The Truth About Parenting and Sleep
When I was pregnant with my first child, who is now ten years old, I was unable to sleep well through most of my pregnancy for a variety of reasons from nausea, insomnia, heartburn, a painfully itchy rash, and other reasons. Complete strangers, friends, and relatives would say things to me like, “You better sleep now, because you are never going to sleep again once that baby is born!”. This caused me a lot of anxiety because, if this was true, then I was blowing my last chance at sleep. Also, this is simply a terrifying thing to hear. Why does anyone say this to pregnant women? While I have some ideas on why people say scary things to pregnant women, it seems most important here to share the realities of parenting and sleep. The Truth The truth is that, as a parent, you are a parent all day and all night. This reality changes your relationship to the type of activities you engage in both during the day and night. This may seem obvious, but it …