Will I Ever Sleep Again?
Congratulations, if you are reading this, you have most likely just welcomed home a new baby. The second guess is you are tired! Today we are here to talk about infant sleep and sleep deprivation in new parents. We often hear about this topic before having children of our own, but don’t truly know its meaning until we ourselves are up to throughout the night with a newborn! Today we are here to answer the question, ” Will I ever sleep again?”
Seriously, will I ever sleep again?
The short answer is yes; you will. There is a day in your future where you will go back to full nights of sleep, and sleepless nights will be a not so fond distant memory. We know that sleep deprivation is HARD, but it is temporary.
For now, you can try…
- Try and sleep when the baby does. We know everyone will tell you this, and it’s frustrating! You may feel like your only time to do anything is when your baby is asleep, but if you can get some support from your spouse, doula, or friend to help with the day to day tasks like laundry, cooking, etc. you may feel more able to catch up on rest when your baby is sleeping.
- Come up with a schedule with your partner where you can get one solid stretch in each twenty-four hour period. If you can get one 4-6 hour stretch of sleep in each twenty-four-hour period, it will help immensely. Try and create a time of day or night where your partner can be on main duty each day. If you are breastfeeding, you most likely will need to wake and feed your baby, but your partner can handle the rest!
3. Bring in outside support– If you feel like steps one and two aren’t working and you still aren’t getting any sleep, try bringing in some external support. This can be a postpartum doula, a family member, or a willing friend. Often, someone from outside coming in to help can be extremely beneficial for new parents!
Simple tips to lengthen a babies awake windows
Babies’ schedules start to regulate a bit more at the eight-week mark, below we will leave you with some tips that you can begin implementing early that are used to help babies begin to sleep longer windows.
- Help Manage their naps during the day! Yes, we said it, it is okay to wake your sleeping baby! We want them to begin to distinguish between day and night sleep early. Infants usually have one long stretch of sleep each twenty-four hours for the first eight weeks. If your baby takes a four-hour nap during the day, that most likely means they won’t have a long stretch that long at night. It IS okay to wake your sleeping baby and help them get used to sleeping longer during the night and not as much during the day.
2. Swaddling is your best friend! Swaddling, as frustrating as it can be to learn how to do, is your best friend when it comes to baby sleep. Babies love to feel cocooned and cozy, just like they were in the womb.
3. Sucking is instinctual for your baby. Pacifiers can help with extending baby sleep, as they can be used as a method of self-soothing
4. Make sure to feed your baby before naps. This one can be a bit tricky, but you will learn how to feed your baby before each sleep window with some practice.
5. Ensure they have an ideal sleep environment Try and keep your babies’ sleeping environment dark, and use a noise machine. This will help your baby sleep longer and learn to recognize when it’s time for bed or naps!
Patience, sleep IS in your future
The truth is each baby is different, and it takes each baby different amounts of time to sleep longer and longer. Rest is in your future, and if you are feeling like you need extra support now please contact us today! We have an amazing team of certified, insured, and dependable doulas who are ready to help you achieve a full night’s rest!
Thank you for reading this weeks blog! For more helpful tips on all things pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenthood please check out our weekly blogs.
