Starting to Deal With Sleep Deprivation

Most parents are sleep deprived when their child is first born, I was fortunate to not have this problem. I was the parent who got to brag how well my daughter slept. From day one at home she would go to bed at 7pm and not get up until about 2am. Within two weeks she was sleeping 7pm-7am. I was in heaven as I had no idea what it felt like to be sleep deprived. I couldn't relate to other first time parents in that way at all. I had a boss that came to work looking like a zombie for weeks because his son wouldn't sleep. On the inside I was smirking a bit because I was so blessed.

Well that all changed in October 2013...when I took my 3 year old daughter and we moved out of my marital home. We stayed with a friend where my daughter had her own room...but it wasn't "her" room and she wasn't comfortable. She was scared to be without me in any way.. So for about 6 months I was up every couple of hours with her screaming for me, or running down the stairs and cuddling with me on the couch. I was barely sleeping a few hours a night. I finally started to realize what sleep deprivation felt like for new parents.

My hope was when I purchased my new house in March of this year that she would start sleeping better. I made her room the way she wanted, and gave her a big girl bed. No matter what I did, nothing worked perfectly. Sleep is hit or miss with her, most nights it takes me 2 hours to get her to fall asleep...lots of stories and singing and cuddling. I don't mind these things by any means...it is more of the 2am wake up calls. Sometimes she doesn't have a reason as to why she woke up.

What I have started to realize more and more is how divorce affects a child...she doesn't even consciously know this is what is happening. She constantly asks questions that led me to this. I use to get angry when she wasn't sleeping, I had no idea how to deal with it. The more I have researched and looked into it, the more I have learned to go with the flow. I don't care what people say, if she comes in at 2am and needs cuddle time with mommy I am going to give it to her. Sometimes she needs that extra reassurance and love to know she matters and to know she is still my world.  I chose divorce, so now I have started to learn to deal with sleep deprivation so that my daughter can have the comfort she needs.

There is no handbook or instruction manual on what is wrong and what is right. All I know is sleep deprivation is a small price to pay for my child to know how much I love her and how that will never change even if her parents relationship did. She is an amazing child...and I have learned sometimes I need that cuddle time just as much, if not more, as she does.