You know the famous saying every new mom hears when leaving the hospital: “Sleep when the baby sleeps.” Yeah, right.
This morning I woke up at 2:30am. That’s her first wake window, after a 4–5 hour stretch of sleep. I did the routine: diaper change, feed, burp, back into the bassinet.
But instead of drifting off behind her, I was wide awake.
I usually scroll while she nurses, just to keep myself awake (so I don’t drop her…a very real concern for new moms). But this time, my mind raced with all the “important” things I’d been avoiding.
• A Facebook post idea → written and scheduled.
• A digital business card for a client → created and sent.
• A quick shower before guests arrived → squeezed in.
By 4:30am, she was awake again for another feed. I scrolled YouTube this time and actually found a gem: “Old Habits Die Hard | Integrating the New You With the Real World.” Not time wasted, at least.
By 5:30am, she was asleep again, and I finally drifted off with a thunderstorm sound in the background.
But at 7:13am, my son woke me up with a cheerful “Good morning, Mom.” And just like that, I was up for the day. Guests arrived. School drop-off. Diaper run. Homework help. By 6pm, I was ready to collapse.
But Miss Baby Lady? She wasn’t ready for sleep.
And so I’m still awake.
Motherhood feels like a cycle of giving away pieces of myself, but somehow, I’m still standing. My body, my mind…they adjust, even when I think I can’t. I know it’s difficult. I know you’re giving it all you’ve got. You’re going to find your rhythm. Just keep going.
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