Becoming a mother means witnessing the miracle of life and embarking on a journey filled with challenges. The biggest sacrifice in this journey is undoubtedly precious sleep. Every mother vividly remembers that since the arrival of the child, a full night’s sleep has become a luxury.
The addition of a newborn turns nights into a test of parents’ patience and endurance. The little ones have no regular schedule at night, whether it’s changing diapers, crying, or hunger, is enough to wake the mother up from her dreams repeatedly, diving into the task of taking care of the child. Breastfeeding, a seemingly heartwarming process, is actually a race against fatigue, and even fathers, though willing to help, often retreat in the exhaustion of the late night.
Fortunately, the invention of disposable diapers lightens the burden of nighttime changes, allowing mothers a moment to catch their breath. However, staying up until late at night is almost a daily routine for every family until the child is four months old. Mothers cradle their infants, pacing in the quiet night until the child falls into a deep slumber.
Breastfeeding continues until the child is a year and eight months old, not just an accumulation of time but countless nights of relentless dedication. Although as the child grows, the nighttime nursing demands gradually decrease, bidding a complete farewell to night feedings always seems out of reach. This perseverance is the purest embodiment of maternal love.
When a child falls ill, nights become even more unbearable. Every minor discomfort tightly grips the mother’s heart, from monitoring the temperature, physically cooling down, to carefully administering medication, each step accompanied by tension and anxiety. It is in these countless sleepless nights that mothers learn to become stronger.
Becoming a mother seems to bestow extraordinary strength. The person who once needed a full eight hours of sleep can now stay up all night; the person who was once feeble can now easily lift a child weighing tens of pounds. All these changes stem from love – the selfless love for the child that makes one capable of anything. Sacrificing sleep is just the beginning; growth and transformation are the constant themes in raising a child. Mothers reexamine the world in this process, rediscovering themselves, unearthing the abilities they were previously unaware of. This is a story about nights, a shared memory chapter among every mother.
