Oh you’re having a baby! Enjoy all the sleep now as you won’t be sleeping much soon.. Better bank up those sleep-ins now…
We all know firsthand that newborn sleep is a wild ride, some of us are blessed with little ones who sleep like angels, and some of us not so much. But what we don’t always know heading into motherhood is how much anxiety can be caused around sleep, and how it can impact a mother's postpartum-anxiety / postpartum-depression (PPA/PPD).
Becoming a māmā (first time or not) is a huge change, and whether you had a dream pregnancy or even a dream birth PPA/PPD can hit, and hit hard. For me, I didn’t know I had PPA/PPD until someone asked me and we did a quiz online, I was just living out what I thought was a normal adjustment to motherhood. Little did I know I was sinking further and further, living in a daze, breastfeeding was going wrong but I refused to give it up, it’s natural right? We as mums want to do what's best for our little ones at any cost, but when that cost is your own mental health I promise you making changes is the best thing you can do.
For me and my family it meant putting my son on the bottle - and on formula, it meant letting people in, asking for help, asking for company, letting that guard down, being open to medication and counselling so I could be the best version of me and the best mum, and once I did, the light began to slowly trickle back in.
The sleep deprivation was real, running parallel to everything, one more thing I felt like I was failing at, wanting to make changes but having too much anxiety around sleep and… I hate change! Reading endless different things online, but too overwhelmed to do anything, spending endless nights up every 2 hours, co sleeping, laying next to the cot with airpods in watching a show waiting for my son to stir not long after putting him down, lost with what to do but too scared to ask for help. Somehow during this I stumbled upon Amy, watching story after story, thinking surely this is magic, my boy is too far gone for this but wouldn’t it be nice. Being braved I booked a discovery call, and the first thing Amy said to me was, ‘You are doing nothing wrong’. When you are full of sleep anxiety this is one of the most beautiful things to hear. My husband was not sold on ‘paying someone to do what we can just do’ but I knew where I was at, and I needed, and wanted that 1-1 support, for someone to tell me what to do, when to do it and how to do it so that we could thrive as parents. So after convincing my husband fast forward a month, and guess who had a little one sleeping in their own room, in their own cot and napping like a champ? WE DID!
Never be ashamed of how you are feeling, your feelings are always valid and I promise you, you're not the only one out there feeling the way you do, it’s okay to ask for help and support, whether it be around PPA/PPD or sleep support. Motherhood is a wild ride, but remember people around you want you to thrive and want to help - just like we do here at Little Dreamers!
If you're seeking some support and guidance and want someone to reach out to in a safe space we highly recommend Louise Wattle from Wattle Psychology.
If you need some sleep support and you are ready to make a change our team of experts are here for you! Book a discovery call and let's chat about your little one's sleep and how we can help your family get the rest you all need to thrive.
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