How My âNightmareâ Maternity Leave Became a âJoyâ
The first in a series of profiles of real moms with real challengesâŚwho were helped by SNOO.
Allison, a C.P.A., was eagerly anticipating being off from work after the birth of her baby. But, within days, her joyous time turned into, in her words, âa nightmare.â
âI met some work friends while I was on leave in the first few weeks, and they said, âOh arenât you glad youâre not at work?â and I said, âActually, I would love to be at work right now.ââ
It wasnât supposed to be that way. In preparing for leave she had thought, âOh my gosh, this will be great. Iâm going to have 10 weeks offâŚBasically, I couldnât wait for it to happen.â
But when baby Bridget arrived, Allison and her husband Ben faced an all-too-common new parent struggle: Bridget refused to sleep anywhere but in their arms. The instant theyâd gently place her in the bassinet, sheâd start shrieking. And, like Ground Hog Day, that demoralizing scene repeated itself over and over and over for 6 weeks.
Trying just to survive, the Evansville, Ind., couple grasped on to a schedule where Ben would care for Bridget from 8 p.m. to midnight, then Allison would take over, so that Ben could snag 5 hours of sleep before bolting out of the house at 5 a.m. to his job as a Construction Manager at a plastics company.
Allisonâs daytime life mirrored her night existence: Sheâd struggle to get Bridget down asleep in the bassinet, then crash on the couch, only to have Bridget wake and wail 40 minutes later, insisting on being in momsâ arms. In her semi-conscious state, Allison would feed Bridget, only to startle awakeâafter having fallen asleep, baby tenuously in arms.
âI read a blog where someone wrote, âI wouldnât wish sleep deprivation on my worst enemy.â Going weeks at a time without sleepâit really gets to you,â she said. âI mean, we were zombies.â
And, of course, Allison was stressed about her babyâs safety.Â
âWe freaked out,â she said. âObviously, we knew we shouldnât fall asleep with her in our arms. We thought, âOh my gosh, weâre going to kill her if we keep falling asleep like this!â But we felt like we didnât have a choice because she wouldnât sleep.â
Then one morning Allison was watching the Today Show and heard about a bed that helps babies who canât sleep without being held. Allison thought, âThatâs my baby. Maybe thatâs what I need.â
And she ordered her SNOO.
âIt was pretty good that first week, but I was still kind of on the fence, not sure if it was worth it. But in the second week, [Bridget] slept for 6 hours. And once she had that 6-hour span, it was more and more consistent. Iâd get up with her once and sheâd usually sleep till 9 a.m.â
Once Bridget was sleeping 6+ hours at a time, everything took a turn for the better. Allison made the most of her final 3 ½ weeks of leave: âIt was Christmastime so we got pictures with Santaâwith my sister-in-law, who had a baby 6 weeks after I did. Weâd just go and meet up together with our babies. Once I started getting sleep, it became just a joy, just fun to be with Bridget, because during the day I had so much more energy.â
Allisonâs advice to other new moms? Donât worry about doing whatever is necessary to get the help to get you through these challenging first months.
âSome people just think, âI canât tell anyone that Iâm not enjoying this because theyâll think Iâm a terrible mother.â But I think itâs okay to tell people, âThis is really hard, I need help!ââÂ
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