News Alert To All New Mothers: Sleep time for you will never be the same!
The best advice I ever got from my mother was, “nap when the baby naps”. This is especially good advice for first time moms, why, because it’s a whole new ballgame once the baby is born. Before you could do things at your leisure, now it’s all about the baby’s schedule, and it’s one that you have to get to learn. In the first months all they want to do is eat and sleep, but some things might interrupt that pattern. Some babies are day sleepers or night sleepers, or they could be colic, have indigestion or are teething. Others may just like cat naps and are just not long sleepers. Whatever their schedule is, it’s definitely a behavior that will take a little time to learn and one you will have to adjust to. With that being said, I would give the advice that my mom gave which is nap when the baby naps. You never know when you’ll be able to get some sleep in if not. This is all part of the new baby process.
After the baby is fed, changed and content, try to fit in while they’re quiet…laundry, bottle preparation, house cleaning, etc. and of course the much needed nap. Pace yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can only do but so much. It’s a very fine dance and it keeps at bay possible irritability on your part because sleep deprivation is a very predictable experience with new moms, especially if you have no one to help you adjust in the first couple of days or months.
Motherhood is a definite “on the job training” learning curve and even with loads of advice out there to navigate you through the process; everyone’s experience is their own. Your time is no longer “your own”; it’s all about the baby’s time schedule now.
How are you navigating your schedule? Let us know of any tips you found useful. There’s a section in Oh, What A Life! under My Schedule, where you can document your baby’s schedule.
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