Odds are, you know that becoming a new parent (aside from being one of the most wonderful experiences in the world), will generally imply a lack of sleep. That’s the cost we pay for bringing a brand new human into the world. It is strange how anatomically modern humans have been around for roughly 300,000 years and our newborns still fail to sleep as well as you’d think they should, but this blog post won’t make an enemy out of Mother Nature.

That being said, the “lost sleep” discussion can often seem like a cliche and a platitude, even. How lost sleep, or sleep changes can permeate a schedule is much more interesting to talk about. We intend to talk about it in this post below, hopefully helping you to understand and delineate.

Learning To Get To Sleep (When You Have Time) Is An Art

Even when your baby is finally quiet and you have a window of opportunity, your brain often refuses to just go to sleep immediately. We might assume being tired will demand that, but being overtied can, weirdly enough, make it harder to sleep. It’s frustrating to find yourself lying there wide awake, thinking about all the things that could go wrong or replaying the day’s events instead of grabbing whatever rest you can get. This is where using small helpers like a meditative schedule, trying to read before bed, or lavender scents on the pillow can be a relief. Some also enjoy valerian root or CBD capsules to let themselves sink into rest.

Your Sleep Schedule May Change A Little

“A little” is probably understating things, but the changes aren’t always as dramatic as people make them sound. You could find that you’re naturally more of a night person now because that’s when the house is actually quiet, or you could find yourself waking up earlier because your body has adjusted to the baby’s sleep schedule. Maybe you have as schedule this woks with, like in a remote job.

However, it’s important to prepare for the fact that your body may adjust to waking up for three hours each night when your baby wakes up. So you become more adjusted to polyphasic sleep where during the day you get rest where you can. You can’t count on going to bed at the same time every night or sleeping straight through until morning, and this might mean more shared duties with your partner.

You Need To Learn To Nap Effectively

You’ll probably need to get comfortable napping in less-than-ideal conditions, like on the couch while your baby sleeps nearby, or grabbing twenty minutes between errands. Some parents are even known to get quick shut-eye in the car when they can. The perfectionist approach to sleep hygiene that worked before kids becomes less of a reality, so make sure you embed catchups where you can and don’t be ashamed of needing to turn in now and again.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily cope with lost sleep.