5 Tips For a Sleep Deprived New Mom
As a new mom, it can be hard to get even a couple of hours of sleep in a row. Every few hours, you wake up with your baby. You know this is only temporary, but it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you’re so exhausted. And when you do put your baby down for a nap, you sometimes feel like you still have no time to relax. After all, there is laundry to be done, dishes to wash, and plenty of other errands to keep you busy for hours. If you feel like you’ve barely caught any shut-eye since your baby was born, these tips can help you feel refreshed and energized again.
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Delegate With Your Support System
First, it’s important to check in with your wider support system to see where they can step in to help you out. Perhaps you could delegate some more household tasks to your partner so that you’ll have more time to rest during the day. Maybe you have relatives nearby who could assist you with childcare, cleaning up your home, taking care of errands, or other domestic tasks. That’s more time to relax and get some much-needed rest when your baby is napping. More hands on deck means less work for you.
Consider Hiring a Night Nurse
What if your partner works a very demanding job or travels for work? They might not be able to take on more responsibilities at home. If you are in this situation, or if you’re a single parent with a very limited local support network, you might feel like you’re at a loss for what to do. If your budget allows for it, you may want to look into hiring a night nurse. A night nurse can help you with all sorts of household responsibilities overnight so that you can rest whenever your baby rests.
Create a Healthy Sleep Environment
Do you feel like your bedroom is too bright? Does it ever feel like you’re too cold or too hot in your room? Do you ever experience back, neck, or shoulder pain because your mattress is old and uncomfortable? If any of these issues sound familiar to you, you may want to improve your sleep environment. Make sure that you’re truly comfortable and cozy when you go to bed each night so that you can drift off to sleep easily.
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Maybe you catch yourself scrolling on your phone when you should be sleeping. Or perhaps you have a TV in your bedroom. When you have some downtime, you get sucked into binge-watching a new show rather than taking a nap. If you’re a new mom, it’s very important to practice good sleep hygiene. Otherwise, you might miss out on valuable hours of sleep.
Talk to Your Child’s Pediatrician
What if you’re concerned about your child’s sleep patterns? Every child is unique. However, there are certain developmental milestones that pediatricians would expect a healthy child to achieve on a general timeline. Maybe you thought your child would be sleeping through the night by now. But it still isn’t happening, and you feel like you’ve been run ragged. If you’re worried about your child’s sleep schedule, it never hurts to check in with your pediatrician. They can help assess whether or not your child is maintaining a healthy sleep schedule for their age.
Are you struggling to get enough sleep and manage your schedule as a new mom? Working with a therapist can help. Reach out to us today to discuss your options for scheduling your first session.
