Photo by: iStock

Tips for Getting Sleep With a New Baby

by Kathryn Walsh of "Mamapedia"
Photo by: iStock



You used to daydream about winning the lottery. Now, you fantasize about getting six hours of uninterrupted sleep. Welcome to parenthood! Life with a new baby is exhilarating and exhausting, but stumbling around like a bleary-eyed zombie doesn’t have to become your new normal. We checked in with Adriana Lozada, a postpartum educator and child sleep consultant who runs Birthful in Rochester, NY, about how your newly expanded family can catch some z’s.

Feed before bed
“During the first weeks, your baby’s sleep – and pretty much your whole lives – will revolve around your baby’s tiny tummy,” Lozada says. “This continuum of eating every 2-3 hours, and later 3-4 hours, is needed in order to support all the important growth your baby is going through.”

It’s tempting to let sleeping newborns lie, but nighttime feedings are inevitable. So, if you make a feeding the last thing you do before going to bed, you’ll hopefully get at least a few hours of deep sleep before waking up for the next one. Lots of feedings are best for baby, too. “Making sure that your newborn is well fed can translate into better sleep,” Lozada says. “A hungry baby won’t sleep for long!”

Welcome help
Have friends and family who would love to pitch in? Sign them up. The less time you have to spend on cooking, cleaning and running errands, the more time you have to sleep.

Divide up overnight duties with your spouse whenever possible. Mom may have to get up to pump or nurse, but Dad can be in charge of getting up early with older kids or doing bottle feedings. Switching off being “on” every other night gives you both good nights’ sleep.

Tweak your setup
Your friend may swear by bed-sharing, but it won’t necessarily work for you. Even the sleep arrangements you used with older kids not be right now; for instance, your preference for room-sharing might prove unworkable if your newborn is a very light sleeper.

“My stance is that bed-sharing, room-sharing, or having baby sleep in a different room can all be done in a safe manner when parents follow certain guidelines,” Lozada says. “It’s an incredibly personal choice, and each family has to determine what works best for them after researching the risks, pros and cons of all three options. Once they do that, the key factor is that – whatever they choose – they do it in a safe manner.”

To put aside any insomnia-causing worries about something happening to your baby during the night, Lozada recommends brushing up on safety guidelines. “Some of them are fairly universal, like putting babies on their backs for all sleep, on a firm sleep surface and avoiding objects that can cover their faces, or get entangled on their bodies; making sure they aren’t dressed too warm so they don’t overheat; and not letting anyone smoke around the baby.”

Find the most up-to-date guidelines at www.healthychildren.org, the website of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Adjust your expectations
There’s no magic wand you can wave that will make this period of sleep deprivation speed by. But some parents find that planning for just how hard it will be makes the whole thing feel more manageable. “It isn’t until about 6-8 weeks that your newborn’s circadian rhythm will begin to organize, allowing them to tell night from day,” Lozada explains. “If expectant parents don’t prepare for how long this can take, they will feel completely wiped out by having their own sleep-cycles hijacked for such a long period of time.”

So the next time you fall asleep on your feet, remember that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. “Babies will start linking sleep cycles and sleeping longer chunks as they get older,” Lozada says. “So at 3 months they may start sleeping for a 4 or 5 hour stretch, and then around 6 months they may be doing as much as 8 hours at a time.”

Now that’s something to daydream about.




Kathryn Walsh is a freelance writer specializing in parenting and travel topics. Her work has appeared on mom.me, TheBump.com, and USAToday.com.

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