When I first had my daughter I assumed she’d be great at sleeping, like her mother. I love to sleep and understand the importance of it.
Well, we can say these genes weren’t exactly passed on to my child. She has been a “troubled” sleeper since almost birth. This was stressful for a first time mom. I thought I had done something wrong and broke her sleep pattern. At times I also thought something was wrong with her, and therefore caused her to not sleep so well.
I can admit I gave this SO much energy and focus! I spent so much time concerned if she’d had enough sleep, gone to sleep on time, stayed asleep, etc, etc. All of the overanalyzing, no wonder I was so tired. My energy was going to what I focused on.
It was until I asked myself “why did I think there were some magic rules I needed to follow?” And honestly, I didn’t have an answer I loved. I was just following along with all the parenting “rules” I thought I needed to follow in order to be in the “good parent” category. Complete hogwash!
Here I was a full grown adult, feeling like there were certain rules I had to follow. No thank you! What I needed more than anything was to decide what would work best for me and my family. In that moment it was sleeping in my daughter’s room on a pull out sofa bed. No matter what all the parenting books suggested she “should” be doing at this age, I needed to evaluate what would work best for me and my family.
Once I was able to accept that this was working for us, I no longer felt bad about the decisions I had made. I owned it like a boss! I became proud of myself and the choices I made. Having my own back felt waaaay better than doubting myself.
What have been some of your challenges when it comes to parenting your way, and not going with what is “popular parenting?”
