Trust your parental instincts!

My goodness, I should be sleeping but I'm so disturbed by a commentary I read the other day, I need to express some thoughts and get them out of my head...

I read an article by an "educated" couple whose baby was diagnosed with anorexia by the age of 9 MONTHS. 9 MONTHS! They claim that they were following the guidance of a book by a baby expert and they were ignoring the baby's sleep signs and hunger signs so that they could train the baby to sleep through the night.

Good heavens, people! When the child is hungry, FEED THE CHILD. When the child is tired, LET THE CHILD SLEEP. I have a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a 7 month old and a husband in Iraq. My children are well behaved and, although I am tired, I WOULD NEVER NEVER NEVER DENY MY BABY HER BASIC NEEDS SO I COULD SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!
Face it, this is what it comes down to--when do I (me, me, me) get some sleep? I will get it eventually, most likely not tonight. I get around 7-8 hours of interrupted sleep every night--normally woken up 3-10 times for various reasons by various children. No one sleeps in my bed because I need some space but I will sleep on someone's floor if the thunder is too frightening or the monsters are lurking.

I have given my children the freedom to eat when they are hungry, within limits,...and you know what? They eat smart and on a regular schedule. I am stringent about naps and bedtime. Their routine fell right into place when I stayed alert to their sleep signals.

Am I exhausted? Absolutely. A few weeks ago I was even hallucinating that someone was throwing things at me...it was very odd to have that happen. I interviewed some babysitters this weekend so that I can start getting a break. I'd like to think that it's smart/wise to know when to ask for help (something I'm terrible at doing). I find that I morph into a very unpleasant person when I am exhausted. My whole day hinges on making it to the next time I might be able to sleep.

But I would NEVER deny a baby their basic needs for survival so that I could fulfill mine. This book tried to place the blame on the author but a book is just a book--an inanimate object potentially full of wonderful answers when combined with listening and trusting your own parental instincts. Every child is a true gift from God that is only yours for such a brief period of time. Use some common sense--feed the child, let the child sleep, and hug him or her every minute that you can...

You will sleep again one day.