Most new moms find getting enough sleep to be nearly impossible. Getting up every 2 hours disrupts your sleep. So you’re not alone if you’re feeling entirely exhausted or irritable.
Let’s talk about some ways to get more quality sleep and how to cope with sleep loss on a temporary basis.
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Getting More Quality Sleep:
Understand how your sleep cycles work
It’s more important to get quality sleep than to get 8 hours of poor sleep. You could sleep for 12 hours and still not be well rested if you don’t get enough deep sleep.
Most people need 90 minutes to 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep to enter into restorative deep sleep.
Fortunately (but also unfortunately) newborns need to eat about every 2 or 3 hours. So that means you can get one sleep cycle before you need to wake up and feed the baby.
You can track your sleep cycles with a FitBit or other smart watch. I have a FitBit Charge 2and it will show you a graph of your sleep cycles. It will also tell you how much deep sleep you get.
Take Naps
Naps will help you survive until your baby can sleep through the night.
I know the whole saying of “sleep when the baby sleeps” isn’t great advice because you also need to clean, pay bills, and do other things.
But babies generally sleep 16 hours a day so you should try to take a nap for at least an hour and a half. Even if you only nap every other day, you’ll still catch up on some of your sleep.
Let Your Partner Help
Your baby’s dad (or other parent) can help you during nighttime feedings even if you’re breastfeeding.
Pump and store milk so your partner can bottle feed at night.
Don’t want to pump or bottle feed? That’s fine. You can still get more rest if he brings the baby to you at night so you don’t have to move around as much.
You might be able to sleep through breastfeeding if your partner holds the baby to you. Just make sure they stay with the baby if you’re asleep.
Find Your Village
Before your baby is born, plan to have additional help from your parents, in-laws, siblings, or friends for the first couple of weeks. The first two or three weeks are the hardest.
They don’t necessarily have to help you by feeding the baby so you can sleep. But they can.
Have your friends and family help by cooking or providing meals for you. They can do your laundry or clean up and take out trash. You can have more time to nap if you don’t have to cook or clean.
Adjust Your Sleep Schedule
Have your partner do the first and even second nighttime feeding while you sleep. My husband and I did this during the first few months.
I would go to bed at 8:00pm and he would stay up with the baby until she was finished with her 1:00am feeding.
I woke up at 3:00am or 4:00am when she was ready for her next feeding. So I was able to sleep 7 or 8 hours uninterrupted.
My husband went to bed at 1:00am and woke up at 8:00am for work. So he was able to get 7 hours of sleep too.
Work towards a consistent schedule
Newborn sleep schedules are temporary. As your baby gets older, they’ll be able to sleep longer through the night.
My daughter was able to sleep at least 6 hours a night by the time I went back to work when she was 12 weeks old.
Having a consistent bedtime and feeding schedule is crucial for getting enough sleep.
How to Cope with Temporary Sleep Loss:
Meditate
Meditation provides some of the same benefits as sleep.
Try some deep breathing if you have trouble falling asleep or there’s no time for a nap.
Put on some relaxing music or find a beach waves video on YouTube to relax.
Eat Healthy
Easier said than done, right? It can be hard to eat healthy when you have no energy to cook.
I’ve had a lot of luck with my Instant Pot. You can throw in ingredients and just let it cook. No need to stand over it.
You can improve your sleep by avoiding caffeine or alcohol. And drink lots of water because dehydration can be tiring.
Do light workouts
A light workout might help you sleep better. Go out for a walk. You can take the baby in the stroller.
Even simple stretching will help. Or do some beginner yoga or Tai Chi. There are some easy to follow videos on YouTube.
Just make sure your doctor said it’s okay to exercise.
Take a shower
It can be really easy to forget to take a shower. I have many times. Taking a shower is really refreshing, and it’ll help you feel more awake when you need to wake up.
And it’s nice to put on some new clothes even if you’re just changing from pajamas to pajamas.
Talk to your doctor
Sleep deprivation can have serious effects on anybody, and new moms are already dealing with lots of hormonal changes.
Consult your doctor if you need help managing all the changes. Your doctor can give you recommendations to keep you and your family happy and healthy.
How Do You Deal With Sleep Loss a New Mom?
Let me know in the comments below how you manage to survive the sleepless nights during the newborn stage.
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