Good Evening Mama! It’s quite possible that it is 1 AM right now, you are sleep deprived, delirious and maybe feeling a little cranky or even helpless right now. So I am going to ask you to take a deep breath, re-center yourself and exhale. And change your mindset. Stop thinking of this crazy newborn period as something to trudge through and embrace it, savor it, relish in it, drink it in! It is such a short blip on the radar of life and it truly is such a special time when you & baby are 100% devoted to each other. It really is lovely, even when it’s impossible. When I changed my mindset about this with my second child everything changed. I am working on a post specifically about embracing this time, but for now I give you this:
10 Binge Worthy Shows for Your Maternity Leave Playlist
One of the first things I did was change the way I handled the sleepless nights. I realized that there is no getting around it; so expect it, plan around it and make the best of it. And how do you think I did that? I stopped trying to go to bed at a normal time and sleep like a normal person…that’s just not going to happen. So, when possible, I slept when the baby slept, yes…I know, I know, easier said than done. And learned to survive on less sleep than usual. {This is assuming you are not operating heavy machinery, like a car, etc.} So each night I got everyone else put to bed. Then I got myself all situated with my cozy clothes, blankets, pillows, Boppy, phone, snacks & brewed myself a cup of lactation tea. And I snuggled up with my newborn for a full night of nursing & binge worthy TV watching! To do this you will need access to some great junk TV, so do yourself a favor and invest in either Amazon Fire Stick or Roku (or both, like me!) I truly began to look forward to this time in the dark with my sweetie-pie bathed in the blue glow of the television. And during this time I was comforted and kept company by the characters in the following series’:
- How I Met Your Mother All 10 seasons available on both Amazon Video & Netflix
- Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce Both 2 seasons available on Amazon Video {Netflix has #1}
- Rules of Engagement All 7 seasons available on both Amazon Video & Netflix
- The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Roseanne 9 Seasons available in original order through Amazon Video {Select episodes on Netflix}
- Sex and the City All 6 seasons available on Amazon Video
- Teen Mom 15 seasons available on Amazon Video
- 16 & Pregnant 6 seasons available on Amazon Video
- Orange is the New Black NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Call the Midwife All 6 seasons available on Amazon Video
I did not consciously choose this list in advance. They sort of found me based on my mood(s) at the time! I really enjoyed watching, re-watching & catching up on these! And you really have all the time in the world during these long nights! So cuddle up with that sweet-smelling human you just created and enjoy my list or make one of your own! And ENJOY!!
What would you recommend? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!
{Warning ~ Be careful if you find yourself drifting off. You really cannot be responsible for keeping yourself awake when you’re that tired. If you need to nurse when you are that tired you need to either nurse in the side-lying position safely in the bed OR fully wake up, lights on, slap yourself in the face a little bit, maybe wake up your partner to keep an eye on you, etc. You do not want to drop your baby. Yes, people do this & you do not want to be one of them! LOL!}
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