Image: iStock
Having a baby and sleeping well – do they go together? We suspect it’s a one-in-a-million baby that would allow you to sleep. Moreover, the hackneyed suggestions around napping when your baby naps are things meant to say for the sake of saying. Guess what, you need better strategies to sleep more as new parents. Here are a few things that you could do without much hassle. Once you’ve battled your sleep deprivation, you are sure to say, “Hey, never thought of this one! It really worked for me?” Want to give it a try?
1. Take turns with your partner
Common sense does suggest this one, but it works the best if you have firmly timed yourselves to your naps. Divide the time between the two of you. Perhaps one sleeps earlier than the other and hits the sack when the other is up to feed the child. So while one sleeps in the first half of the night, the other takes over in the second half. Else you end up snoozing or staying up together all fatigued.
2. Alternate night or shifts
That was about taking turns in hours. But you could have alternating nights caring for your baby. One night you sleep when he becomes the duty nurse. The other night, it would be your turn to stay awake. For those with flexible working hours, it might be great to schedule the first half of the day to the mother while daddy takes over from the second half of the day.
3. Make use of breast pumps
This one makes sense because the times when you are asleep, your husband doesn’t have to turn to formula feeds for your child. He could still feed your baby with mother’s milk that has been pumped out and stored. Moreover, unlike formula milk, mother’s milk has longer shelf life and doesn’t need to be discarded within 30 minutes. Expressed breastmilk can be stored for six hours at room temperature. But if the weather is hot, it is recommended that your baby is fed with the expressed milk within four hours. So, mothers could go to sleep in straight for at least four hours while your husband takes on from there.
4. Power-snacking in the middle of the night
Not a bad idea at all. A breastfeeding mom needs more energy, so she could best use the mid-night wake-up times for her energizing with healthy snacks. Think about the daytime hours when eating well or digging into power-snacks seems close to impossible – at least not in a way that you can gnaw quietly. It takes quite a lot of gobbling up in one go which is not a healthy option at all.
5. Co-sleeping with the baby
Co-sleeping with you baby is the best thing to do because it also helps the mother to nurse while still laying in bed. Not to forget the emotional bonding, sense of security and nurturing that the baby derives in the process.
6. Having the bassinet placed close to you
If co-sleeping your baby is a concern (as it is to quite a few parents and in many cultures), you could consider placing your baby’s cot net to the mother’s side of the bed so she could rock it any time the baby is up.
7. Consider separate rooms
Some couples like to have separate rooms for some time, especially if they also have an older child. So while your husband and the older child can share the other room/s, it can give you all the scope to nurse your baby as you share the bed.
Follow these and see how you couldn’t get a whiff of fresh air amidst the sleepless nights with a newborn.
