Newborn Mamas...

The one thing all mom's-to-be hear is "get ready to never sleep again!" or "catch up on your sleep now, because after the baby is born you won't get any!" plus many other variations of! I am here to tell you that it is only a partial truth!

It really doesn't have to be so terrible as a new mom. With all the things I had heard over the years and all the "advice" I was being given about not sleeping, I was terrified!

Honestly, the only time I really lost sleep when my son was still brand new, was when I was too distracted watching him sleep! Would you like to know how I did it?

With all the research I did while I was pregnant, I learned that EVERY pregnancy and EVERY child is completely different. So, first off, I decided to not listen to what other people were telling me was going to happen FOR SURE with MY body and MY child. I, then, made the decision that I was going to co-sleep with my son.

Making the decision to co-sleep was a big deal, as I knew I could potentially get a lot of backlash on it, but I KNEW it was what was going to work the best for me and my son and I was right!

The second part to that was coming up with a system for night-time feedings. The first week or two was a little tricky due to the fact that his stomach was still so small that he needed to eat every two hours or so, but once his stomach expanded a little bit, we nailed down our system!

As I was exclusively breastfeeding my son and he HATED bottles, it was up to me to feed him at night. I did some research on the different ways other moms were breastfeeding their babies, mainly positions, and found the one that worked for us. (I would wear a comfortable nursing bra to bed and sleep on my side, so when he got hungry he would roll over and latch on—neither one of us really waking up)

The last part is... BED TIME!!! I have never set a specific "bedtime" for my son. I am a very strong believer in "my body knows what it needs and will let me know when it needs it" and I feel like this goes for little people as well. If he is hungry, he will eat; if he is tired, he will sleep.

Sleep is an interesting thing; I have learned that if the body needs it, it takes it. From day one, I have always let my son sleep when he falls asleep and be awake when he is awake. I always watch the time, so that I know how much sleep he is getting, but other than that, I give him "free rein" over when he sleeps and for how long.

The only times he has EVER woken us up several times in the night were when he was teething, or ill, and even then it was only for a moment as he searched for the cuddle and would then go right back to sleep.

Now, like I mentioned earlier, EVERY child is different, so what I have done, may not work for you, however, I will end off by saying that I think co-sleeping can be EXTREMELY beneficial in a child's development as they NEVER wake up alone and, therefore, have no need to cry out in the night looking for Mama or Papa.

Hope this helps :)

OH! And please keep in mind, that not every night is a good night, and tricks that work tonight may not work tomorrow night. Stick with your gut and just "know what you know" when it comes to handling your own kiddos! You're the parent and will know innately what to do with your own child :)