My
first two children were excellent sleepers. They had been sleeping through the night, for the most part, from the time they were around 2-months-old. They would sleep through anything and they would sleep anywhere. I thought this whole “baby sleeping” thing was a piece of cake.
On the off chance I had a “bad” night, the next day when I would talk to my friends, who had babies who refused to sleep at night. I would say things like, “Oh, I so know what you mean. My baby woke up twice last night!!”
Now that I have had a baby of my own who refused to sleep, I marvel at my friend’s self-control for not punching me square in the face after I muttered those words.
After we welcomed baby number 3, I thought I would never sleep again. He is, what I like to call my little “no-sleeper,” meaning he said, “No!” to sleep no matter how hard I tried. I would try to put him down and he would scoff at my feeble attempts. In fact, I think he had a timer that knew the exact moment when my head would hit the pillow because as soon as I quietly laid down I would hear his distinct cry.
I would listen to my friends talk about how their 3-week-old slept peacefully through the night, while my “no-sleeper” still woke up every 3 hours at 11-months-old. Don’t get me wrong, I really didn’t mind getting up at night to nurse a baby. Babies wake up at night, that’s what they do. It’s their rite of passage. However, this fact did not make the days any easier when I was trying to function on such little sleep.
Being exhausted for so many months on end is physically and emotionally hard. I walked around in a zombie like state. Some days my brain felt both equal parts overly-caffeinated and utterly exhausted. Who knew those two could co-exist?
Now that we have finally {fingers crossed} turned the corner in the sleep department, I thought it would be a good idea to offer up some friendly suggestions on ways to encourage the tired mom. We all have tired mom friends, and if you so happen to be the tired mom, I feel ya! I have been there, you are so not alone, and this too shall pass.
5 Easy Ways to Encourage the Tired Mom
1. Ding-Dong-Drink – Get your fellow mama friend her favorite caffeinated beverage of choice. Drop the drink off on her door step, ring the doorbell, and run.
2. Free Cleaning Lady At Your Service – Laundry, dishes, and vacuuming is not a high priority when you are running on little to no sleep. Offer to come and help her do a little cleaning. (Make sure to offer in a “I want to help you” way, not a “Wow, you live like this?” way) It’s amazing how much someone doing something as simple as the dishes can make such a big impact on a tired moms day.
3. Let her catch some zzzz’s – or take a bubble, or have a Bible study in peace. Let her enjoy a couple of hours to do whatever she pleases to herself. If she is not up to completely leaving the baby yet, watch the baby in her house or just watch the older kiddos!
4. Breakfast of champions – People line up to bring new parents dinners. This is great and extremely helpful! However, breakfast can be a daunting task a couple of months down the road when a person has a “no-sleeper” on their hands. Bring a breakfast dish over the night before that can easily be reheated in the morning, or drop it off at their door when you are certain everyone is awake!
5. A friend is a friend indeed – Be there for her to go to when she needs encouragement and support. Sometimes a tired mama doesn’t need to hear advice or tips (chances are she’s tried them all). She just needs a friend to vent to in the hard times, and a friend to rejoice with her in the good.
How do you help your fellow tired mamas?
Has anyone ever helped you when you were struggling with exhaustion?
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,
just as you are already doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
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