Having a new family member is always an exciting journey – you watch a mini version of your partner and yourself looking back at you, smiling or giggling when you talk to them.
Parenthood is an experience of a lifetime, but working mothers soon plead for the luxury of a full night’s sleep. Here are some tips that might help your newborn sleep longer so that you can stay sane at work.
Keep Nap Time at Bay
Even as adults, we cannot fall asleep easily at night if we have taken a long nap during the day. Babies need plenty of sleep, but a naptime that lasts too long will only disrupt the night-time sleep for both your toddler and yourself.
Do not let your baby nap for more than two hours each time. Wake them up and keep them awake for a bit before you let them nap again.
If your newborn needs some extra sleep, make sure that they have only one long nap that day; Keep the other naps short or do not let your baby nap at all.
In Case of Naps, Minimise Disruptions
Your newborn baby is asleep in your car on your way home, and any sudden movements and noise can wake your baby up. This means that your nap time could be lost!
Try to make your baby’s transition from your car back inside your home as smooth as possible with a portable baby capsule. These convenient capsules do not require you to take your baby out of the seat to bring them inside.
This allows your baby to have a longer, sounder sleep. Just be sure to make the transition as quiet as possible so that the baby can stay asleep!
Lighting Management
Keep the room bright when it’s daytime, and ensure that the surroundings are dim or dark when it’s nap time or night time for the baby.
Babies are not born with a proper circadian rhythm, which helps us to form a sleep pattern. When you deplete the amount of light in a baby’s sight, their body clock will produce melatonin, a substance that helps them to sleep.
Once a baby has formed their circadian rhythm, your baby might sleep through the night!
Change Their Nappies Before Bedtime
Your baby may need feeding in the middle of the night, but most of the time, your baby can still be easily coaxed back to sleep afterward.
Keep the number of times waking them up in the middle of the night to a bare minimum. Change your baby’s nappies before they go to sleep at night to keep them in their sleepy state and minimize the chances of them waking up.
Keep Some Noise Level Around
Your newborn might wake up with the slightest noise or whispers in the beginning. Accustom them to some minimal noise level by keeping some music, movies or radio station playing in the background at home.
Once your baby is used to having some noise around, they will be less bothered by people speaking while they are asleep. I even went as far as vacuuming under our sleeping baby’s bed and they stayed asleep.
This got them used to noise while sleeping and as they got older they were sound sleepers.
Carry Your Baby with You
Research has shown that babies sleep better when they know that they are with their mother. Try carrying your baby in a baby sling for the first few months while you go around the house. This will allow you to get some jobs done around the house.
While this might not be the best long-term solution for every working mother, having your baby with you during your newborn’s first few months can help your baby and you to have some needed sleep.
Many employers are providing the kind of workplace that can allow you to care for your infant and continue in the workplace with minimal stress and minimal downtime.