Brooke has started waking up again during the night. In fact, it’s 4 a.m. and I just went into her room to put her back in bed. Surprisingly, she is more disruptive to my sleep than Drew, who is only three months old. Drew is an angel baby when it comes to sleep.

Brooke’s situation is challenging for me, and I don’t know what to do about it. I’m not sure if she’s hungry, she often asks for milk, or if it’s a developmental phase. She is often wide awake when I go in her room. I know children may not sleep well when their brains go through specific developmental leaps. I’ve tried giving her milk with dinner to help her stay more full but she’ll still wake up sometimes. So, that’s one of the reasons I’m not sure it’s a hunger thing.

One night last week after giving her some milk in the wee hours of the morning, she started crying again. She hadn’t eaten a lot at dinner, so I did think that on this particular night, she had woken up hungry. I was laying in my bed exhausted and offered a silent prayer that her tummy would feel full and she’d be able to fall asleep.

After ending the prayer, this thought came to mind, “Meghan, there are mothers out there offering that same prayer tonight but they can’t simply walk downstairs to get food or milk for their children.” I knew this thought was not my own but from the Holy Spirit. It profoundly impacted me.

Since this experience, I’ve been thinking more about how I can help relieve suffering. I am grateful for this perspective shift and pray for those mothers and their children. I believe I was given this thought for a reason. I don’t know if it was given to me to help me be more compassionate or if there is action I should take to more actively help relieve suffering. I’m keeping my mind and heart open to what God would have me do. I am so grateful for this new found perspective that helps me feel gratitude instead of frustration when Brooke wakes up at night (even if I’m still exhausted haha).