Get some sleep!!!

For mothers with newborns that advice is easier said than done. Have you ever be surprised at how little sleep you can survive on?  However, it’s important to be aware of some of the issues related to that lack of sleep.

Lack of sleep can trigger the baby blues
Any time we don’t get enough sleep, baby or no baby, it’s very easy to become emotional. Factor in labor, the drop in your hormones, you’re milk coming in, up and down throughout the night, the anxiety…. It’s a lot to handle and even harder when you don’t recharge.  

Not enough sleep will keep on the baby weight.
Erica Gunderson, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California and colleagues studied 940 women taking part in a study of prenatal and postnatal health at Harvard Medical School in Boston. The study, published in the November issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology  showed “that getting enough sleep - even just two hours more - may be as important as a healthy diet and exercise for new mothers to return to their pre-pregnancy weight." They found, that the women who slept five hours or less a night when their babies were six months old were more likely to have kept on 11 pounds one year after giving birth.   You might think that you’d be burning more calories while you were awake but Gunderson said “people become hungrier due to lack of sleep” and “if you’re awake more, you may have more opportunities to eat.”

Forget about DUI, we have to worry about DWS (driving without sleep)
The National Sleep Foundation poll also reported that “women who spend less than 7 hours in bed at night are more likely to doze off during the day… drive drowsy” and you can’t have that happen especially when you have precious cargo on board.

So…….how do you sleep the first year?

Nap when the baby naps.
This is the first bit of advice that everyone will give you and most moms claim that this is the only time to catch up that growing to-do list – clean the house, pay the bills, But, you need to add sleep to that list.  Up at the top, so you’ll be more productive later on. 

What if your babies not a good napper? How do you get the zzzz’s?
A lot of people can’t afford to hire a baby nurse, but it’s okay to accept help from your relatives, your friends.   You would be surprised at how other women like an occasional baby fix. And it’s a tremendous relief when you have someone you can trust watch the baby while you nap or make sure that you are eating enough. p.s. If they offer soup, take them up on it!!

Too sleep with or without the babies.
There are strong advocates on both sides of this issue.

To some, baby in the bed means mom’s sleep better because:

~They don’t have to get up to nurse.
~Babies cry less and go to sleep easier.
~Having baby close by means you’re less worried about whether or not the monitor works, so you’re not sleeping with one eye open as much.

Other moms feel that they don’t get enough sleep because:
~They are worried about rolling over on their baby.
~They are worried about Sids (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)

But the bottom line is you need to decide what works for you and you may not know until you give both options a try.