Night night, sleep tight.

New babies.

It's such an exciting time! They're so small and cute with tiny fingers and toes, and everything they do is just a miracle, and no one sleeps but it's okay because everyone you know is bringing you supper and offering to babysit so the new exhausted parents can get some rest. It's your RIGHT to need. To not be able to keep your house clean. To accept free food unabashedly from friends and family. You feel so lost and overwhelmed and tired but it's okay because people surround you and love you and tell you that they know how you feel and this too shall pass!

And then it does.

And so do the homemade meals.

And so does the right to need and not be okay.

When you have a newborn, it's okay to cry and be overwhelmed and have your life in total chaos because hey.. you're new at this and it's expected. But when you have a toddler, you should have things figured out by now. What, your baby doesn't sleep through the night? Well you really should have worked on getting them into a schedule. What, you almost never make dinner? Well, just do it when your baby naps how hard is that. What, your house is a total disaster? Well you're just lazy.

Suddenly you should be a parenting expert and have your life in complete order.

Ok maybe I'm being too hard.. but you get it right? Sometimes we're super quick to judge what we can't possibly understand. Maybe that mom who is walking around in sweats and messy hair, and her child has dried food on his face isn't a bad parent.. maybe she hasn't slept in days and all that her brain computed this morning was "need more milk" and not "is my make up done? is the food out of my child's hair?" (yes, that's totally me.)

Did you know that sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture?

You'd think that every minute Luca slept I would run to my bed and sleep too. And I do sometimes.. but sometimes.. as tired as you are, you just need some "you" time to feel whole again. Some adult time. To watch crime shows on TV. To read Cosmo. To take a shower without an audience.

I get that becoming a parent is a total breeze for some people and they just seem to ease flawlessly into sleepless nights and crazy days, but next time you see a mother and her child, try not to judge. Try to remember that for some.. it's really really hard. It doesn't mean it doesn't have its happy and fun moments, but until you've spent an entire year without getting a good night's sleep.. be nice.