Are you able to nap when your baby naps? Our little one still thinks it's cool to wake up a few times during the night. As a result, I'm usually a tired mama during the day. One would think I'd fall asleep easily but when she goes down for her morning nap, I crawl under the covers hoping I might catch a good 90 minute nap along with her...but it never seems to work. I just can't fall in to a nice, deep sleep. Instead, I either end up resting or getting out of bed and using the time to do some stretches. Are you able to synchronize your sleep with your baby's naps (that is, of course, if you don't have other little ones to take care of)?
Thanks!
Thanks so much for the advice and support. I'll try wearing blindfolds and maybe taking a snooze on the couch instead of in bed under the covers. I also appreciate that others stuck to the original question without giving advice on how to sleep train our little one. We figure that although she's getting up 3 times a night...eventually it will pass. Thanks!
I was able to. Sometimes I find if I lay down on the couch and nap on the couch instead of the bed , I can get into a deeper sleep faster.
When my daughter was little I could fall back asleep with her in the morning, but that was it. Still, as much as I loathe being tired, I found I did a lot better if I just pushed through and kept moving. When I gave into the tiredness it was worse. So I tried to use the nap time so I could get everything else done so I could go to sleep right when she did at night (gotta love the 8pm bedtime as a grown up!) Good luck.
I never really nap when I am home with my son, but I do go to bed really early. My son sleeps from 6:30-7:30 (I know...we are so lucky!), so after I put him down, I fold a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, check email, do one chore, such as dust, vacume, etc, and then I go to bed around 9. I sleep until 6. I am a lover of sleep, and our son took after me:)
The idea is great in theory, but I was rarely able to nap when my daughter napped. It didn't help that long naps for her were few and far between, it was mostly cat naps, so even if I was exhausted enough to fall asleep, it would be so short that I felt more tired afterward. Good luck! I do agree that resting is better than nothing, and maybe with time your body will learn to fall asleep then?
That advice always sounded great, but never worked for me. I don't sleep well during the day, so when my babies were little I'd try to just watch TV or read. About half the time, I would just end up doing laundry or cleaning the house.
Yes.
And yes you can... but it takes practice. If that is really what you want to do.
Put your little one down for naps regularly.... and that will help in the long term. Then, when your child is napping, just nap too. Or go in an adjacent room even if it is on the sofa. That is what I do.
My son is napping now... and I was napping too for about an hour. Then I got up and he is still napping. But now I can be here online! LOL
all the best,
Susan
I never could unless there was another responsible adult around to make sure i didn't sleep the sleep of the dead. (Even though I can wake at night no problem, I have too much guilt associated with sleeping in the daytime... so I'd be too freaked out to sleep. LOL).
I just used the naptimes as me times. Shower, read, study, do something that made me feel good.
Sleeping when my child is asleep has always improved my attitude, energy and made me feel like a better mom. When I'm overtired I feel resentful and mad at the world, so it's pretty important to me that I get the sleep I need at night and take whatever opportunities I have during the day...
I agree that it's at least better to rest your tired body and mind even if you can't sleep than to tire yourself out more doing tasks or housework. I was always able to sleep (I still am) whenever I want, but occasionally I will use some relaxation techniques I learned in yoga that help put me right to sleep. If you're religious at all, you might try reading some scriptures or religious book (or if not, some other non-page-turner). They always put me right to sleep! haha! I also think white noise and darkening the room helps. Best of luck :)
Only if I had an eye mask and some quiet music was I able to sleep while she slept.
I could nap with my daughter BUT only if I was NOT under the covers. My body new it wasn't night time, so acting like it was never worked. I used to nap great with my daughter ontop of the covers or on the couch.
I would also start taking an iron supplement - that in itself gave me loads more energy and a lot of moms are anemic (low iron) after having a baby.
:)
Even resting is a good idea when you have a newborn. When my youngest was born, for the first month, I'd nap during his excellent morning nap which lasted from about 8:30 til 11:00. What a treat for me since my older one never napped more than about 45 minutes. Get under the covers, pull down the shades, put on a white noise machine and see if that helps. Otherwise, just rest in bed.
I was never able to do that. I always used the time to clean, do laundry, etc.
I was never...probably because of all the caffeine I drank to wake up after those restless nights! So if you are doing the same I would limit caff.
I know what you mean. I couldn't get the hang of it till my son was about 1 1/2 yrs old. Once I learned to nap when ever I could get the chance, I felt so much better. Watch when you have caffeine if you are sensitive to it. I can't nap in the afternoon if I had coffee in the morning.
Can you ignore your baby in the middle of the night so the little one will go back to sleep? Don't give them a payoff by going in there. Afraid they might realy need you? Get a video/audio monitor so you'll know. Is there anything waking up your child? car sounds, street lighrts, noises in the house?
Ditton on the caffeine. I am sensitive to caffeine and can't sleep for 7-8 hours after 2 cups of coffee or a coke.
As for nap time, the studies show that people need it dark. You can use shades in your windows that won't let any light in. You can also use some very comfortable sleep masks. Do something in a habit that gets your body/mind used to the routine. Turn the phone ringres off. Play spa like music in the background. Read 2-3 pages in a book (no pictures), nothing exciting or stimulating. Maybe a biography or a how to book. Use a few drops of lavender oil for relaxation. Focus on imagining that you are in your favorite, relaxing place like your hubby's arms, a beach, a hidden cove while a light shower is going on, etc.
My son and daughter in law make it a priority to nap when their child naps on the weekend. They don't know how they'd function without it.
I was able to immediately after mine was born, and sometimes during the first couple of years if I was lucky, but not anymore! Even resting is better than nothing if you can't get fully asleep.
