Hello! My name is Cinthia Garreta. I am Peruvian and a first-time mom. My son Sebastian’s arrival has given my life a whirlwind of feelings since his birth, and he still does now that he is 2 years old.
The first months were undoubtedly the most complicated due to his sleep routine. Before he was born, I remember lots of people telling me to sleep as much as I could, but I honestly thought it was just a cliché phrase. Now I know it was one of the most successful pieces of advice!
Until that moment, I had no idea how important it was for me to rest properly to be able to function in a time when I needed all the energy I had to take care of my baby, breastfeed him and take care of myself.
The first weeks after Sebastian was born I felt like I was a zombie. He would wake up every 1.5 hours to breastfeed (yes, one and a half hours!). Breastfeeding was also very demanding, exhausting, and sometimes even frustrating because he wasn’t always satisfied with my milk. I remember as if it was yesterday that during those days I simply wanted to sleep 3 hours in a row! My husband was always there with me but the hardest part will always be for the mother due to breastfeeding.
As part of his routine, we would bathe him every night at the same time, I would give him a quick body massage, and finally, breastfeed him. With this routine, he started to sleep longer and longer but the fact that I started combining breastmilk and formula helped him to get more satisfied and sleep longer.
You hear all sorts of things about breastfeeding but at the end of the day, I think you should make the decision that best suits you, your baby, your needs, and your situation. I knew the best was to breastfeed my baby exclusively, but I feel proud I decided to complement this with baby formula since it made the first months easier and therefore less tense or hard on my baby and me.
Even after all the exhausting work during those first weeks, I felt comforted, inspired, and rewarded every time I saw him get calmed and fall asleep on my chest. Nowadays, Sebastian sleeps from around 22:00 until 8:00 or 8:30 the next day. He wakes up always happy and with a beautiful smile which lights up my days!
Cinthia graduated from San Marcos University in Lima, Peru in Communication Sciences. She works as a host for two live TV news programs. Despite her demanding job, she always makes time for Sebastian and they love going to the park together.
