About Me
“People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.” – Leo J. Burke
I think I first heard this quote used as a joke on television, followed by a round of applause and laughter! Amusing sure, we all agree, but with a bitter aftertaste. How many exhausted parents have recognized themselves in this sentence, regretting the sleep they had before their puppy arrived home and began to turn the night into a marathon between the cradle and the bed, between a feeding and a hopping around the living room with the bundle in her arms hoping that she would sleep a wink, and then start all over again as soon as they placed it in the cradle. Not to mention that everyone around, from friends to relatives to web know-it-alls, they keep repeating to you that it is completely normal for the baby not to sleep, that it is physiological and that it will pass… increasing the frustration of being in an unsustainable situation with no way out. I too have been there with my daughter, I have experienced on my skin what it means not to rest at night and having to face a day with a 6 month old baby who constantly requires your attention, who needs to be entertained, changed, fed, stimulated, made to sleep, carried around, and so on…
Rest is a serious matter, for everyone. Mothers and fathers, as well as children, have the sacred right to sleep at night. Sleep is essential for the health of each of us, it is of fundamental importance for our immune system, for the processing of the stimuli to which the brain is subjected (and this is even more true for children), and last but not least it’s important for our mental well-being.
