Save on that precious sleep

Sure, you are excited about the new life that you brought into the world. But you may not have been prepared for the sleepless nights this job brings with it. You haven't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks, probably months. The word "walking zombie" probably closely relates to you.

It's not easy looking after the little one and the entire family, if you are sleep deprived. Not getting all that much required sleep may just add the stress you already feel. But worry not - here are some useful tips on how you can regain that precious sleep

1. Get someone else to feed your baby at night

Enlist your partner to feed the baby during night-time. If you are feeding using the bottle, it's easy. However, if you are breastfeeding, pump the milk in advance and have your partner feed the breastmilk at night. This has the added advantage of giving your partner to bond with your baby at night.

2. Take naps

It's okay to take a nap once in a while. Don't forbid yourself from it because you feel the burden of all the work that you may need to do. Look after yourself first and everything else can take second priority. We've all heard the phrase "Sleep when the baby sleeps". It is very tempting to try and do chores, wash dishes, do laundry and clean floors when your baby is asleep. But accept that your house is dirty and messy and go to sleep because once baby is up, you have to be up too. You will just have to find the right times when you can sleep. Avoid looking at the clock to see how much you have slept or can sleep more; just sleep.

3. Keep your baby closer to you

To avoid you moving too much, keep the baby's bed close to yours so when the baby requires feeding/ attention, you can easily reach out. Do not mistake this to be a sign of laziness. In case you can't do this, invest in a baby monitor and keep the monitor on and close to you so you as soon as your baby makes some noise you can go check on the baby. Mothers tend to get attuned to their baby's crying so don't worry about not hearing it/ guilt-tripping over it.

4. Say yes to help

You may feel like being super mom, but accept any help that you get; be it from friends, family or a babysitter. People tend to think of sleep as a luxury, but it's actually a medical requirement.

5. Put yourself in the mood for sleep

As tired as you may be, it isn't easy to instantly sleep. Get earplugs/ eye masks. Alternatively ask your partner/ family to take the baby out for a stroll. It is way more relaxing to know that the baby is being taken care of while you are catching up on your sleep.

6. Don't ignore the baby blues

Sleep loss can cause the mood changes to worsen and in effect those bad moods can cause sleep deprivation. In case small naps don't help, consult your doctor on what medicines you can use to induce sleep. Do not self-medicate.

Just focus on the end goal, that once your baby learns to sleep for 8 hours at a stretch, you'll get your beauty sleep too. Always helps to have a deadline in mind.