Motherhood and sleep deprivation (#momlife)

#momlife means everything that a woman experiences throughout her life as a mom. That includes everything from the constant worry about the welfare of your children, to sleepless nights, to balancing work with family. For me, at my stage of motherhood, #momlife has come to mean trying my best to grapple with motherhood and sleep deprivation.

How much sleep does a new mom get? My answer would be a total of 3 or 4 hours per night on a good day and those are not consecutive hours.

How does sleep deprivation affect mothers?

Being sleep deprived can become easier to manage if you put certain measures in place. However, it never gets any easier. Infact, the effects of cumulative sleep deprivation on the brain and body can be devastating and sometimes impossible to reverse. From memory loss to headaches, sleep deprivation can seriously throw mothers for a loop. It does not help that a lot of mothers are completely unprepared for the lack of sleep they experience in the early months especially. Sleep deprivation with a newborn, particularly for first time moms, can be scary and can make you feel like you are losing your mind.

Motherhood and sleep deprivation are inextricably intertwined?

I did say there would be quite a bit of mummy life stuff sprinkled around here. You can’t expect anything else – she’s the centre of my world right now. She’s almost 7 months old, which is just incredible to me. I feel like I’ve known her all my life!

When she’s not being fussy or crying for no apparent reason, I find myself thinking “She’s growing up so quickly!” She’s almost my height already. Okay, I jest, but last month, she was in the 81st percentile for height so…she really is tall. I’m going to have to allow myself to enjoy every moment with her before she’s too old to have me constantly trying to kiss her (maybe she’ll always want my kisses…no?)The past couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about how much she – and all babies – change in so little time. Although she’s always seemed very opinionated, she’s becoming more so as she realises that she can communicate her needs a bit more clearly now. Clearly = shrill screams.

By the time she turned 6 months, she could:

•Reach for things to chew – she loves a good label
•Sit without support 
•Roll in both directions 
•Stand with support 
•Babble to get attention 
•Eat cereals and puréed foods.

The food thing is a big one for me as I like to know that she’s well fed of course. It’s helpful to be able to cross that one thing out of potential needs when she acts like there’s anything wrong!

It’s so easy to get caught up in watching out for these milestone achievements though, especially if you have people around you and apps reminding you of what your baby should be able to do each week/month. Who says? Scientists? They don’t personally know your baby. Attempt to ignore it all sometimes and just enjoy what they CAN do.

There’s a lot for mums of little babies to enjoy. That is how one can overlook how much sleep a new mom gets – you can focus on the special parts of life with a baby and forget the torturous parts. Every moment is special because they’re changing so much so quickly.

Still, it can sometimes just be difficult to enjoy everything when you’re exhausted. I’ve learned these last six months to take it one day at a time. On the more difficult days, I even take it an hour at a time. They say motherhood and sleep deprivation are inextricably intertwined. Reminding myself that every lost hour of sleep (sleep deprivation is a whole other topic on its own!) is worth it for her little four-toothed smiles and giggles.

Of course, this is all a lot easier said/written than done…

READ
9 Best Biodegradable baby wipes that you need to try
Introducing solids to baby: My baby food recommendations
Why you need to give yourself a break, mama

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