Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation was definitely the hardest part about having a baby. Babies have a way of messing up sleep, regardless of the fact that they sleep 18-20 hours a day. Amazingly enough, somehow none of those hours correspond to a normal adult’s night time sleep. Then, when they finally do conk out, at say 10am, it’ s already morning and there’s work to do. No wonder so many women suffer post-partum depression- nobody can function with a few hours of combined sleep at night.
Everybody has different opinions about getting babies to eat and sleep well at night. I have read most of the popular books on tis subject and have come to 2 major conclusions.
- EVERY baby is different.
- You can not make a baby eat or sleep, but you can give them the best opportunities to do both well.
Tips for sleep that worked for us
{with 2 totally different babies}
In total desperation, I found that I would try almost anything to get my babies to sleep. My husband and I had already determined we were not the co-sleeping family types- we bought a crib for a reason, and we meant to use it. So, eventually I found a routine that worked magic for us:
This is SwaddleMe, whcih is what we used.
- Get myself ready for bed- pj’s on, teeth brushed, ready to go.
- Change diaper and ensure baby is awake and ready to eat.
- Swaddle baby. SwaddleMe or Miracle Blanket are great.
- Nurse/bottle feed baby to a very dozey sleepiness.
- Turn on white noise. We use waterfall sound effects because they’re consistent and calm, unlike chirping birds or crashing waves (which I like for relaxation but not for sleep).
- Lay baby in crib and say nuh-night.
- Turn on white noise very low in my room-high enough to not hear every coo or sigh from baby, but low enough not to miss baby’s needs.
It was a thing of beauty- once perfected,t his routine got us past sleep deprivation and into “Man, I love this kid!” mode!
