After Giving Birth: Part.1 Sleep Like A Bear

You have prepared for birth for nine months,  gone through the labor pains, pushed and puffed;  finally bringing your much anticipated bundle of joy into the world...what now??

After recently giving birth to my fifth child I have been savoring this precious, short time with my newborn.

It really goes by too quickly!( Just like everyone says!!) Babies just like everything else, don't stay new very long!

This is a difficult but wonderful time; learning to care not only for your helpless newborn but yourself as well.

God has made our bodies amazingly adapted for not only carrying life inside of the womb but also outside. But sometimes we forget this and second guess the natural gifts he has given us for mothering.

The animal kingdom is often better  at listening to their God given instincts then we are.

Here are a few we can take notes from:

My husband and children are witnesses that when mama doesn't get her sleep; she is one grumpy mama bear. You do not want to mess with her!

After going through the glorious but painful experience of birthing a baby, you are going to be extremely exhausted and  weak!

Get as much rest as you can!  The first few days after birth are critical to your sanity! You are going to need to hibernate!  Not only are you tired but your baby will be also. So take advantage of this time and sleep like there's no tomorrow!

I know you are thinking, "Sleep?? What's That?? I didn't know you could sleep after having a baby??" But the truth is, you can, especially the first few days after birth. Of course all babies and births are different but chances are they are going to be sleeping the day away, if not the night. It might not be exactly when or how you want it to be, but it will be sleep.

I know everyone and their brother wants to see you and that precious babe but don't be afraid to regain some of your strength before accepting visitors.

Since I suffered from insomnia most of my pregnancy I was actually looking forward to having the baby so I could sleep again! I think God was just preparing me for getting used to less sleep.

Most people think that people who have a lot of kids have them all at home but I have had all my babies in the hospital. My husband and I like that I am able to have a natural water birth with the comfort of knowing if anything went wrong, we are already at the hospital. I have to admit I think the reason I keep going back is that I really enjoy the extra rest I receive there.  I think I slept for almost two days straight after giving birth. Though you get poked and prodded quite a bit its so nice to be waited on hand and foot and not have to move from your bed.

 I have been very close to going to a wonderful birthing center in my area but the thought of having to leave after a couple hours after birth made me stick with the hospital. I know once I am home there will be a million things for me to tend to and I rest much better away from all the  things and people calling me to take care of them.

If you do have your baby at home and have other children to come home to I recommend if possible to get grandma and grandpa or close friends to care for them for a couple of days. Then Daddy can give you and the baby his full attention.

There are many schools of thought on where the baby should sleep but I believe you should do what feels best for and your baby.

I prefer to have the baby in bed with me the first couple of days. Not only to be as near  them as possible but because they have easier access to their feeding source...Me! I find that I sleep better when I feel them breathing next to me or else I keep waking up and checking on them to make sure they are okay. When I feel comfortable I start putting them in the bassinet when they fall asleep and when they wake up bringing them back into bed with me for the rest of the night. I find that swaddling them helps tremendously for keeping them asleep longer.

With your first baby it is a real shock to be sleep deprived because its never happened before  but I found that I could still get a lot of sleep during the day when he slept. I loved napping with my little guy next to me breathing softly.

Fast forward eight years and to baby number 5 and things have changed quite a bit. I don't know if I have gotten used to being sleep deprived or have just learned how to handle it better?




( Found this on Pinterest)  Make that 5!

I know everyone says to let things pile up and just sleep  during the day with the baby but if you have a big family like mine it's really hard to do! Believe me, I have tried to go to sleep with all the laundry piled up in my room but tired as I was I just couldn't fall asleep! Its like I am on a adrenaline rush!  Thinking about all that has to be done, dreading opening the door of my room to all the other messes that await me, not to mention my other very noisy children that I can hear through my paper thin door keep me awake. So if you are like me, put that baby in a sling, catch up on what you can, accept help or ask for help from friends and family. Then plan for Daddy to take the kids out and sleep...sleep...sleep!!!

If not, then by all means push the laundry off the bed and find a clean spot and crash!

Even if you don't get all the sleep you need, and you probably wont for a couple of months, its amazing how resilient God made our bodies!

There have been nights when the baby wakes up and I don't know how I am going to budge from the bed!  Somehow I do and once I am cradling that sweet, small frame I feel supernatural strength, joy and purpose, thanking God for once again entrusting me and my husband with this precious new life.

I might be lagging in the morning, with deep, dark, hollow circles under my eyes, groping for the coffee, wishing I could sleep for 12 uninterrupted hours straight. You know the kind of sleep where there is a pool forming on your pillow from the drool coming out of your open mouth. The kind of sleep you day dream about where you  finally fall into deep REM  sleep. But  if you can't,  make do with what sleep you do get and ask God to once again  to give you strength to somehow make it through another day and know this time is really so short.

linked up at mama moments monday

If you are already a mom how do you find creative ways to get sleep and how do you cope without it?

Not a mom yet? Do you have plans for your sleeping arrangements?