Posted on 4:51 pm by PreggNet Team
It’s a known fact that in the first weeks and months of having a new baby, you will have to change your sleeping habits quite drastically. Babies’ sleep patterns are very different then ours for many reasons – first of all, it takes them about a year to get used to the idea we take for granted – sleeping at night, and doing all the rest (We’ll get to that in a sec) by day.
And when you think about it, the rest isn’t much for a baby, they don’t go to work, deal with complicated pressures, or work out to often in the first year of their life… They mainly eat, poop and sleep. Not necessarily in that order.
There are more reasons to why exactly babies wake up at night (including some of the most nerve wracking Murphy laws), but we’l skip straight to the point – these five tips can turn a year of bloodshot eyes into a relaxing and healthy time for you, four your baby, and for your partner.
1. Magic Day Time Naps
5-20 minutes of sleep during the day can recharge your battery in a way you won’t believe.
Bonus: this tip is also great for driving, if you feel sleepy, just pull over and sleep for 5 minutes, you will feel so refreshed and full of energy your day will look completely different.
2. Sleep Like a Pro
Treat sleeping like you were getting paid for it. When your baby gets used to a routine, try to sleep when he or she does, and respect the time you spend in your bedroom (We’ll get to that soon) – Make sure you have a 50 minutes gap between your sleeping hours and any other stressful activity (dishes, bills, work you took home…). Take bath, read a book, whatever.
Bonus: Try to time your bed/waking hours to your sleep cycles. You will feel so fresh and full of energy during the day – guaranteed! (This life-saving gadget can help!)
3. Location Location Location.
Make sure your bedroom is for sleeping only. And Sex. Design it for theses purposes only, no distractions, then get used to sleep in your bedroom at all times, Don’t let yourself fall asleep in the baby’s room or infront of the TV.
4. Exercise
This is the third tip the will guarantee a good overall feeling during the day of freshness and energy.
5. Avoid Caffeine
Yup, we were all hoping this one won’t come up, but if you give up those things that artificially helps you avoid stress during the day, like caffeine, alcohol, smoking, and the likes of them, you will probably improve your sleep by %110-%130 at least, and gain more control of the “falling asleep mechanism” (i.e. it would be easier to sleep when you want to).
These tips may sound like you may need to change your life a lot, and if you never had a baby you’re probably thinking “How the hell am I gonna get used to this?”… but the fact is, your life and sleeping habits are going to change drastically wether you like it or not, so you might as well try to get used to these healthy habits right now and make the real hard times pass by smoothly.
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This is the hard part for a mother after giving birth. A baby usually wakes up at the middle of the night and crying, they are even awake for a few hours before they sleep again. You should have a plan on where and when you should sleep to avoid sleeplessness especially for working moms.