I checked my to-do list but couldn’t come up with 18 hours of errands

M

othering is serious business, I realized a month into the role. I’m responsible for a helpless human being.

Nobody told me this when I was a glowing kallah posing near the flowers my chassan sent. And not only was I not forewarned; becoming a mother was so all-consuming and energy-sapping, I didn’t have a moment to ponder this new reality.

I was a 20-year-old mother of a gorgeous and fussy little baby girl. Babies are meant to be demanding, and she fulfilled her job to a T.

She cried a lot, wanted to be held, and eschewed the pacifier in favor of me. And that’s where I was stumped. I just didn’t know how to get the baby to sleep. In the hospital I’d learned that newborns need to sleep 18 hours a day. My baby slept eight hours at night, with generous breaks, so she had to clock at least another ten hours during the day.