Firstly, congratulations on your new baby and great that you opened this mail, you’re one of the lucky moms to access this valuable one.
I still wonder why people discount the pains of the postpartum time; it is the hardest for me. (What about you?)
One of the reasons for this hard time is sleep. The fact is, newborns find it hard to differentiate between night and day so they are unable to sleep when we want them to, but the truth is; babies and new moms need sleep.
Good sleep is as essential to life as good food; you also need enough or at least basic of it for your mental stability. Here are my top tips for getting it easier:
You may lose sleep the first few weeks but with time you would get a balance.
I like to be the bringer of solutions so yes, you will be fine soon.
Babies typically need to feed and sleep about every 2-3 hours so you can plan with that to catch some little sleep too.
PS: Ensure to be careful if your newborn sleeps longer than 3-4 hours at a time as it could pose a risk of a SIDs (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) that may be caused by hunger. I have a personal, not-so-cool story on this.
If you put a slightly hungry baby to sleep, they would not sleep for long. Ensure to breastfeed, spoon or bottle-feed and be sure to burp the baby to remove excess gas that may trouble their tummy.
For younger babies, avoid letting baby sleep off on the breast or bottle; when they feel drowsy, take them off food and rock them to bed.
This will train babies to sleep on their own without depending too much on your feeding.
For older babies who have started eating solids, natural meals; Jaden’s Nuttymeal, Mixagrain, and Fruitamil are perfect for a bedtime meal to keep them full through the night.
Check the diaper to ensure it’s crispy and clean. Go light on clothes; ensure baby is not too hot or too cold as this may cause them to be cranky and not sleep.
Pro tip: Babies have varying threshold of keeping wet diapers. Joella gets irritated easily and would never sleep with the tiniest drop of wetness; my older babies could sleep even with a slightly wet diaper or some discomfort.
Keep an eye on your baby to understand as this may cause sleep issues.
From as early as 6 weeks, you can start sleep-training by keeping lights low from early in the night. For Joella, from 8pm, I put off the lights, feed and keep her cozy.
The low lights teaches the baby that its bedtime and she naturally prepares for a long sleep with that.
As baby grows older, you can then reduce low light times to 6pm, 7pm and then back to about 8pm when they start school.
I wish I had followed a routine with Jaden and Joanne, my first two kids.
I learnt the hard way, that is why I am sleep-training Joella now.
From morning, she naturally sleeps after a bath, so from then I set her on a 2-3-hour sleep/feed/diaper change. This helps me catch some sleep in between.
The moment it is 8pm, I leave the sitting room to the bedroom and keep lights low, then start feeding and rocking for night time sleep. The consistency in doing this is key and it has been so helpful.
Now instead of waking every 1 hour, she now sleeps for longer hours because she’s fully-fed, diaper clean and crisp and the bed space is cozy.
Follow your baby’s routine early. The fact that babies sleep during the day does not mean they can’t sleep at night too.
I hope all these tips help.
Please share with friends for me.
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