5 Tips to Get More Sleep with a Newborn

---

Before the birth of my first child, I thought I read ALL the books.  In hindsight, I did read an impressive stack of material.  But, most of it focused on pregnancy and childbirth and not the blurry, hazy, beauty of the early postpartum days.  I’m sure I at least whizzed by some statements about biologically normal newborn sleep, but in no way did those statements prepare me for the reality of nighttime parenting in the weeks and months that followed baby’s birth.  While sniffing that wonderful scent of newborn baby and gazing in rapt attention at my child’s adorable features, I also found myself - like most new mothers - completely and utterly exhausted.

I’m not here to share with you a magical recipe that allows you to bypass normal newborn behavior.  Nope - newborns need us, day and night, and that’s okay. Instead, I’ve got five tips - some you can even do before baby is born - to give yourself a soft, fluffy cushion of support, and yes, get more sleep in the newborn days.

Here are five things that you can do to improve your quality of sleep with a newborn baby -

1. No Phone in the Bedroom - While it can be tempting to scroll message boards or play games in the wee hours of the morning as you feed and tend to your baby, all that screen time can actually equal less sleep for you.  Your circadian rhythm - that internal biological clock that makes you sleepy at the right time - isn’t a fan of all that late-night social media stalking.  Your baby doesn’t yet have a mature circadian rhythm and won’t fully produce melatonin until school age.  What does this mean for you? Protect the sleep you can get by staying off screens and keeping your sleeping and baby-tending areas dark.
2. Get the Right Night Light - Wait, you are saying, didn’t you just tell me to keep it dark at night?  Ah, yes, I did. But, having the right kind of night light will allow you to manage the latest poop explosion and feed a hungry baby, all while maintaining that important circadian rhythm.  Unlike the blue light emitted by your phone or tablet, red light doesn’t interfere with your natural melatonin production, meaning it can help you protect your body’s natural sleep rhythm.  Check out this list of sleep expert recommended night lights if you need some ideas.
3. No Clock in the Bedroom - With my oldest child, I could recite in detail the precise number of minutes between wake-ups and exactly how long it took for me to feed, soothe, and settle her back to sleep.  Given that these wake-ups came very frequently in her early days, that mental log of meager sleep increments was demoralizing.  It is one thing to feel tired, another to know that you have only totaled an hour and seventeen minutes of rest between wake-ups.  Banishing the clock won’t magically make your stretches of sleep lengthen, but it can make wake-ups less mentally draining, and make it easier for your mind to let go and drift back to sleep.
4. Do it in Shifts - With the help of a partner or family member, carve out some reliable shifts where you can get some rest.  Maybe you head to bed promptly at 6 p.m. and your partner only brings baby to you for feeding until 11 p.m., when you switch so your partner can rest while you handle wake-ups.  Maybe you hand baby off at 5 a.m. every morning so you can get a solid two-hour chunk of sleep before starting the day.  It may take some trial and error to find the sweet spot for your family, but sketching out some shift-sharing can make the roughest periods run smoother.  And, know that baby will not always need you this intensely. Some night in the future you can tuck baby in and enjoy a show or snuggle with your partner.  The days of splitting shifts won’t last forever.
5. Plan Support Before Baby - Whether a family member, a friend, or a postpartum doula, planning to have a support person (or people!) on call for these early nights of broken sleep can make the newborn days easier.  Lining up this support before babe’s arrival can alleviate so much stress, as you know you will have the support right when you need it. Postpartum doulas, in particular, bring knowledge of infant feeding and soothing alongside postpartum recovery and emotional support, making a postpartum doula a worthwhile investment in the early weeks after baby is born.

Want to get more Nested Mama tips and tricks for postpartum life? Connect with Nested Mama.  Looking for a holistic, evidence-based approach to family sleep?  Nested Mama offers Infant Sleep Education workshops and consultations. Find out more here.