Welcome to Gaia! ::

How old is she, if you don't mind me asking? smile If she's still young, she might not be able to sleep through the night yet.

I was just re-reading your post, and I saw you mention that. I'm sorry I missed that detail. redface

A 1 month old is almost definitely not going to sleep through the night. One of the links below mentions a 2 month old sleeping through the night, but from what I've heard from my friends who've had kids, most babies won't sleep through the night until they're at least a few months old (like 4 - 5+).

For now, here's some websites with tips that might help:

- http://www.babysleepsite.com/newborns/newborn-sleep-baby-tips-10/
- http://parenting.kaboose.com/age-and-stage/toddler/new-mom-baby-care2.html

For extra support, you could try looking for online parenting communities to join. Being parents themselves, I bet they'd be able to answer your questions and help you out if you needed it. And on Gaia, there's the Gaian Parent Guild as well. smile You could also browse through "mommy blogs" online (try Google to search) and see if that found you any additional sources of info & support.

Good on you for staying in school too. Your life sounds pretty rough right now, with what you went through and having a newborn, but I just wanted to commend you on your strength and being able to stay in school.

Yeah, I can only imagine how hard it is for you right now, and how hard it will be in the years to come if your support base is limited.

As a single parent and a teen mom, you've got 2 strikes against you from the get-go. From what I've learned in school, children born to single parents and/or teen mothers are at higher risks for things like teen pregnancy themselves when they're older, poorer performance in school, and poverty if I remember my notes correctly. Plus you yourself have said elsewhere in the guild that you've got a lot of mental health issues going on with you now too. That's a lot to juggle at your age.

BUT not all of that is set in stone. They're just statistics - some teen mothers and single parents defy those stats and go on to have good lives and raise child(ren) without any major problems. So try not to worry too much. heart I mention it to be realistic, not to freak you out. The fact that you're raising your daughter and you're able to stay in school while getting help for your mental health issues testifies to your strength and dedication to your child.

Do you get any support from your family? What about friends, or teachers/counsellors at school? And just out of curiousity, who watches your daughter while you're in school?

If you need help finding local resources in your area, or stuff online, let me know and I'll do my best to find some stuff for you. smile