Tag: Parent

How I manage my sleep with a new baby and older kids.

Advice from a mum of seven.

A question a lot of my friends ask is how I handle sleep deprivation when I have little bubba and lots of other kids to deal with the next morning. Honestly it is tough. But here is a few things hubby and I do……

1. I breastfeed. This is not an opinion. It’s just what I find easier to navigate when I am half asleep.
2. I keep baby in our room in a bassinet until old enough to sleep in rooms with other kids. The cue for us is when they are sleeping through the night regularly. (Mainly because we don’t have a separate room for baby and their siblings need to be awake at school. )
3. I don’t require hubby to get up to baby in the middle of the night. However, during the weekend or when he’s not at work, I get the sleep-ins, and try to take naps.
4. I drink a lot of liquid when I wake up. My mum use to say you should drink 1-2 cups of liquid (water, tea , coffee) after every feed. So if you are breastfeeding overnight you need to replace your liquids as a matter of priority. This is where hubby makes me a cup of tea first thing in the morning to say thank you for getting up to our baby. Why is this a priority you may ask? Simply that it helps to wake up and feel less like I haven’t slept.
5. I keep the room dark while feeding. This takes a bit of practice. I feed lying on my side. And unless I have to, I don’t change nappy till the morning. This is all in aid of helping baby to know that night is sleep time.

Are there nights when I have to get up? Yes! Is it fool proof? No. But this is what has worked for us when there are other kids to consider. My best advice is to take it slow and be kind to yourself when you have had a rough night. What really helped was identifying that most of my stress, emotions and frustrations were down to the fact I had interrupted sleep for months.

Once I understood that most people with lack of sleep do struggle with life demands, I got better at letting my hubby know I hadn’t slept well and needed a little TLC today myself. Sometimes just saying it out loud and drinking a pot of coffee really does help….