Sleep Tactics for Night Owls - Combating the Midnight Madness
If there’s one thing every parent learns on their parenting journey it is the following; sleep is precious. Most adults spend an average of 6-8 hours asleep in a 24 hour period. Sleep creates the building blocks of recovery, brain development and function, mood stabilization, immune strength - you name it, sleep is a key component.
What about those parents who are currently fighting to grasp 2-3 hours a night while their infant is wide awake? Those parents whose beautiful cherub baby screams like a demon out of nowhere at 2am every morning, how are they making it work? What about sleep regression? Or early AM feedings? How do you keep yourself alive, never mind a defenseless tiny human (or humans!) when you’re a zombie from lack of sleep?
Here are a few things you can try when Midnight Madness strikes in your household. From newborns to toddlers, these strategies may give you some reprieve to the insomnia of parenthood, at least for a little while.
SWADDLES
Especially helpful with newborns who often jerk themselves awake, swaddles can help keep all limbs in a safe and comfortable sleeping position for the duration of the night. Not only do swaddles help with keeping arms and legs from flailing and flinging your baby into consciousness, but they can mimic the cozy and warm feeling of a womb in those first few weeks earthside.
As your baby grows, there are a number of different swaddles to choose from that are designed to grow with them. This list from What to Expect ranks the best swaddles and sleep sacks of 2021 for all ages and styles of sleepers. Chances are, there’s a swaddle there for your babe that just may help them (and you!) sleep more soundly.
CO-SLEEPING
While this may not be a permanent solution for some parents, some parents feel that a “family bed” is one of the best ways to combat a restless or fussy babe. If you’re nervous about having baby directly in bed with you, there are a number of co-sleeper beds available to help keep baby safe while keeping them close through the night.
SOUND SOOTHERS
there are a number of studies that show sound soothers such as a white noise machine can help to minimize background noise in a baby’s sleep environment, keeping them from getting distracted and staying awake. While most white noise machines will work just fine, this Baby Shusher mimics not only the sound of the world from within the womb, but mimics an actual “shush”ing noise that can work better than a static, white noise for some babies.
GET ON A SCHEDULE
This one may seem obvious, especially for parents who are working or spend time out of the house on a regular basis. Obviously, schedules are what make the world go around. But beyond a structured bedtime routine or strict lights out time, parents should attempt to get on a schedule as well.
Some parents decide to split sleep and care throughout the night - one takes a shift from 8pm - 12am, and the other takes 12am - 4am, and so on. This ensures a solid block of uninterrupted sleep for both parents. Or, if you have the means and the resources, a night doula may be just the reset you need. Night doulas allow for families to all get the rest they desperately need.
GIVE UP
Now, I know how this sounds, but it’s true. Sometimes you have to make exceptions to what your ideals are. If baby has finally fallen asleep and you realize they’ve got a wet diaper, its not the end of the world if you let them snooze in it once in a while. You could have the best intentions, a concrete plan, and everything prepared to night wean your babe, and yet you still end up comfort nursing them at 2am just so you can both get a little shut eye. It is okay. Parents and babies are constantly trying to navigate their new lives together, and sometimes that means picking your battles. As we often say, if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your family, and that includes doing what you have to in order to get some semblance of sleep when the nights get hard.
These are just a few options to help get you and your family some of that precious sleep, however this is by no means an exhaustive list! If you’re struggling with sleep, Beautiful Births and Beyond can help! Reach out to your doula, or you can always schedule a consultation with us to discuss strategies in person or via our Digital Doula services.
