How do you fit sleep into your schedule?

BumpJackie

SOUND OFF: As a new mom, how do you get sleep when baby is waking up every three hours? Share your tips here!

tbmadeamistake

We don't.

ladylisalt

Lilygrace48 said:

We don't.

lol. I think this too. And I have the worst time falling asleep once I am up. 

aehl14

Wait for exhaustion to take over lol. Or hopefully find some amazing person to take a feeding (if bottle feeding like I did) and get about 5 hrs.

larussasbaby

Sometimes I get up and pump and pass the bottle off to my hubby to take one of the middle of the night feedings. 15 minutes of pumping in bed and then can pass out immediately while he deals with feeding, diaper, rocking back to sleep

marsmama14

I'm breast feeding a 3 week old, i don't nap easily, the sun comes up and I'm up. I know its not recommended but i have been having to take a bunch of pillows and stuff them around us on the couch, to keep me sitting up and to keep him in place. He likes to fall asleep when eating and he periodically laches back on, like a comfort thing, so if its not there he wakes up screaming. I normally try to do this when his pa is home, but sometimes at 2:30 in the morning i just have to do it so i can get some sleep. I keep switching things up and have found a few things that work so far, but i mainly have been sleeping on the couch either holding him, with the help of pillows, or him in his vibrating monkey chair. This normally gets me 2 hours of undisturbed sleep, tried the swing this morning and got 3 full hours before he was hungry again. Just try different things and when you can get the help of someone to watch the LO, go take a nice hot bath/shower and stretch out, whether you sleep or not your body will get the rest it needs. Good luck!

emslade982

Obviously try sleeping when LO sleeps. Ask trusted family and friends to watch LO and take a 2 hr nap. Use earplugs and a sleep mask so you can sleep more soundly. Know things will get better. They eventually do sleep for longer stretches. I think we were getting 5 hr stretches by 8 weeks.

kassidybl

We breastfeed and bedshare (DH does not share the bed). Best thing I ever did. Most times, he's fallen asleep before he's done feeding, other times he's already latched on before I even wake up. Win-win. He also sleeps more quietly than in his co-sleeper. He wakes up roughly every three hours, so he's down at 9pm and up at 9 or 10am the next morning. Unless DH keeps me up too late, we usually wake up nice and refreshed the next morning.

Patch89

I sleep when my eyes can't hold themselves open anymore ha ha 

nah- i don't sleep! sometimes i get a good nights sleep and wake up feeling groggy and sometimes i only manage 1-3 hours sleep max and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. 

how does that work???  

babymac14

Try to make middle of the night feedings as brief as possible...I know-easier said than done. The more boring you make them the less likely baby will be entertained enough to stay up. Keep lights low, don't talk or sing too much. Make it all business! Try putting your little one down as soon as they are done burping. Any luck and they will learn to fall asleep on their own without too much rocking, skin to skin, etc.

JustGoWithIt

Aren't you funny...I think I've forgotten what it feels like to be rested. With a 4 YO and 2 month old I'm a mess...and back at work which is even more fun.

LO goes to bed around 8 and does a good 6 hr stretch, but by the time I get Ds#1 to bed, get ready for the next day, workout (sometimes -ha!), and shower, it's 10 before I go to bed. Then LO wakes between 12-1 and again between 3-4. Last night was rough. He woke at 11:30, 2:30, AND 5:15. I normally get up at 6:30 to help DH get the boys ready (he takes them to daycare, I pick up in eve). When they leave at 7 I shower & leave for work by 7:45. 

I sit at a desk for work, DH is a mechanic, so I do ALL night feeds even though we're FF at this point. Last thing we need is for DH to make a mistake at work from being tired and injure himself or someone else. Unfortunately that still doesn't explain why he can't be bothered to do a feed or two during the weekend nights...

NADA-H

my baby was doing very good I must have jinxed her, at a little before 6 weeks she'd sleep for about 6 hours straight before waking up to feed then sleep again for 3 hours...that went from that to 6-nurse-4 and then 6-nurse-5 and then 7-nurse-6 hours!

yesterday at almost 9 weeks she got up every two hours to nurse at night I wanted to die, she didn't even do that when she was first born she'd only wake up every 3 hours then. So obviously at my 8:30 am meeting today I was looking at my boss but all I saw was a bunch of shapes and colors making noises...sleep deprivation yeeeaay!