As a Mom, 5 Things I Say Instead of Telling Myself To “Suck It Up”
It’s 3 am and we’re wide awake for the 3rd time. Okay, maybe not “wide”. But I’m rocking him in my arms, as I listen to his ragged breathing because I just let him cry for 15 minutes in his crib instead of just giving him a bottle. He’s exhausted. I’m exhausted. But the pediatrician said no more bottles in the middle of the night. He has to learn to soothe himself to sleep without one.
Not sleeping enough at night leads to my exhaustion during the day, I feel guilty because I let him cry, I feel like a failure because it didn’t work and I ended up giving him a bottle.
As a parent, I know I have to get through the day. I have to take care of my kid. I have to make sure his basic needs are met.
Instead of telling myself: “you have no choice”, “I’m so tired”, “I can’t do this”, “I don’t know what I’m doing”, “Suck it up”
The 5 things I repeat to myself are:
You are strong
You can do hard things
You can ask for help if you need it
Move forward at whatever pace you can, but just keep moving forward
Don’t procrastinate.
