NEW MOMS: Dealing with awkward sleep cycles

yummymummy911

I am calling out to new moms who suffer from lack of sleep. What do you do to get energy? Any suggestions? Sometimes I feel that I don't have the energy to do anything because I am always tired from no full nights rest. That is why I turn to sweets which only really give sudden burst of energy and happiness and then crash.

Any suggestions?

oiseau17

Being a tired new mom is tough! For me, getting out for a walk and some fresh air really help with my energy level. Seems counter-intuitive if you're already tired, but a little exercise gives me more energy for the rest of my day. Also, if you're a stay at home mom, nap when baby naps. A personal decision I made was to co-sleep so that I could get as much rest as possible (never had to get out of bed to nurse or put baby back to sleep). I'm sure others will come along with some good food alternatives for you and I hope you get some good rest soon!

athenasurrenders

Congratulations on becoming a parent.

My daughter is 19months now but has never been a good sleeper (up three times last night!) and I remember well the exhaustion of those early days.

The good news is that you will adapt to it somewhat. It never gets easy but it won't be quite so bad. Remember your body is also recovering from pregnancy and labour and you are full of all sorts of crazy hormones.

Do not do what I did - on a bad night I could easily get through a whole packet of cookies just by munching one or two every time I got up. Like you said, it gives you a moment of energy and so it's hard to resist. I put on a lot of weight that way - and I was breastfeeding too, which burns calories.

Best thing I can suggest is fill your fridge and cupboards with easy-to-munch but healthy snacks. Tons of fruit, pre-cut veggie sticks, tubs of hummus, whole-wheat crackers, cooked chicken, cheese sticks, boiled eggs. If you have friends and family still offering to help, ask them to make you a meal to put in the freezer. Even though sugary snacks feel good at the time, you will have more energy overall if your body is well-nourished.

Try to pick snacks that keep you satisfied longer - some low-calorie foods that you can eat for bulk and feel full, with some protein and fat to keep you satisfied longer. Chicken salad with an olive oil dressing. Veggie sticks, hummus and a piece of cheese. Scrambled eggs with mushrooms. Air-popped popcorn with some cashews.

If you have a day where you have some energy you could try to pre-weigh things into containers. If you know every snack bag contains 200 calories, it's much easier to make note that you've eaten three during the day than to remember all the individual things you've had.

If you are breastfeeding, remember that we are usually recommended to eat 300-500 extra cals per day, and drink lots of water!

I don't know if it is an option, depending on your family structure and how you are feeding, but we survived by trading-off naps. I would express milk for the next feed or two then go to bed for a few hours, then when I got up, he would sleep. If you aren't breastfeeding, get some earplugs and take turns to do the night shift - you sleep one night, he sleeps the next. Or, go to bed early, he's on duty until 1am then you do the rest of the night wakings.

Good luck.

CharlotteSarahRichards

Oh man do I feel for you. I have a 10 month old, and for 3 months of his life I pumped, and had to be up every two hours around the clock for half an hour. I was one of those *****es who had a kid who slept though more or less (as in 8 hours a night) since a month old, but I kept pumping and so I never got to enjoy that piece of luck! (And it is luck, there was NOTHING that I did that made him do that. I'll probably get a 20 minute napper next time for payback).

Anyway, as has been suggested above, fill your fridge, your bedside drawers and your freezer with healthy snacks. I don't know what your budget is like, but things like gelato, sorbet, frozen yoghurt in the freezer, carrot sticks, celery sticks, lite cream cheese, low calorie jelly, lite dairy food, fresh fruit (grapes and berries!) in the fridge, and small packets of oven roasted nuts, dried fruit, whole wheat crackers, rice crackers, homemade muesli bars and very dark chocolate in the cupboard/drawers.

Stay hydrated, try and eat porridge or muesli for breakfast every morning and get some fresh air every day. Even if it means hanging your head out of the car window while the baby and you sob hysterically in exhaustion (been there, done that!).

Also drinking a couple of cups of cinnamon tea (cinnamon bark soaked in boiled water for 15 minutes) helps regulate your blood sugar.

No one gets out of this parenthood business sane, but most of us live to chuckle insanely in the corner with wetwipes stuck to our hair :-P

QuilterInVA

Sugar energizes you for an hour and then you crash big time.

huango

While it was all 1 big blur at the time, one thing that was helpful was that my DH would let me sleep on most Saturdays.
I was much more sleep deprived w/ baby#2 because:
1. we did not know #2 was allergic to milk, so she would nurse, then cry, then nurse, then cry.
2. baby#1 was 19months old, so when he's awake for the day, he was running running running.
So I didn't get any sleep at night (due #2 crying) and no naps during the day (running after #1).

So on Saturdays, once #1 was awake, DH would take over and let me sleep. He would only wake me when #2 needed to nurse (so I didn't have to get up to pump).

I was still a walking zombie during the week, but I kinda caught up on some sleep for a tiny bit on Saturday to feel like a human being again.

Kids are 9yr and 7.5yrs now.
You will survive.
Hang in there.

yummymummy911

Thank you that helps a lot!

gigglesinthesun

oh my word ... my second one ... at 6 months she slept for 8hrs (not all at once but in 2hrs naps) in any 24hrs, I was beyond tired. She has finally started to sleep through (sort of) now at 4 years old. It may tell you something that I am working on dealing with my post-baby body now, rather then years ago when it actually happened. My sleep rhythm is still not right.

Anyway, if you can, nap, if you can't make a schedule that you need to tick where you have your meal times down, so that you actually sit/lean/stand somewhere and have a proper meal 3 times a day, because I found that I was sort of in a haze most days and if I didn't make sure I had dedicated meal times, I just snacked all day without really thinking about it.