Sleep Like a Baby!

One minute I'm full of energy; feeling like I can complete the 101 things on my to-do-list before lunch and still have time to get some shopping in and perhaps get my nails done. The next minute I am moody - irritated by life itself - because I'm fighting off sleep and loosing the battle miserably! Welcome to the life of me: a parent with a new born!

You know that feeling of waking up fresh and rearing to go in the morning... no? Well neither do I!  (If you do know the feeling, chances are you don't have a new-born to care for, chances are... you don't have kids!) I have forgotten what on Earth it feels like to wake up fully re-charged and ready to take the world on! All memories of being rudely awoken by the 5am alarm and then repeatedly hitting snooze for an hour before stumbling out of bed and getting ready for work, has been well and truly erased.  I am now accustomed to the piercing cries of a human that has only been on this planet for 30 days: that is my wake up call / alarm. It's an alarm with no snooze button! Don't you ever wonder how such an unpleasant sound can come from such a cute looking bundle of joy? I can't be the only one that wonders such thoughts... 

Anyway, if you can relate to the feeling of tiredness and you're a parent feeling like you are running on empty it's ok! Tell guilt to get lost. You are not a robot. It's normal to feel this way at times... just make sure you don't feel this way all the time! I encourage you to do what you can to ensure you get some rest incorporated into your crazy schedule. Here are my top 5 tips that help me:

1. Sleep when baby sleeps - the dishes can wait. 

2. The dishes can wait - do what is most important, don't try to do it all!

3. Accept support from family and close friends. Let grandma hold the baby if it means you can put your feet up for a while. Heck, let grandma do the dishes!

4. If you have a toddler or school aged children in the mix, then Cbeebies & CBBC are your friends! Let the kids load the dishwasher too (if they're old enough). If they can't... the dishes can wait!

5. Power nap! 15 minutes here and there (when you can) means the difference between being mum-zilla and super-mum for the day. You may just have enough energy for the dishes =)

All in all, do what works for you! There is no right or wrong way of doing this parenting thing. Do what works with your family and ignore those that don't help by dishing out negative comments... just like I ignore those that complain about the dishes that I evidently don't do in my house! 

I hope this helps you! Please share with another mum or dad - hopefully they are not too sleep deprived to read it! =)

Instagram - Poetry:         Evangeline_the_poet

Instagram - MumLife:    Being_mum_being_you