Search Results for: blog sleep deprivation six on sunday

How to Sleep When Baby Sleeps

I was feeling extra creative today, so instead of the usual advice and information type blog, you are getting something a little less ordinary. Still, the advice is real, so don’t miss the point of this short little poem. Please, Sleep When Baby Sleeps by Kim Neyer (aka the Baby Blogger) If you clean your house while she’s asleep, you’ll never catch a wink; There will always be more dirty windows, more dishes in the sink. If you check your e-mail while she sleeps, you’ll never close your eyes; There will always be more e-mails, more forwards and replies. Sleep … Continue reading →

Sleep Deprivation and Infant Abuse?

The CDC recently published a shocking report. According to their study, 91,000 infants per year are abused or neglected during their first year of life and about 33% of those abuse cases occur within the first week of life. Experts everywhere are calling for more focus to be put on this critical time period of mom adjusting to caring for a newborn. Especially if the newborn shows traits of being colicky or fussy. (I just have to point out here that most babies aren’t colicky or really fussy in the hospital.) While the statistics are shocking there are a few … Continue reading →

4 Tricks for Getting More Sleep at Night

In my last article, I wrote about how really, sleep is a function of temperament and you get what you get as far as newborns go. Some newborns wake every hour and others sleep through the night early on. “Sleep training” a newborn is never a good idea. However, there are things you can do to minimize the waking at night and help your baby work with his own biological clock. Maintain a consistent bedtime and waking time. Even in the early days of having baby home with you, have a set bedtime. Every night, at the same time, put … Continue reading →

Babies’ Sleep? Really?

Trying to understand the sleeping patterns of a baby is like doing fractal geometry without a lecture. You read a lot in baby books and get a lot of advice on what your baby should or shouldn’t do. You’ll hear lots of things that other people’s babies did. You’ll feel equal parts gratified and annoyed by the plethora of well meaning advice. Get ready for a little bit more. Babies are just like aliens in my opinion. They are not from our world. They don’t know our rules. They don’t know the difference between night and day. They also have … Continue reading →

Sleep Deprivation: Six on Sunday

Sleep deprivation is inevitable for parents. Let’s be realistic, while it may seem that sleep deprivation is the province of new moms, sleep deprivation chases you throughout baby hood into toddler hood and further still. So since we’re pretty sure that sleep deprivation is going to be inevitable, let’s take our Six on Sunday and establish why it’s a positive thing that sleep deprivation happens. Yes, I am serious. We can make anything into a positive, it’s just a matter of how you look at it. Perspective is important for everything we do – whether it’s our work ethic, toughing … Continue reading →

Your Toddler and the New Baby

Many of you already may know that my children are all two years apart. They are almost exactly two years apart and so for four babies now, I’ve had a reigning two year old with a newborn (or two). Recently, there have been several family members in the forums who have asked about toddler behavior and the new baby and so I thought I would summarize some thoughts in a blog. If you want to discuss specific problems, please feel free to visit this thread to get support from other mommies. That Whole Terrible Two Thing I have written quite … Continue reading →

Nightweaning: Ways to Get More Rest

Frequent nursing is definitely a sign of the high need baby. If you are one of those parents who thinks that you have it all figured out and “know” how to put kids to bed–I would politely suggest to you that you do not, nor have ever had, a high need baby. Babies who are high need during the day, who need to be near you, and who need to nurse all day long. . .are also high need babies at night. If you can sleep through the nursing, and are comfortable with your co-sleeping arrangement, then it is fine … Continue reading →

Can I Exercise After the Baby is Born?

Of course you can. It’s generally advisable to wait until after the bleeding stops if you had a vaginal delivery before you start exercising. It may take longer if you had a c-section. Be sure to consult with your obstetrician/gynecologist prior to beginning your workout routine again. The first six to ten weeks of your baby’s life is going to be pretty hectic and don’t be surprised if your energy levels remain low for a while because you will be coping with sleep deprivation and healing all in one fell swoop. If you want to get started sooner, consider taking … Continue reading →

Why am I so tired?

I found out I was pregnant and I was a little relieved, after all I’d been exhausted all the time. In fact, part of the reason I found out I was pregnant was because I went to the doctor to find out if I was sick. I’d been so tired and that was so unusual for me. It hit me over night, it seemed. One day I was fine and then over the course of a weekend, I felt run down and almost constantly craving a nap. The Amazing Race Your body is really quite wonderful. During what is called … Continue reading →

Multiples in the Night

Posted on by

Like most aspects of parenting multiples, night time parenting more than one can be an exercise in futility when you’re trying to get some much needed sleep. Furthermore, multiples are frequently born pre-term and may need a significant amount of care around the clock. Here are a few strategies that we’ve used to survive the first twelve months of our twins’ lives and cope with the sleep deprivation: Scheduling If you’re bottle feeding, scheduling is a lot easier to do. If you’re breastfeeding, it’s a little trickier but it is worth the effort. You will be up a lot less … Continue reading →