The first few months with Jasmin was NO SLEEP!
I was struggling to get used to getting up every so often to nurse her and clean her. I was still getting into the new routine. I wasn’t sure how to manage elimination communication, nursing, and napping with her at all!
It was so frustrating and tiring! I was being drained physically, emotionally and spiritually! I really had to cling to God’s word to give me patience, strength and LOVE above all.
Love is patient, love is kind. 1 Cor. 13:4
Thanks to His everlasting love and wisdom postpartum depression did not affect me. On the contrary, I was ELATED! I remember one time Mr. P and I were praying and conversing through my sobs of joy! Thanking God for His love, for our new family, was filling me with so much joy and love that the only way to let it out was through tears of happiness. My dad came over to surprise us and worried asked me why I was crying, I told him through sobs “I’m just so happy! I love her so much! ” He laughed at me, he probably thought Mr. P and I were fighting!
Through His wisdom we received different ways to help Jasmin finally get rest.
First of all: my diet. I didn’t realize what I was eating was creating Jasmin’s colic and uncomfort. I was already vegetarian/vegan at this point, but this time God gave me the will to go Raw completely. This helped so much with her colic. She stopped crying in pain and soothing her got muuuuch easier. Slowly I started introducing cooked foods again, no processed foods and no gluten. It was easier to pick out what would hurt Jasmin. Now she has rarely experienced colic yay!
Second and third: co-sleeping and baby-wearing. I was so tired of holding her I just wanted her to lay by herself so I can stretch out. I realized quickly this was not going to happen. So for a couple months Jasmin slept on top of me. At this time I still hadn’t figured the art of babywearing, though I did own a Moby Wrap. I felt she was too tiny and couldn’t wrap her well. I really wish I had help with wearing her, I’m sure my back wouldn’t have hurt as bad as it did! After a couple months Jasmin started laying on the bed in between us. Now she much prefers to sleep on the bed than in my arms. I guess she loves stretching out and rolling around! yay!
Fourth: Essential Oils. Lavender is such an amazing oil! The purest essential oils are supposed to be able to break the blood brain barrier. Meaning the molecules in the oils are small enough to reach our cells. By having this amazing ability oils can work in our system so amazingly in order to HEAl! There are so many different oils and their uses are unlimited. No wonder, God has provided healing through plants, and the oils are the life of a plant! And these give us life and healing indeed! For babies lavender is the most gentle too. It helps to calm and soothe them and has definitely worked for Jasmin and our family.
Fifth: Movement. Sometimes just rocking her, dancing around, or walking, helps Jasmin fall asleep is she’s having a tough time.
That’s it for now 🙂 I hope this helps some. God has definitely been showing me new ways to help Jasmin sleep. Her rest definitely means I can rest and also get things done around the home.
Many Blesssings!
Jenny Pena
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