Once your baby is born, you will not get a full 8 hours of sleep for several months (earlier if you are lucky.) Since you have to feed the baby every 2 hours (see breastfeeding 101) you will be up every two hours at night as well, so you may get an hour here and an hour there at night. So how do you log more sleep hours? Here are my suggestions:• Have someone come over and help you with the baby, while they are over, go take a 2 hour nap.
• Nap when the baby naps. You hear this a lot. It is not as easy as it sounds. Some babies don't take very long naps. My daughter only naps for half an hour at a time, so by the time I lay down and stop my brain from thinking about all the things I should be doing, my daughter is done napping. Also, she likes to nap in places like the car seat when we're driving somewhere or the stroller when we're out for a walk, and well, I can't exactly nap then either.
• If you have a breast pump or are formula feeding, have your partner, friend, family member, neighbor, anyone, feed the baby the bottle at one feeding. This way you may be able to nap for more than 2 hours. If you feed the baby, give the baby to your partner after, go lay down for a nap. Then at the 2 hour mark your partner gives the bottle, (you are still napping) and then wakes you up at the next feeding.
Your body will get used to these wacky hours and sleep deprivation unfortunately. At the 4 month mark if your baby is not sleeping through the night yet, and is gaining weight and you've got the OK from your pediatrician, you can start training your baby to sleep through the night. This will help you feel a little more like yourself!
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