The trouble with sleep...

Ah, sleep. The number one topic on all parents mind. I can guarantee that whenever somebody new meets my bundle of joy, I will get the questions, "How's his sleeping?" Not that I have an issue with this at all because I am excited for the day that I can say, "Oh, he sleeps from 7 til 7, no problem!" Note - this has not yet happened!

Finn asleep in his hospital cot. This was a very rare experience.

When I was pregnant, all my friends who are mums told me, "Start banking that sleep!" and I, foolishly, smiled and nodded. You see, I knew there was going to be sleep deprivation. Everybody knows this. However, I can honestly say that I was in no way prepared for the true reality of this. For all of you non-mothers, imagine your normal sleep. Then, pretend that every three hours you get woken up by a car alarm that goes on for at least an hour. It finally turns off, and then you have the slow slog of trying to get back to sleep. And then it begins again.

So, here are three photos of my darling boy asleep. Asleep on Daddy, asleep on me and asleep in his swing.

"But," I here you ask, "where is the photo of him asleep in his cute little bassinet?"

Well, my dear friends, there are no newborn photos of him asleep in his bassinet. And why? Because he simply refused to sleep in it, unless he was super exhausted from a night of feeding and crying and then he might drop off for a couple of hours. Maybe.

Heard of the fourth trimester? Those first 12 weeks Finn just wanted to be close to me or my partner. And why wouldn't he? He just spend the last 41 (yes, 41+2!!!) weeks in the comfort of my womb (isn't that an awful word?!), so why would he suddenly want to be apart? But, expect to hear this:

"If you let that baby sleep on you/in the swing/on the rug/snuggled up next to you on your boob then how do you expect him to sleep in his cot?"

Well, I will tell you this - my boy slept in all of the above places more than in his bassinet, and he sleeps fine in his cot now. He just wanted to be close to his mama, and I wanted to be close to him.

Don't stress about your baby's sleep in the beginning. As long as they are sleeping, be happy. This is the advice that my midwife gave me, and I chose to follow it. Yes, after 12 weeks I slowly transitioned Finn into more of a routine, and it is working fabulously. However, I wish I had spent less time in the beginning stressing about sleep, and more about being close to my bub. Maybe if I had just let him sleep next to me more, I would have had more sleep myself, and not gone a wee bit crazy from sleep deprivation.

I am still incredibly sleep deprived. Today I napped twice. Twice! Once at 8am during his first nap, and the second when Alex got home from work and I passed out on the couch, drool and all. And I am STILL TIRED.

A typical night for Finn is down to be at 7, wake up anytime between 1.30-4 (okay sleeping until 4 has happened twice but it was miraculous both times and I choose to reflect on those beautiful times with a smile on my face), and then back up anytime between 6-7. At that time, he comes into my bed and we have snuggles, he normally chats away to me and I hover in that awful sleepy/awake phase. Luckily, having boobs works in my favour and sometimes he will fall asleep again on my boob.

So, what is the point of this? Sleep is a precious, precious things that should be savoured forever. I sometimes dream that I have had a whole night of sleep and then I wake up and it's 2.30 and screams are happening in the room next door. Enjoy it. Love it. And, when your baby comes along, prepare to spend every second of your day hoping for more of it.

I am preparing for one time, the first photo will be him asleep at 7pm and the second being him awake at 7am. 

Dreams are free, right?!