2:04am is the time on our nightstands digital clock when we’re, once again, woken up by the sound of crying from the baby monitor. I groan softly, bringing a hand to rub my tired eyes. Our one month old daughter, Charlotte, has had some trouble sleeping lately and it’s noticeably taken a toll on both of us. Our 4, almost 5, year old son Oliver was a very calm baby, so it’s not an exaggeration to say that we weren’t in the slightest bit prepared for Charlotte to wake us up at least 4 times a night.

We’ve been married for roughly 7 years, tying the knot in 2017 after having been dating for 4 years since 2013. In the 11 years total that we’ve been together we’ve obviously gone through many things together, but the newborn stage of our second child is quickly becoming one of the hardest yet.