How do you stay sane during a night shift with a newborn?

[Melittlebee]

Baby is 2 weeks old, I've just changed my
4th nappy and done a 3rd clothes change all within the last 30 minutes, now he's back feeding and this will probably last until 2am as usual.

How do people stay sane?!?

I'm constantly wondering if I'm doing things right!

Mumsnet! That's how.

You're doing a great job. This stage doesn't last long in the grand scheme of things. Seems never-ending when you're in the thick of it though.

Netflix, iplayer, a kindle and the internet. Plus the knowledge that in a few weeks they will start to know day from night, and it will start to feel better. Brutal at the time, though! Poor you. Have a

I'm 12 weeks in and it is slowly improving, though we are still up multiple times per night... Really yummy snacks, my iPad and always having lots of options for Netflix! Sounds like you're going great xx

I remember the long, lonely nights with DC1. I didn't have a smartphone at the time so I used to read a book and sometimes look out of the window thinking I was the only person still awake! You're not doing the wrong thing - that is life with a newborn. Do you have a partner who can help with changing nappies? I did all the night shifts as DH is a terrible sleeper and it was a killer! If your LO sleeps during the day, try to get some rest then too.

DC2 I ended up co-sleeping as she would not be put down, so I didn't have the same night-time awake periods. Just shifted her across to the other breast and went back to sleep.

You are doing great!!
2 weeks is so hard.. neither of mine slept longer than an hour at a time at that age!!
You do go a bit nuts.
I found the best thing for me to do was just accept that I was not going to be able to live my life as normal for the time being. I was not going to get out the door for 9am, or often be able to stay awake all day.
It really is a matter of just sleeping whenever the baby sleeps at any time of day... until they are old enough to start to understand some kind of routine.

My youngest has just turned 7 months and we are now starting to try and focus on getting her to sleep at least a 6 hour chunk. It's not going that well to be honest (which is why I'm awake at 1am!)

My eldest slept through from about nine months.

I think dealing with it is just about accepting that it is difficult and being kind to yourself. In the grand scheme of things this period of your life wont last forever. You might feel like death warmed up from sleep deprivation right now but one day in the future your baby will start sleeping through!!

This is not what you want to hear but i Miss those night shifts sooooo much! I would love a newborn to snuggle in the early hours - mine are so independent now 😭.

Dont drop the phone on the baby’s head!

Congratulations on your baby.

13 weeks in here and DS usually sleeps 7pm-1pm and then has a feed then back to sleep until 4ish. Then back to sleep until 7. It does get easier although it definitely doesn’t feel like it will at the time. Mumsnet and Facebook are my night time friends!

13 weeks in here and DS usually sleeps 7pm-1pm and then has a feed then back to sleep until 4ish. Then back to sleep until 7. It does get easier although it definitely doesn’t feel like it will at the time. Mumsnet and Facebook are my night time friends!

I watched all of ER.

If you are getting that many nappy leaks, have you tried a different brand? Some fit better than others. Pampers/aldi/Asda are all very similar but boots/Morrison’s/Sainsbury’s ones have different cuts that can help with leaks.

It gets better. My dd is nearly 7 months and sleeps in 3-7 hour chunk. I'm awake right now because she's woken for a feed . Like others have said, sleep when the baby sleeps.

Congratulations

Yes, it often feels like you're the only one in the whole world awake and everyone else is snoozing.. MN, brew and gazing out of the window will make time pass.

Just let anything you know about schedules and the rest of the world go.its just about you and baby . Just try to focus on what’s so amazing about your baby and try to roll with it . Sleep when you can x

Mine slept through from ten weeks.

Then he turned two and everything turned to shit. I slept better with a newborn than I do now.

I didn't have Netflix when mine were little. So I would watch random weird stuff at 3 in the morning like shopping channels. Then I discovered Bob Ross and that made the night feeds brilliant. I'd get up, change nappy, grab a drink and a handful of biscuits or whatever and settle back to feed and watch Bob create beautiful paintings. More often than not, my baby would be asleep but I'd have to stay up a wee bit longer to see the finished painting. My children are years apart in age yet good old Bob (RIP) was still airing through the night to cheer me up! Good luck, hopefully it won't last too long for you. But in the same vein, do try to find some enjoyment in it. All too soon it's over, and I even though it felt horrendous at times I do look back quite fondly at those times when it was just me and my baby, getting comfy when it felt like the whole world was asleep around us.

Get one of these phone handles. And a six foot long phone charger cable.
Netflix.
I had a basket next to the bed/couch/wherever I was installed with a few nappies, wipes, bum cream and a fresh vest and baby grow x2. Muslin/burp cloth. Couple of sterilised dummies. Nipple cream and breast pads. My pain relief medication. The tablet and charger. The TV remote. A 2 litre bottle of water. Some snacks. It came everywhere in the house with me. I also used to make up a thermos flask of hot drink before bed, and then just decanted it into a thermal cup (bodum ones are brilliant).

As long as I had everything my basket I could cope. It does get easier, the first few weeks are such a shock to the system and you are recovering from pregnancy and birth. Congratulations on your new little bundle.

I would set up the laptop in the nursery before I went to bed with something I wanted to watch on iplayer or whatever (baby not actually in nursery, I should say). We were lucky in that we had a sofabed in there (set up as a sofa). And so settle down to watch TV while she spent ages feeding. Luckily she only ever fed once a night.

Don’t change nappies during the night unless it’s poo! It’s unlikely to be uncomfortable for your baby as nappies these days absorb everything- I wish someone had told me this as I used to change DD whenever I saw a tiny bit of blue and all it did was wake her up.

Otherwise, just know that it does get easier! Those first weeks are brutal as you are still recovering from the birth. Don’t put any pressure on yourself or do anything other than look after the baby. Get someone else to do housework if you are breastfeeding. Get some food in/ batch cook. Make time for yourself, even if it’s just to shower and put on fresh pyjamas. Loads of cups of tea, Netflix and nap when you can!

You are doing amazing. congratulations on your beautiful new baby.

Remember it well- as others have said it does get better.

I watched so much trash tv, especially shopping channels. DCs both started sleeping through at about 4 months.

DD1 is now a teenager and has to be levered out of bed in the mornings.

I learned to feed lying down! Sleep as much as possible and not get into habits like watching the tv in the middle of the night as it made getting back to sleep so much harder.

Yes to only changing pooey nappies. If you’re having to change clothes three times a night and the nappies are leaking, change the brand. Nappies aren’t one size fits all - some will fit your baby better than others.

Dummy - as soon as it looked like they were dozing off and suckling, I’d swap my nipple for a dummy.

My worst nights with all three were the first night, second night and possibly third as we established getting back into breastfeeding. After the first week, night feeds got a lot easier in the sense of having got to know my baby and how long they fed for. They have tiny stomachs that feed frequently, not large feeds, so it shouldn’t take hours. It’s more likely to be that you’re woken frequently.

With each baby the time between giving them a dummy decreased from two months, two weeks, and finally two days by baby number three

I used to take laptop up to bed with me and watch it whilst baby fed and then wouldn't sleep.

Looking back I have fond memories. At the time the lack of sleep was awful.

He's one now and sleeps like a dream. When he struggles to sleep I actually love it as it means cuddles.

The first four week are the hardest. I remember standing in my kitchen at 4am crying with her. Thinking “What have I done!” But it got better. She’s 4 months and we both sleep well now.
Second what everyone else has said when it comes to TV and the internet. There will always be someone on MN to talk to no matter what the hour.
I also listened to podcasts as well as TV.
You are doing so well OP! The light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer.

I used to watch Netflix when feeding; found shows I really got into it. Also in the early days and partly due to breastfeeding hunger I used to leave out a nice cereal bar

I don't miss those nights for a minute. I think the way I managed it was to give up any concept of sleeping as I'd formerly known it and adopt a strategy of high frequency-low quality napping until my babies got the hang of sleeping.

Never stand if you can sit, never sit if you can lie down, never miss a chance to shut your eyes and rest.

So reassuring to know I'm not the only one, I'm constantly questioning if I'm doing things right and wondering why he's such a night owl!