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Lack of Sleep After Baby and How to Deal With It

Being a new parent is great but for many people not getting enough sleep at night can have a lot of side effects, some of which are:

  • Mood swings – grumpy, stressed and emotional are prime example of sleep deprivation.
  • Clumsiness – Lack of sleep can make it difficult to concentrate.
  • Communication problems – It can be difficult to hold a conversation when you are tired.
  • Diet – Being overtired can affect your diet. You may find you are overeating or not eating enough.

A lot of parents find the first 6 months after having a baby a very difficult time. Lack of sleep can cause problems in your relationship and it is important to help each other and talk about your feelings.

Day and Night?

When babies are born you must remember that babies are new to the world and do not know that there is a difference between day and night and it is a good idea to have a lot of noise in the day and then carry out a bedtime routine each night as soon as you can.

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So What is a Bedtime Routine?

A bedtime routine is a routine that gets carried out on or around the same time each night.

An example of a bedtime routine is as follows:

6:30pm                The routine starts with a bath

6:35pm                Dry and moisturise your baby

6:45pm                Bedtime bottle

7:00pm                Bedtime and story

7:15pm                 Lights out

What is a dream feed?

So what is a dream feed? And why wake your baby when he is fast asleep? These are all common questions that many parents have when they first hear about the dream feed.

A dream feed is a sleepy feed which is often around 11pm (or just before you go to sleep). The feed is best carried out in a quiet room. Babies often take the dream feed with their eyes closed. The main idea of the dream feed is to prevent the baby from waking sooner and allows mummy and daddy to get maximum sleep possible as well as to try and get your baby to sleep throughout the night. Many parents swear by the dream feed, however not much research has been carried out on night feeds.

Lack of sleep can have a huge impact on your relationship and you may find that you are arguing a lot more than before. It is important to communicate and work together instead of against each other. There are different ways to help each other with the lack of sleep but some common ones are:

  • If mummy goes to sleep at 9pm and daddy carries out the dream feed it will mean that mummy has a good amount of sleep before being woken during the night for the night feed.
  • Some dads offer to do a night feed on the weekend so that the mum can have a full night’s sleep.
  • Dad could do the first feed in the morning and allow mum to sleep in.

The content is provided by Carla @MyBump2Baby