Pregnancy and Lack of Sleep
I’ve never felt more unprepared for anything in my entire life.
I’ve performed in front of hundreds of thousands of people, interviewed movie stars, and even appeared in national ad campaigns, but nothing had ever been more exhausting, exciting, overwhelming, and as confusing as having a baby.
I read all of the books and talked with dozens of moms, but nothing on earth can prepare you for the lack of sleep, constant crying, and realization that your life has completely changed and everything is now totally different and it will never be the way it once was.
I had lost my mom to cancer the week I found out I was pregnant and after a pregnancy that included 5 months of 24/7 morning sickness, roundabout ligament pain, and weight gain that required me to wear my husband’s clothes, I thought there was no way that having a baby could harder than that. I was wrong. Having a baby is not something your can train or study for simply because every baby is different.
Each person I talked to and every book I read left out many of the feelings, fears, and frustrations that I was going through and that made me feel alone and ashamed of these thoughts that I couldn’t control. My hope is that you be able to identify with some of the same feelings, fears, and frustrations I had and not feel as though you are all alone or a bad person for going through these things.
The prayers and verses are included to help get you through these three “F’s” and to give you hope and strength during the most difficult (and wonderful) change of your life!
SLEEP-DEPRIVED
Lack of sleep is an understatement, becoming a mommy is absolutely exhausting. I can joke about it now but I was so tired that I felt like I was losing my mind! My grandma has always said that “there is no tired like baby tired” and I now know what that means and no one on earth can prepare you for the lack of sleep you are going to experience. You are feeding your baby every 2 to 4 hours now and even when you are asleep, you are worrying about your newborn.
This is were trust comes in. The Lord knows our hearts and He knew our baby even before we thought about having a family. My advice is to repeat this verse before you go to sleep to remind and reassure you that God is in control.
Helen Greer is a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer for CollegeScholarships.org, a website with tips and advice about college scholarships for women.