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Newborns & Sleeping

Any parent who has ever or recently gone through having a new born can confirm that sleeping and babies are not two activities that go hand in hand. For many parents expecting soon they might find this to be a surprise. A common assumption is that the only things babies do is dirty diapers, eat, and sleep. However the reality of the matter is this is all far from the truth.

For some you might find those 18 hours of sleep your newborn child gets fly by. This is mainly because they do, you're very busy with a new baby at home and time just slips through your fingers. There are two important parts of babies and sleeping. Of course the main part is the babies rest, however the other component is your rest. To win the battle you must take on these two challenges as one.

When you realize that to be most effective you must approach babies and sleeping as a single activity things become clearer. If at all possible try and get some sleep when ever the baby is resting. This of course can be a lot more difficult then just saying, ok time to have a nap when you consider the babies unique sleeping patterns. The fact is a quick power nap in the afternoon is worth the effort.

When we have our daughter we both figured we knew all there is to know about babies and sleeping. Wow could I have not been more wrong. Even after reading ever book available on the topic there really is no preparing yourself for the difficulty of trying to rest with a newborn other then just diving in head first.

I was very excited that my daughter was born in the afternoon, I had assumed I would get some sleep during my overnight stay at the hospital. How ever this didn't happen, or go as I had planned. First off the nurse brought my daughter in for feedings at least every two hours. Not that I'm complaining I had fully expected this from things that I had read before giving birth. What came next was something that I hadn't expected.

I wanted to have my daughter in the room with me constantly, I couldn't sleep at all when ever she was gone. All I could do was toss and turn, and I kept crying. The crying was because I was experiencing post partum depression. The entire situation had just made me so overwhelmed, I couldn't get to sleep. I just wasn't as excited as I had thought I'd be. Both the feeding and depression were obstacles that took time to ease off.

While I didn't sleep much after we returned home from the hospital, things did get better. There was still the balance between babies and sleeping that I still didn't have a firm grasp on, but the suggestion made by my doctor and many friends that I sleep when ever the baby is resting was a wonderful tip. The best advice I can give to any new mother is to do the same.