"Is your baby sleeping through the night?"

Stephanie and I were talking tonight about what lies ahead of us with the new baby. I brought up how agitated I can get when people ask, "Is the baby sleeping through the night?" The question, though supposedly expressing concern for the baby's well being, at least to me, is really expressing concern for the parents' well being. So, why not just ask the parents if they are sleeping through the night? To be fair, some do ask that question, but I believe this just shows that the concern is for the parents rather than the baby.

When I am asked questions such as this I always wonder how I should answer. I do not wish to be rude or condescending or point out the assumptions being made by the questioner. Instead I really want to be honest and positive. Well, we started brainstorming what a honest and positive answer to the question above should be from parents like us who co-sleep with their baby and from a mother who breastfeeds on demand during the night. Well, I racked my head for a few minutes with nothing but sarcastic and rather inappropriate answers. (I won't share them here.) Stephanie in a genius moment came up with the perfect answer with the positive and honest attributes I was looking for. She said, "Just tell them, 'It doesn't matter, because I'm still getting plenty of sleep at night.'" Brilliant!

The family bed and breastfeeding on demand are contrarian ideas today. It definitely is a unique way of doing things, but it works for us. So, I think I need to tell it like it is to those who pose the question, "Is your baby sleeping through the night?"

I can't wait to be asked.

To be more like Mary

Can you imagine being Mary for just one day?? I often think about her life as the Mother of Jesus and how selfless she had to be. On a bad day if I can get together enough to remember to ask Jesus for guidance. I always seem to be led to meditating on her life and how as a mother I should strive to be more like her. The task seems nearly impossible some days, especially today. Today I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself that I am uncomfortable and tired. When you are uncomfortable you can't sleep and when you are tired it drains you emotionally and physically and makes you even more uncomfortable. This morning I was wishing I was one of those women that just LOVE being pregnant and for the most part it was easy but God knew that's not what I needed. This morning I received an email from a woman at my Church that was looking for help leading a station this Wednesday night and there was link to go and read Mary's way of the Cross which is a beautiful version of what Mary endured during Jesus' Passion and Death. I thought I can do that. After reading the first 3 I was crying so hard I called my husband in to give me a hug. It has put today in perspective for me. Amazingly I feel so much better than i did 1 short hour ago. If you are a mother grab a hanky and click on the link below and read through each station. I hope and pray that you too will find your spirit renewed with selflessness, a trait that every mother needs. Gods Blessings on all of my Family and Friends near and far.

http://gloryb.members.atlantic.net/index20.html