Top Tips for a New Mom: Nights with a Newborn
This post is all about what you can expect and how you should prepare for nights with your newborn. The newborn stage is from birth to about a month old but a lot of people consider the first three months to be a newborn. Nights with a newborn are hectic and you should expect a lot of broken sleep. Some couples have a plan in place where one person will get up before a certain time. Or maybe they will switch days of when one person gets up by themselves. Either way, this post about nights with a newborn will prepare you for all circumstances!
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Waking Up Often During Your Nights with a Newborn
Oh boy. This one is a dozy. I didn’t understand why people would joke about sleep while I was pregnant. Like how much worse could it be to take care of a baby? I was already getting up multiple times overnight to pee and eat. Not to mention the random awakenings because of acid reflux. But no. This is very very different. Waking up often overnight is terrible. Some women find this as their special moment with their little ones. Not me. It’s the whole routine of getting up, getting them up and changed, and then fed that is the most annoying part.
You might get up every 2-3 hours in the newborn stage. This will generally span out to where they don’t wake up as often. If you’re breastfeeding then they might wake up even more for comfort feeds. There is nothing wrong with this, but be aware of how often you might be getting up. When cluster feeds happen, you can expect your nights with a newborn to be even more hectic! But know that they don’t stay this little forever.
Owlett
We never used this for our first because the sock would pop up and the alarm would set off every time. The app and product are FANTASTIC though for better peace of mind. I was worried sick with our first because we simply didn’t use it. At that time, they weren’t FDA approved and couldn’t tell us what her O2 saturation levels were (this is important for knowing if the baby is breathing along with other vitals). For our second, we use it every night and it has worked wonderfully. It was especially important to us for this baby because he had apnea while in the hospital and needed to be intubated. Again, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND everyone get one of these if you’re an anxious girly like myself.
The NEVER ENDING Diaper Changes
Before every feed, I would recommend changing their diaper. They are constantly wetting their diapers and should get fresh ones to prevent rashes. Have a place set up for easy changing with diapers, wipes, creams, and powders at the ready. If they wake up every 3 hours overnight, you bet that diaper should also be changed! You’ll go through so many diapers and wipes. I’m a huge wipes person… I go through them incredibly fast. My advice: get these in bulk at Costco or online.
Bottle & Pump Parts Washing
You will need to go through CONSTANT washing of bottles during your nights with a newborn. This will eat away at so much of your time. My tips for this is to either get a basket to place in your dishwasher and put the parts in that or have multiple bottles. We personally love everything silicone and glass but do currently have the Dr. Brown’s bottles. This bottle is great and has the anti-colic valve so the bubbles stay in the bottle and don’t get guzzled down by your newborn. The glass bottles are decently heavy compared to the plastic. I honestly prefer the plastic based on weight but we hate that the plastics will get in the milk if the degrade over time with heating the bottle.
Pumping Mommas
This same thing applies if you are pumping. All the parts are going to be washed a million and one times a day. There are CDC suggestions of how to properly store, wash, and sanitize these parts (along with bottle parts). For my first baby, we didn’t have any issues with her so I would use the pump parts for two sessions and wash it after that. After pumping the milk would go in the giant jug and the pump parts would be placed in the fridge until next use. I had 2-3 sets of my pump parts so I was set for the majority of the day without needing to constantly wash it.
As for your nights with a newborn and pumping or using bottles… well, it’s a lot of work. Some women have a great supply, while others struggle. My first one was a huge struggle and I added power pumps to increase my milk supply (warning: this can create an oversupply and can increase risk of infections). My body did extremely well with pumping for my second – maybe it’s that my body recognized what was happening. Overnight pumping sessions are the WORST. My advice is that if you’re home alone taking care of the baby to place the baby in a seat (safely) and pump while feeding. I do NOT recommend hands free pumps. These are usually not as great as emptying the breasts and can lead to many issues like low milk supply and infections. If you have help overnight, have that person feed the baby while you pump.
Hydration & Food During Your Nights with a Newborn
Don’t underestimate the need for keeping yourself hydrated and eating high calorie with protein. Not only will you need water for basic hydration but you’ll need it even more if you’re pumping or breastfeeding. If you find yourself feeling extremely tired, maybe try eating more food. I know it’s not easy to make food from scratch or even partially cook when you’re newly post partum. I have been there and it is a wild time of having limited or zero sleep. Lean on people to help you with meals or prep before hand! Keep snacks by you so you can have easy access to food even if it isn’t the healthiest option.
Heater, Blanket, or Heating Pad for Your Nights with a Newborn
Hormones are going crazy during post partum. Your nights with a newborn might be very very cold. This is because of the hormones shifting and making you essentially have night sweats. Kinda like menopause! I would wake up for her feeds in a cold sweat so I had a heater and a heating pad. I would crank my heater up because I was freezing. Not everyone deals with this or the intensity of this. I didn’t have this at all with my second, so it was a weird experience to have looking back on it.
They won’t stay this tiny forever. Some people love the newborn stage, others despise it. It’s all about working with your schedule and your conditions. Although everyone has different circumstances, most newborns are the same in the beginning stage. They sleep a lot but wake up a lot to eat. The eat, play, sleep combo doesn’t work for all parents. Nights are hard for everyone in involved because no one wants to be woken up multiple times in the beginning. By 3-4 months of age your baby should be giving you longer stretches overnight. There will be more time for sleeping, I promise. It might not be glamorous or even at 4 months of age, but it will come eventually!