This past Wednesday my husband and I attended our first baby-care class. It went from 630pm to 9pm and was stocked full of very helpful information. Everything ranging from care of the umbilical cord to the sleeping habits of your baby.Speaking of sleeping habits, we learned that babies tend to be nocturnal creatures. The instructor asked us when our babies were most active and most of us said at night before bed.
Well, apparently, this behavior doesn't stop once these little humans are born. Apparently babies tend to be more active throughout the night, which isn't great news for all of us who enjoy our night-time slumber.
I kind of already kind of knew I was going to be kissing my solid night sleeps goodbye, but now, I'm totally convinced.
I don't know if it's from this new news or not, but the past 2 nights, I've been waking up at 330-4am and have not been able to sleep at all. Too many thoughts go racing through my head and so I end up doing something like cleaning the house, working on the computer or reading just because I can't sleep. And, all during this time, my baby is dancing in my belly. Seriously, last night I looked down at my tummy and it was moving all over the place. It was wild (but slightly annoying because I would have rather been sleeping... oh well).
If any mothers out there have any tips on how to improve the sleeping habits of my future baby, I'm all ears. Of, if you want to just let me know there is no solution and I'm just going to have to live with it for awhile, I'll take that too.
Well, it's now 8am and I've been up for 4 hours. Now it's time for me to go teach boot camp and hope I fall asleep sometime this afternoon.
10 more weeks to go! Exciting!!!
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8 comments:
Well, I'm not a mother yet so I can't offer any helpful advice there, but my mom started feeding me cereal at 1 month, and that knocked me out pretty well. I don't think that's a route you'd like to go, though haha.
I wanted to comment and recommend Dr Sear's baby book, it's practically a textbook of info from day 1 to 2 years. If you haven't heard of it yet that might be a book you're interested in getting. It was recommended to me by several mothers. It's pretty inexpensive on Amazon, as well. Good luck!!
The two books that saved our lives and helped both of my children sleep as long as they were able to were:
1. The Happiest Baby on the Block -Dr. Harvey Karp
2. The Baby Whisperer- Tracey Hogg
The Happiest Baby is a wonderful resource and if I had to choose between the book and the DVD, I choose the DVD because then you can see the magic in action! It's also a better resource for the first few months. His theory revolves around the fact that we should consider the first three months of life outside of the womb as the "4th trimester". Their environment should try and simulate the womb as much as possible: swaddling, noise machine when they sleep, something to suck on. Good luck!
I think you get the baby you get. My first son never slept and cried a lot. I just gave birth last Wed to our second son and I expected the same thing but this new baby is quite a sleeper. It helps that I nurse and cosleep. So when he starts to stir I just give him a breast and we both fall back to sleep. I suggest if you plan to breastfeed, practice lying down nursing. I think they go over it in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
I gotta second meredith's comment - if you're breastfeeding, it is a heck of a lot easier to cosleep if you end up with a baby who wakes up regularly during the night. sure, you're still waking up, but with the first you end up waking up in the middle of the night anyway freaking out wondering if s/he is ok ;) do not worry about rolling over or smothering the baby, you will naturally learn a good position that keeps baby safe and is comfortable for you. not to tell you any more "horror" stories than i can imagine you've received, but my son is 4, and *just* started sleeping through the night completely.
good luck and all the best!
Two books that saved our lives:
1. Happiest Baby on the Block
2. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Both excellent books ... and my children sleep like dreams!
I personally loved Baby Wise. My son was sleeping through the night by 5 or 6 weeks. I am going to do this again with my daughter in Feb., but every baby is different and your philosiphy will evolve too no matter what book you read. The best advice I ever got was listen to others and make it your own. What works for one may not work for you.
The insomnia is normal around this time too. I think it is the body naturally preparing you for baby. You will learn to love just 4 hours of sleep, but don't worry it is a short phase.
I second the recommendation for Dr. Sears and add "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. Both excellent, and give a really good, biologically-based explanation for baby needs and sleep habits.
I also second the "breastfeed and co-sleep" idea. Not only does this help you get more rest, it also helps produce a child who is secure at night, doesn't rely on comfort items that can get lost, and sleeps beautifully when he or she is developmentally ready.
(I would also add - no offense to the previous poster - that the Babywise methods are specifically warned against by the American Pediatric Association because they are associated with failure-to-thrive in a significant proportion of babies.)
Sleep when you can. I am pregnant with #4 and am not sleeping at all; although get great naps in the middle of the day. I learned, after the other three, that when you're tired, and you have a min, you should lay down. If you don't, you simply wear yourself down more than you already are.
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