Trust Your Intuition

Sleep in their own bed.

On a hard surface.

No pillows or blankets.

On their backs.

How about, I’ll take sleep when, where, and how I can get it??

There are as many schools of thoughts on how to properly care for a baby as there are babies.

Co-sleep. Never have a baby in your bed. Breast is best! Formula-feed so the other parent can participate. Let him cry it out. Snuggle that baby close. Sleep train. Never let that baby cry himself to sleep.

Is it any wonder mothers feel overwhelmed and helpless during the first few months (years) of parenthood? I’m a seasoned parent and I’m overwhelmed.

Here’s the thing: every single baby is different. You can have 8 kids, or you can be holding your first. That baby you have in your arms is unlike any other baby on this planet. The best thing you can do for that baby (and for your own sanity) is to let your baby lead.

Your baby will tell you what they need. If you let them.

The biggest mistake I made with my daughter was trying to fit her into my expectations of what a baby should be. I thought I could put her in her bassinet and she would fall asleep. I naively believed that infants just eat, sleep, and poop – and that those things would happen on your time. Turns out, she was an infant that needed endless cuddles and wouldn’t sleep unless snuggled close to my body. We co-slept for four years. Four years I would never take back.

This little guy? He’s a baby I can put in his bassinet and he falls asleep – at night at least. During the day, he wants his snuggles. He wants to be close.

And every so often, he awakes early in the morning and needs a little extra loving, so I snuggle him close and let him fall back to sleep in my bed.

Parenthood never goes the way you imagine it will. Trust in your ability to love deeply and listen to your baby. She will lead the way.

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