By Mayra Vallejo
When I was pregnant, my mom told me many times I should sleep as much as I could because once my baby was born, sleeping was going to be a big luxury for me, and she wasn’t mistaken!
I was never an early bird and when Zoe was born, she would cry all the time and especially at night. She barely slept because she was always hungry. It turned out I did not have enough milk production so 5 days after she was born, I decided to combine breastfeeding with formula and this helped me a lot!
At night, every 2-3 hours I had the same routine of cleaning her, feeding her, and trying to make her fall asleep. All those times I walked with her, rocked her, sang to her, and all the things I could think of at that moment. After what seemed hours, she would finally fall asleep, only to wake up soon after so all the ritual started all over again. Every evening when my husband came from work, he would take her into his arms and rock her and she would instantly fall asleep. His arrival was such a blessing since I could have some time for myself, to rest or simply to do house chores.
Despite that I was always a heavy sleeper, since Zoe was born, my sleep became light and sensitive. Any sound she made could wake me up instantly. Eight months went by, and she suddenly started to sleep longer at night (around 6 to 7 hours in a row). After she turned 2 years old, her sleeping rhythm seemed a bit better, though I could never get her to sleep before 23:00 every night. I tried every activity for her to be tired enough to sleep on time but nothing worked. Now Zoe is 4 years and I still can’t have her to sleep earlier, the latest she has ever gone to bed is at 3 am. It is also quite tiresome for me since my days with her are longer, but I try to look at the bright side of things and can only be thankful to have such a smart, happy and healthy girl.
Mayra Vallejo is a 34-year-old mother from Peru. She graduated from Into Garcilazo de la Vega University in Tourism and Hospitality. Now she runs an independent business, which she perfectly combines with her role as a mom.
