The Sleep Deprivation That No One Warns You About

While they do warn you about bottle feeding at night, no one tells you that in parenting, you will have sleepless nights for weeks, and then for the next 10+ years, you will still deal with sleepless nights or in the least, a sick kid at 3 am because for some fucking reason this is the optimal time for kids to be sick.

So. I’m telling you now.

In parenting, you will sacrifice your sleep. You will sacrifice it so much that it may put your job in jeopardy, take place of sex and impact your relationship, weaken your immune system and I’m certain causes depression. It is not just a bottle at 3 am. It is spending four consecutive nights with two hours of sleep and you’re not sure if you have the flu or you just need a fucking nap.

And then, when the child starts to sleep well (This varies anywhere from 3 months to fucking never) you will still have sleepless nights and “scary dreams” which results in a child whispering ”momma” in the dark of the night which scares the shit out of you while in a deep sleep. Ear aches, throwing up (probably in their bed), peed bed, nightmares, growing pains and fevers. You will have to administer drugs and clean up a dirty bed while being half asleep. In many cases of illness, the child is up and down all night. And so are you.

Not to mention the many nights of sleeping on the couch, in their bed, at the foot of your bed or even on the floor. At some point, either with age or children, you will gain the ability to fall asleep anywhere so you’ll take a nap in the dentist chair and be awkwardly woken up by the hygienist. Some parents try bed sharing, which helps, however there are still bottles, dirty diapers, night terrors and being awake for no other reason than to watch you lose your shit.

While elbow deep in breast pads, you will find yourself learning to function on cat naps in the lounge chair. When you are deep in the trenches of parenting, your three year old will lovingly enter a phase where they are up for the day at 3 a.m. as if it is boot camp. But it is parenting boot camp and the sleep deprivation struggle is real and no one tells you how challenging it is to live life on espresso shots and minutes of sleep. So I’m here to tell you that you will sacrifice your sleep for years to come.

But I’m also here to tell you that it’s worth it. Losing precious sleep is a daily challenge but just another sacrifice made by you. A beautiful child wakes up and you get to spend your life showing them the ocean for the first time and sobbing as they drive away to college. Sleep deprivation is a sacrifice that you make as a parent and in the end, it’s all worth it. But prepare yourself for sleep deprivation because it is brutal.