Any parent will tell you that babies and sleeping do not go hand-in-hand.
This may come as a surprise to many expecting parents but it is true. We commonly think that all little babies do is sleep, eat and soil diapers. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It may seem as if the 18 hours of sleep that the newborn is getting slips right through your fingers. That is because it does. There are two major components to babies and sleeping. There is, of course, the infant’s rest. There is also your rest as well. It is important to approach these two separate entities as a whole.
When you approach babies and sleeping as a paired activity you look at the entire situation differently. If you can, try to sleep when the baby rests. This is much more difficult than it seems considering the little one’s unique patterns. However, it is worth the effort.
When I gave birth to my daughter I thought that I knew everything there was to know about babies and sleeping. I was terribly wrong. After reading everything I could about the subject there was no preparing me for the obstacle of trying to rest with a newborn.
I was thrilled that my daughter was born in the afternoon. I thought that I would get a lot of sleep in the hospital during my overnight stay. This did not happen the way that I planned. The nurse brought my little girl to me for feedings every two hours.
Of course, I expected this because I had read every article about babies and sleeping that I could before the big day. What I didn’t expect was that I could not get to sleep. I wanted my daughter in the room with me at all times and when she was taken back to the nursery I was left tossing and turning and crying.
There was lots of crying because I had post partum depression. This obstacle makes babies and sleeping two very difficult challenges. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t stop crying. I also could not get to sleep. I didn’t feel like the happy new mother that I expected to be.
Things got better after we got home but I did not sleep for a few days. There is a balance between babies and sleeping that I could not seem to grasp. The suggestion that I sleep when the baby naps was wonderful. I highly recommend that any new mom does the same.
This may come as a surprise to many expecting parents but it is true. We commonly think that all little babies do is sleep, eat and soil diapers. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It may seem as if the 18 hours of sleep that the newborn is getting slips right through your fingers. That is because it does. There are two major components to babies and sleeping. There is, of course, the infant’s rest. There is also your rest as well. It is important to approach these two separate entities as a whole.
When you approach babies and sleeping as a paired activity you look at the entire situation differently. If you can, try to sleep when the baby rests. This is much more difficult than it seems considering the little one’s unique patterns. However, it is worth the effort.
When I gave birth to my daughter I thought that I knew everything there was to know about babies and sleeping. I was terribly wrong. After reading everything I could about the subject there was no preparing me for the obstacle of trying to rest with a newborn.
I was thrilled that my daughter was born in the afternoon. I thought that I would get a lot of sleep in the hospital during my overnight stay. This did not happen the way that I planned. The nurse brought my little girl to me for feedings every two hours.
Of course, I expected this because I had read every article about babies and sleeping that I could before the big day. What I didn’t expect was that I could not get to sleep. I wanted my daughter in the room with me at all times and when she was taken back to the nursery I was left tossing and turning and crying.
There was lots of crying because I had post partum depression. This obstacle makes babies and sleeping two very difficult challenges. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t stop crying. I also could not get to sleep. I didn’t feel like the happy new mother that I expected to be.
Things got better after we got home but I did not sleep for a few days. There is a balance between babies and sleeping that I could not seem to grasp. The suggestion that I sleep when the baby naps was wonderful. I highly recommend that any new mom does the same.
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