Re: Help! I'm always exhausted now that my baby is born. Are there any ways to get more sleep?
You’re typing this at 3 a.m., aren’t you? Hang in there, because when baby hits 3 months, she may be able to sleep for at least five hours at a time, according to the Mayo Clinic. And it gets better: a 6-month-old baby can sleep up to 12 hours! So there’s that to look forward to. In the meantime, get busy making your home more sleep-friendly. Turn off all phone ringers and forget about unloading the dishwasher -- when your baby naps, you nap. If you have family visitors, don’t try to entertain them. Let them hold baby for a bit (they’ll love it) and use that time to rest, take a shower, pay a bill…or hey, unload that dishwasher.
Between you and your SO, hammer out a system where you take turns getting up during the night. Maybe he can bottle feed or change diapers and let you sleep. It’s all about tag-teaming. Finally, when baby makes a few noises in the night, don’t always get up immediately. Your newborn could just be adjusting or fussing before going back to sleep again -- newborns are noisy sleepers. So if baby sounds content enough, wait a minute or two before getting up. And if the crying doesn’t start, by all means, roll over and go back to sleep! Good luck.
Erin Meanly | March 01 , 2010 4:52 PM