Ten tips from mama's on sleep!
Ten tips from mama’s on getting enough sleep in those first few months.
I recently put a post on Bumpnbub and asked mamas and papas for tips on how they get to sleep, stay asleep, prep for sleep and get enough rest. Here are the ten most popular answers for surviving those first few weeks/months with a newborn!
1.) Fill your freezer with home cooked meals! In the last few weeks of pregnancy, every time you or your partner make dinner cook double the batch and freeze it! When guests come over after baby is born and ask what can they bring, suggest a meal. Having good nutritious food after the baby is born is so important for your body to heal, produce breast milk and give you the energy being a new mumma requires… A lot of people also said the same thing, ‘slow cookers can be a lifesaver’!
2.) Cosleep SAFELY. Do your research on safe sleeping, having your baby in the room or in your bed can save so much sleep with dream feeding (if you’re breastfeeding) and also helps baby to be calmer with you nearby.
3.) Having a night time schedule for you, your partner and your baby is important. Read, take a bath with baby, have dim lighting, no technology etc. get everyone in the mood for bed!
4.) Using essential oils in a diffuser for calming effects! e.g. Lavender and Cedarwood.
5.) If it an option for your family, consider hiring a cleaner once a week for the first few weeks/months after giving birth. Having someone come and do the heavy duty cleaning takes the burden off you and your partner.
6.) If you have older children, each day at the same time, encourage ‘quiet time’. In that time encourage sleeping, quietly reading, watching a movie etc. Time for you and your family to rest each day.
7.) Meditation! This can work wonders for easing your mind, stop those racing thoughts and thinking of all the stuff that needs to be done around the house- sleep is the most important! The laundry can wait mamas and papas.
8.) Many mums said they split feeds by pumping, whilst their partners took either the first night feed or the early morning feed, thus sharing the load and letting mama getting more rest.
9.) Having a baby monitor can be a really good option if your baby is not sleeping in your room and you are somebody that is anxious about not hearing them cry, which then burdens your sleep. With a monitor, you can watch them and listen to them and hopefully sleep more soundly.
10.) Drinking lots of water and staying hydrated helps your body function optimally. Being hydrated can help you sleep better, produce more milk and help your body cope with less rest. Ge a drink bottle you can keep filling and aim to drink 3L per day.
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Lastly, ASK FOR HELP MAMA’S. If you feel like you're not coping (sleep deprivation is the worst form of torture) then tell someone. Your neighbor, your friend, your sister- ask someone to come over, play with baby for a few hours while you sleep and don’t feel bad for asking. Lack of sleep can make you feel like the world is literally ending, you have got this! Promise.
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All photos by: https://www.lophotobirth.com/ (@lophotobirth)
