How to Survive Sleepless Nights with a New Infant

It doesn’t take most new parents long to learn that the better your baby sleeps at night, the more sleep you will get. Those first few months following your baby’s birth can be difficult. Sleep deprivation likely will be a fact of life, at least for awhile. During this time, there is only one thing of which you can be certain; your baby will sleep when he is tired. You can’t force him to sleep if he doesn’t want to. In the meantime, make yourself as comfortable as possible and try to get as much rest as you can.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Relax. It won’t help to get yourself all in a tether about losing sleep. Anxiety can cause insomnia; therefore, you should avoid focusing on all the sleep that you aren’t getting. Just remember, things eventually will improve, as your little one begins to sleep more.
2. Learn to recognize the signs that your baby is getting sleepy. Experts recommend putting your baby down to sleep while she is still awake. Training your baby to go to sleep on her own means establishing regular bedtime and nap routines. While you shouldn’t allow your baby to cry herself to sleep, wait a few minutes to make certain that she really is awake before going to reassure her.
3. Whenever your baby naps during the day, don’t use that time to catch up on household chores. Instead turn off the phone, and lie down in a quiet, darkened room to rest. Napping, even if for 20 minutes, can help you catch up on all those lost zzzz’s. You will feel more refreshed after just a short nap.
4. Try lying down on your side when nursing your baby, especially at night. This is a more restful position. If you feed your baby formula from a bottle, keep several bottles of room temperature water and powdered formula next to the baby’s crib. Take turns with your spouse when it comes to getting up and feeding your baby throughout the night.
5. Accept that housework is not your number one priority right now. Don’t use precious time when you could be napping to catch up on neglected chores, no matter how strong the temptation. If your baby is sleeping, take advantage of the time to get some rest yourself. Getting adequate sleep so that you can function and care for your baby is what is important right now.

Tips & Warnings

• Research shows that a new parent loses about 350 hours of sleep at night during a baby’s first year.
• Try to get extra sleep while you are pregnant. By banking some additional sleep in advance, you might not feel quite as sleep deprived after the baby is born.
• Some babies who sleep through the night (sleeping for at least 5 hours uninterrupted) early on may suddenly begin to wake more frequently.