mom lying awake in bed because her baby sleeps through the night
New Baby Parenthood Sleep

17 Questions You'll Ask Yourself the First Time Your Baby Sleeps Through the Night

By Kristina Johnson

There are two things that all sleep deprived parents can agree on: one, that we love our children endlessly, and two, that we would also like them even more if they would just let us sleep… ideally for more than 2 hours at a time. Since the day my daughter was born, I can count one hand the number of times that she’s slept through the night. Actually, I only need one finger, because it’s only happened once.

Surprise! The first time your baby sleeps through the night is actually stressful AF.

It was a less satisfying experience than I would have thought, given that I would have done pretty much anything short of drugging her to make it happen. So why wasn’t it everything I imagined it would be? Oh, because I spent most of it freaking out.

Here’s what was running through my mind when I should have been blissfully asleep:

  1. Whoa, she’s been asleep how long?
  2. Oh my god, is she breathing?
  3. Should I poke her?
  4. Why am I kinda bummed out about this?
  5. Why do babies grow up so fast?
  6. How can I miss her right now when a couple of hours ago I was dying for her to go to sleep?
  7. Is her diaper gonna be a disaster zone when wakes up?
  8. Is she definitely breathing?
  9. Is this going to happen again?
  10. What did I do to make this happen?
  11. How do I duplicate it?
  12. This has to be a one-time fluke, doesn’t it?
  13. Did she wake up at some point and I slept through it?
  14. Or maybe I did wake up and I just don’t remember?
  15. Am I capable of sleep-changing diapers and I had no idea?
  16. I should be enjoying this more, shouldn’t I?
  17. Why am I awake right now?

Here’s to hoping that one day soon, we’ll all be able to answer number 9 with a resounding yes.

How are you going to celebrate when your baby finally sleeps through the night?



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