advertisement

 

ParentMap poll
What do you most want for Mother's Day?


advertisement
Home arrow Ages & Stages arrow Ages 0-2 arrow Sleep strategies for new parents
Sleep strategies for new parents
Print This Page!
Email This Page!
Written by Tera Schreiber   
Mar 01, 2007
Sleeping like a baby? Not necessarily a good thing, as many new parents know. Doctors say babies "sleep through the night" when they sleep an uninterrupted five hours, but that often doesn't happen for several months. The shock of newborn sleep -- or lack thereof -- can be a hard one for parents to bear.

The shock itself is problematic. The Journal of Pediatric Healthcare reports that teaching parents about normal sleep development can help by giving them reasonable expectations about sleep, and a chance to get ready and make a plan to deal with it.

"Sleep is a family issue," says Ann Keppler, a nurse and parenting author, consultant and educator. "It takes work on the part of both parents to survive the normal nighttime wakings of infants and toddlers. When sleep becomes an issue, parents should take time to come up with a sleep plan that reflects what the infant is able to do developmentally and that takes temperament into account."

Understanding why

Understanding infant biology can help. A baby's first months are essentially a fourth trimester. "Remember, the baby has never been cold or hungry before birth -- all of their needs were taken care of in the womb," says Debra Sheldon, postpartum doula and an instructor for a program called Happiest Baby on the Block. "Babies need parents to help them gently make the transition to life outside the womb. As they grow and mature, they will need parents less often at night."

Sheldon teaches parents to help babies sleep by swaddling, holding babies on their side (until they are put into bed, where they should be put to sleep on their backs), "shhh-ing" in their babies' ears, swinging their babies and encouraging sucking. Sheldon says these techniques help babies fall asleep faster and encourage them to sleep longer.

Experts say parents should resist advice to switch to formula or to feed solid foods early to try to extend sleep. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Health Organization all recommend exclusive breastfeeding for six months before introduction of solid foods. Dr. Jeff Ernst of Richmond Pediatrics in Shoreline concurs: "Sleep is much more complex than just hunger. In fact, early feeding of solids may disturb a baby's sleep."

Sleep strategies

But understanding biology only gets tired parents so far; sometimes creative problem-solving is in order. "My husband and I take shifts," says Trina Fykerud of Kenmore. "He gets Jack before 3:00 a.m., and I get him after 3:00 a.m. Most nights it works out pretty fair."

Kim Reppart of Seattle also shares nighttime parenting duties with her husband. "He responds to (our daughter) if she wakes before 4:00 a.m., and I respond to her after. Since he is a nighttime person and I am a morning person, this plays into our innate abilities and works well for our family."

Heather Pleasant from Sedro Woolley found her solution with co-sleeping. "It's much easier to roll over on your side and nurse while you sleep than to get out of bed," she says. "You barely have to wake up. I can't imagine how I would have felt during the day if I had gotten up several times each night to nurse or make a bottle."

Sometimes parents need more help. A certified postpartum doula can be a lifesaver. Postpartum doulas provide emotional and physical support, including helping create a sleep plan, or just attending to the needs of a fussy baby so parents can enjoy uninterrupted and unencumbered sleep.

New parents frequently ignore advice to "sleep when the baby sleeps," instead struggling to function like they did before the baby arrived. But as the laundry piles up and exhaustion mounts, perhaps the best advice is to be kind to yourself. You may have to reduce your expectations until you catch up on some sleep. It's perfectly reasonable to see this time as a moment in the life of your child, and try to enjoy -- or at least survive -- those intimate moments in the middle of the night with your baby.

And remember, almost every parent with a story of sleep deprivation says it does get better. As Seattle mom Jessica Jensen says, "Our sleep problems just sort of work themselves out, usually in favor of some new-- but slightly less exhausting -- issue."

Tera Schreiber is a freelance writer and the former executive director of Great Starts, a nonprofit parent education service. With the support of her husband, Eric, she has survived newborn sleep with her two children.

Resources

Back to the top