Not an expert on this one but I just want to share how we managed Sofia's sleep at night.
When people ask me if I'm getting enough sleep since Sofia came, they are always surprised to hear that I get enough sleep ever since. Of course the first few weeks were zombie sleeping but it was just because I need to feed my daughter every 2 hours to stimulate my milk. But Sofia did not really (and is not) give us a hard time to get enough sleep.
When people ask me if I'm getting enough sleep since Sofia came, they are always surprised to hear that I get enough sleep ever since. Of course the first few weeks were zombie sleeping but it was just because I need to feed my daughter every 2 hours to stimulate my milk. But Sofia did not really (and is not) give us a hard time to get enough sleep.
I've heard some moms whose babies were wide awake and would play in the middle of the night. My daughter never did that. She'd only wake up and cry because of normal stuff like colic, too hot or too cold room temperature, wet diaper or simply wanted to be fed but not at all, because she wanted to play.
So for moms with newborns coming, here are my tips. Some I got from a pediatrician.
1. Breastfeed and co-sleep. Of course, so to minimize the need to move. The first two and a half months, co-sleeping and breastfeeding did not help too much because I'd get up and feed Sofia in a cradle hold position. When I realized I need more sleep and sometimes I fall asleep while holding Sofia which is dangerous, I needed to learn side-lying position. So from then on, I've been feeding Sofia on bed, lying side by side and I've learned also how to feed my baby with the other side of the breast (one far from my baby's side).
2. Turn off your room lights. But it's okay to use night lights. Why? So that the baby will know it's night time and it's time to close her eyes and sleep. It also helps if you do not watch TV while putting your baby to sleep. Sofia can't sleep if I do that.
3. It's okay if there's too much noise during the day. Why again? So she'll know it's time to play and it's daytime. When Sofia was born, our neighbors' houses were all in an on-going construction. But Sofia still took naps easily by tapping or swaying her. And then wakes up and play because it's daytime!
4. Have a bedtime routine. Bathe the baby, change her clothes, read a story consistently at the same time of the night. We'd do this starting 6pm and then we go to our room before 8pm every night. When her body remembers the time, you'll be surprised that your baby doesn't need to be tapped or swayed just to fall asleep.
5. It helps if her daytime bed is different from her nighttime bed. We used a crib and duyan when she sleeps during the day and as I've said we co-sleep on our bed at night. Once you have established daytime and nighttime sleeping, this won't matter anymore. When Sofia turned 6 or 7 months, we removed the crib and duyan to give way for her playpen in our living area. During weekends when I'm not working, she's fine sleeping on our bed during the day.
6. No toys in the bedroom. When Sofia was newborn, our room never really had baby stuff aside from her comforter and pillow. But there was nothing in the room that will make her busy like baby mobiles, toys or those sleepy musical stuff until Sofia learned the routine. Now, our room has baby stuff already so she can play while in our bedroom before bedtime but come 8:30pm, she'll stop playing and will be lying down on our bed.
7. Last but not the least, luck! Hehehehe. Probably, we're just lucky that Sofia knows when to sleep and how long to sleep. She was very consistent to go to bed before 9pm and wakes up at 6am. Of course, she'll wake up to breastfeed but goes back to sleep when she's done.
So there. I hope this helps new moms in their motherhood journey. Remember, if you lack sleep at night because of your babies, that will pass. Your babies will learn to sleep longer at night no matter what.
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