The Problem with Sleep Shaming
I don’t know any mother (even a first timer!) who goes into motherhood expecting to get 12 hours of beauty sleep when their little bundle of joy enters their life. We all know that things are about to change drastically, at least for a while. We understand we will be up in the middle of the night caring for a newborn, probably feeding every couple hours, and changing diapers. No big surprise. Especially for exclusively breastfeeding moms (like I was), our willing spouses are not even able to help as much because we are the solitary food source. Most notably during the “fourth trimester,” when babies are still getting used to life outside the womb and their needs and wants are the same thing, we have to be as responsive as possible. (more…)