Moms On Call... More than just a great night's sleep (but it's that too!)

I have been writing this post in my head for months now and decided that it was finally time to try to get my thoughts out. I have written about Moms on Call http://www.momsoncall.com/ numerous times in this blog when referring to how wonderful a sleeper it has made sweet Emmeline. What I have not emphasized is how much Moms on Call saved my life, not just my sleepiness.

I think people wonder why I have such a passion for what these 2 pediatric nurses "preach" in their web seminars, books, etc. "Great, your baby sleeps, we get it.. yadda, yadda.. we are tired of hearing about it."... is what I am sure many of my friends and family think when they read my blog or talk to me. I try not to be braggy about Emmeline's sleep success and I make sure to point out that we weren't just lucky, but had to teach Emmeline to sleep. But Moms on Call isn't just about getting your baby to sleep, at least, not for me anyway.

After I came home with baby Emmeline, life was a blur, as I am sure it is for many new moms. I had to have a c-section (Emmeline was 9 lbs 11 ounces!), so I could hardly take care of her when we got home. I was heavily medicated with percocets and motrin for at least a week after coming home from the hospital. Once the first week or two went by and I quit taking the heavy narcotic painkillers, I thought I was doing better, but I wasn't. Things went downhill for me fast. Like I said, I hardly remember it now and I think God makes your memory that way so you don't have to remember the awful times. As much as I loved that new baby, I could hardly take care of myself. I had to come to grips with the fact that I wasn't just suffering from exhaustion, but that I was having full blown post-partum depression accompanied by the most intense anxiety attacks I had ever experienced. I won't go into the details here because they are private and not pleasant, but things were bad around our house.

I had to do something to at least find some sort of control, so I decided to re-watch the Moms on Call seminar that my dear friend Courtney had given me as a shower gift. I perfected that swaddle and got Emmeline on her schedule. This made things so much better around our house. I was able to function enough to take care of/play with Emmeline during her awake time and then once I put her down for a nap, I would collapse in my bed. I hid from my disease and felt like my world was closing in all around me. Things continued to get worse for me, so I finally took the steps to get my life back on track. Luckily, I was able to work through issues and get my medications right. (I feel like a new person now. It really is amazing.)

So, this post is just about as incoherent as I thought it would be. Let me just sum up to say that when my life was absolutely out of control, Moms on Call gave me confidence. They made me feel like I was doing something right as a mom. I get so frustrated when people just think Moms on Call is "letting your baby cry" or that I've done something bad as a mother. Moms on Call is, without a doubt, the best thing that I could have ever done for my child, myself, my marriage, my family, my health. Because Emmeline was well taken care of and on such a great schedule, I was able to focus more on getting myself on track so that I could be the best mom to her that I could be. So yes, Emmeline does sleep 11-12 hours a night, and yes, it is wonderful, but that is not the real reason that Laura and Jennifer have this special place in my heart. Without even knowing it, they helped me through what was one of the darkest times in my life (I'm being honest, it was horrible.) I am forever grateful.