If are if you are an A type personality, you already know you have the following traits:
- Competitive behaviour
- Multitasking
- Workaholic
- Controlling
- Urgency for time and impatient
- Overachiever
So why the heck am I bring up this personality type? Well, for 1, I know it all too well! I am full-on, 100% Type A. When I had my little guy I was ready to go! I had read every single book on sleep and babies, I had read every article, every blog…you name it. I had gone so far as to have laminated sample schedules throughout our house so my hubby and I could follow them. “This was gonna be a breeze” I thought! I cannot wait to be able to work while Chase sleeps and get caught up on house things..bake cookies and enjoy mommyhood bliss. WRONG. I was lucky to even be able to brush my teeth by 10 am or have a shower by 4 pm. Dinner? What’s that? My world turned upside down. I was more in love than I had ever been in my whole life (sorry Brian) but I was more lost than I had ever been in my whole life too. Having the personality traits I have, I was lost and mainly because I literally had no control. I had this precious little angel but do ya think I could get him to sleep or eat properly? My hubby would find me under our covers surrounded by the glow of my iPhone reading, researching, shopping online…I bought essential oils, special swaddles, crazy black liquid incase he had colic, swings, rockers…you name it, we had it. It makes me laugh now but when I was in the thick of it, I just wanted my regular life back but just with my new little baby boy in the equation….tea in the AM, gym, afternoon walks, TV or tech time……
It used to drive me crazy when everyone would say “have fun getting no sleep for the next 2 years”….or “is he sleeping through the night yet?”…..AH! At 13 weeks Chase was sleeping through the night and this “A” mama finally got her groove back. It was amazing. I was so much more present and rested to actually enjoy the time with my son. So be able to take in all of his new little expressions and behaviours. When he slept (which he did beautifully and still does), I had my “me” time and it changed everything and I even got to spend time with my husband again! I had forgotten about him for a couple months…whoops! I have had time for all the things I love and that make me “me” – the gym, cooking, time with my husband, great chat sessions with my girlfriends, the computer, books…you name it!
Having dealt with hundreds of clients, I have come to realize that many, if not most, are very much the same in terms of personality. It makes it even harder for us “A’s” to be sleep deprived simply because we are not only sleep deprived but our to-do list is getting bigger and bigger (and you know how much we hate that!). When we sleep better we think straighter, we get stuff done but most importantly, we feel like “us”. Feeling like yourself is KEY when being a new mom. There is nothing greater than being present and feeling rested when you are focusing on your child and building that loving most amazing, irreplaceable love and being in the state of joyful bliss (don’t get me wring, you can be there when you are tired too…but you just need a double espresso and toothpics holding your eyes open and a sticky note on your shirt reminding yourself of your name).
If you are anything like I was and feeling overwhelmed…don’t worry. Rest can shed a whole new light- the best part is…..it is the BEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE YOUR LITTLE ONE and you get to share in that too! I win win.
