GOOD NIGHT SLEEP?? FORGET ABOUT IT! Nehh Just kidding ;) (part 2)

Hello my dear beautiful parents, I know how interested you are to read today’s content. So, as I promised in the previous blog post I am here to discuss and share the things that helped us to have good night sleep with our little one :). Before jumping into today’s topic, for those who are new to my blog or have missed the previous blog post, I would highly recommend you to go back and read it as this post is the continuation of the previous post and also I have covered the major things that needs to be taken care in the previous blog post.

Now, let’s assume that you have taken care of all the things which I have discussed in the previous post and yet you feel like you need something else alongside to have a goodnight sleep, then I would recommend you to consider the things that I am going to discuss today. Are you ready?? Here we go…. 

Consider these things:

Pacifier: I can’t tell you how amazed and thankful we (me and my husband) were for being able to find such a product in the market. It is seriously a life saver for us. It truly helped us and Vismai to have a very good night sleep. If your baby has a strong tendency to suck and if you have to constantly stick your breast into the baby’s mouth in order to soothe and comfort the baby then this product is definitely worth trying. Now, I know there are mixed opinions out there on giving pacifiers to babies which I wouldn’t deny completely. All I want you to understand is, give a pacifier only after you successfully established breastfeeding with your little one, this will help the baby to distinguish between your nipple and the pacifier without falling into confusion.

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Also, understand that it only satisfies their tendency to suck but will not satisfy their hunger, so make sure to feed them according to their routine. In order to avoid speech delayed situations, only give the pacifier during their sleep time and not when they are awake, so that your little one gets enough opportunity to communicate with you and people around. Also, make sure to wean them out of pacifiers before they turn two, as prolonged usage of a pacifier can lead to dental problems. If you are interested in introducing pacifier to your little one, I would recommend you to read this article to gain a perspective.

Don’t become a human pacifier instead use one :).

Introduce crib: Yes! Consider introducing crib to the little one as early as possible if that is what you wanted. If you’re unsure whether to introduce crib to the little one, here I have a question for you. Is your baby very sensitive to touch that whenever your body or hand touches her body during sleep, she wakes up immediately and finds it hard to fall back to sleep? Or if you can’t fall asleep completely wondering what if you accidentally roll over the little one?? Then this is something that would help you and your little one to have a good night sleep.

As a new parent we have this mix of feelings and emotions which wouldn’t let us leave our little one to sleep alone in their crib. I totally understand you as I myself have experienced every bit of emotion you are going through right now. I assure you it’s going to be okay! Now that you have decided upon trying this option, I would recommend you to take it slow as the little one is unaware of your decision, he/she might find it hard to adjust to the crib in the beginning as it is unfamiliar to the little one. So, to make it familiar, start by introducing the crib during nap times, and once you see that he/she got comfortable sleeping in the crib, then it’s time to let him/her try to sleep in the crib during nights. It’s safe as long as you make sure to have nothing in the crib other than the mattress and your little one :).     

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We introduced crib to Vismai when he was 4 months old, he used to have his day naps in the crib and night sleeps with us on our bed. We made a choice to let him sleep in his crib only after he mastered rolling over back and forth by himself. Later, we sleep trained him by the time he turned 8 months old, and he was very comfortable sleeping alone in his crib and the room all by himself. I will elaborate on this topic in future posts, but for now I just want you to understand that it’s an option that would benefit you and your little one to have a good night sleep.

Breast pumping: Now, you must be wondering how breast pumping helps to have a good night sleep?? I got you, let me explain :). We mothers are more prone to sleep deprivation when compared to fathers. This is largely because we are biologically equipped to address the baby’s need for hunger. While this is a privilege for us to be able to feed our little one, it causes a huge amount of stress as we are expected to wake up for baby’s every need. What if there is an option to take turns to feed our little one and so to address other needs?? Would be great right?? 😉 Yes!! I didn’t realize until I used one. Now, there was a time when I actively breastfed and breast pumped milk alongside to make sure that I produced enough milk for my little one, so I am pretty sure that it would help you too. 

All you have to do is that, know your little ones feeding pattern as I mentioned in the previous post and come up with an action plan. Let’s say your little one feeds in every three hour interval as mine, then his/her last meal for the entire day would ideally be 12:00 am and you have to wake up in the middle of the night at 3:00 am to feed him/her again. Now, here comes the action plan that you need to discuss with your partner or person who came to help you. Propose a plan where your partner sleeps early, let’s say by 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm and you will be attending to the little ones every need until 12:00am and then sleep making sure that you have pumped enough milk for the next feed which would ideally be at 3:00am and should be taken care by your partner. 

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Don’t feel bad/guilty for making your partner wake up in the middle of the night. Understand that you both are working during the day and so you both need a fair amount of sleep to be able to function effectively. You staying at home doesn’t mean that you are sitting relaxed at home throughout the day as society perceives it, so excuse yourself a little bit, take a step back and allow your partner to engage in the process (help him if he asks for it). As the midnight feed was taken care of by your partner, you now have a solid 6 hours of sleep straight before starting your daily routine at 6:00 am with the little one. If you have someone to help you during nights then it’s worth trying this plan, as it worked for us totally. I will of course elaborate on this topic in future posts, but for now I just want to show you a possibility to have a good night sleep :).

Don’t beat yourself up: Most of the parents, particularly mothers have a very hard time getting enough sleep after having a baby and especially in the first year. Yes! With all the changes in your body, figuring your ways out for feeding and comforting the brand new baby, managing finances, attending family needs and most importantly societal judgments, expectations and unasked advices can add even more stress for brand new parents and especially brand new mothers. I understand you, totally and truly. I know how it feels, as I was there once too. 

At this point and phase in your life everybody wants to drop an advice/comment/ judgment on you irrespective of how good or bad you are in your ways of parenting. When this happens ask yourself if it’s worth accepting their advice/comment/judgment?? Is it helping you in any way or serving your purpose or lifting your spirit up in any way? If the answering is “YES” then give a thought about it, if the answer is “No” then do not waste a single second thinking/stressing yourself about it. Be open to knowing things and only follow if you are truly convinced and can see a possibility. Don’t beat yourself up with societal opinions/judgments of you doing it right or wrong, instead  listen to your intuition, what it is saying? And decide upon what suits you, the little one and the family the best.

Simplify your life: When you have a baby, there is every possibility for you to unknowingly accumulate things around that you don’t need anymore. This can not only cause you stress, but also consumes a lot of your time and energy in keeping them organized. So, try and declutter baby toys, clothes, gifts or things that you no longer need/use for at least once in every 6 months. Simplify your life by surrounding yourself with people who love you, accept you for what you are, understand you with utmost empathy and willing to help you with compassion. Simplify your life by avoiding toxic people and toxic energy that would potentially lead you to stress. If you can not cook a meal, admit it, excuse yourself and have a sandwich instead. If you can not clean your house or dishes for example they can wait there until someone helps you with it or you yourself have energy to do it. What I am trying to say is that whatever you do, try to keep it as simple as possible rather than stressing yourself up:).

I hope these tips help you have peace around bedtime with your little one :). I am looking forward to knowing your ways of dealing sleep deprivation and having a good night’s sleep with your little one.