The sleep deprivation that comes along with new babies changes your brain. It changes your life early on. You go into survival mode for a while. Add on breastfeeding, cluster nursing, and small ppl who can’t differentiate their cries, you can easily unravel.
Nothing really prepares you for the obstacle course that is navigating mommyhood on 2 hours of sleep. All the wonderful plans that you made before the baby arrived can EASILY go out the window. Some of us try to say this, but there’s no way to understand until you go thru it yourself.
Whew. Them cluster feedings were something else. I just needed to revisit that. I am amazed that I made it thru 2 yrs of breastfeeding for both kids. As I think back on that, I do not wanna do that again. While your in it, you just handle it. When you have enough rest to reflect, you can appreciate all that you’ve accomplished.
I recognize that many of us have kids. Every. Single. Day! I get it. But truly, what we accomplish is still astounding. No matter if we work, stay home, have one kid, have multiples, have a spouse, have in-laws, have parents to take care of, have friends, have no support…it’s a challenge. I don’t care how effortless some moms make it look, there’s repeated obstacles. I know how much work it takes to make motherhood look effortless.
The other day, I walked thru some snow. Some places the sidewalk wasn’t cleared, but other ppl had walked that way though. You could see the tracks. I just walked on the same steps. It helped the journey. Mommyhood is similar…at times. Some things you can learn from other moms. Some things you’ll learn along the way. But if you’ve built a network of other moms, there’s someone that has walked the path. And many will help navigate the process. 🙏🏾❤️🙌
