK with doing. Letting chores around the house pile up while you take time for yourself.
Be selfish. Letting everything pile up is OK to do when you have a newborn, infant and toddler all the way to teen. It is necessary.
Letting everything pile up is a hard topic to grasp. Why would you think abut yourself when there’s so much to do around the house. Your partner works all day while you’re at home sleeping? That doesn’t seem right.
WRONG. It’s so completely right. You carried that baby, or maybe you didn’t. But the truth is, you are up with baby at all hours of the night. You are their main source of survival. You are what provide them with life and make sure they have everything they need.
You, you, you. Sounds exhausting just reading that, doesn’t it? Well it’s 100% more exhausting living it. You, as a parent deserve to take time for yourself. So take it!
Read a book, take a nap, surf your phone, or drink your favourite cup of coffee. All with your feet up. Read about all the best coffee for a new mom here. When your partner gets home for the day, or maybe a family member or friend comes over, give baby to them and just turn your brain off for a bit. Even 10 minutes can sometimes be enough to recharge your inner battery.
Effects of No Sleep
There are so many negative effects to not sleeping or getting enough rest. A few of these include:
- High Blood Pressure
- Diabetes
- Heart Attack/Failure or Stroke
- Obesity
- Depression
- Reduced Immune System
- Lower Sex Drive
These are only a few of the effects of no sleep on your body. You can read more about sleep deprivation here.
As a new mom you are already at risk for postpartum depression. Add in no sleep and your chances of getting depression increase so much more.
You may not even know you have it, depression is tricky like that. It shows up in so many forms, some of them being:
- Mood Swings
- Fatigue
- Poor Concentration
- Loss of Interest in Anything
Take Care of Yourself
Its extremely important to take care of yourself, and your mental health. You don’t want to be in a battle of Survival of the Sleepiness. You will lose 100% of the time.
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