Will I ever sleep again?
Yes you will sleep…but first let’s level set. Then a few tips for better parent sleep.
First the truth: Babies' sleep cycles are 40 minutes, whereas adult sleep cycles are 90 - 100 minutes. Over time, babies learn to “connect” these sleep cycles and sleep for longer stretches, but it takes time. Babies also need to feed every 2-3 hours, during a 24 hour time period, for several weeks. They wake up when they have to poop, are constipated, or gassy. All this means challenging sleep for parents.
A few tips:
1. Split the night- if you have a partner, one of you goes to bed when the baby is down (ex: 7 or 8 pm, while the partner does the first feeding when the baby wakes up at 10 pm). For the second feeding at 1 am, the early to bed parent wakes up. This way, each parent can get 5-6 hours of sleep.
2. Make a plan to get to your ideal # of sleep hours you need to function in 24. Plan to stay in bed or keep going back to close your eyes (even just rest) until you’ve gotten the allotted amount that you normally need to get. Find times to lay down during the day. For example, you may get 7 hours total, interrupted sleep at night. If you need 8 hours to feel better, your goal is to find another 1 hour of rest during the day. Perhaps a 30 min nap when your baby goes down, and another one in the afternoon.
3. If this feels impossible to get to that magical sleep number of hours, call in your resources: a friend, family member, or doula to help you get rest.
About the Author: Kathleen Stern is a certified birth and postpartum doula, founder of Boston Area Doulas. She loves helping parents get a good night sleep to improve their mental health.
📞 (857) 600-1907
✉️ kathleen@bostonareadoulas.com
