Pregnancy Often Zaps Energy
Pregnancy often seems to zap energy, sometimes leaving moms-to-be feeling tired for a large portion of the day. Unfortunately, expectant moms who suffer from sleeplessness may not find the relief they are looking for after giving birth. In a 2007 study by the Centers for Disease Control’s Daniel P. Chapman, nearly 36 percent of mothers reported insufficient sleeping patterns.
Although it can be difficult to find time for a full night’s sleep while balancing a career, household tasks and motherhood, there are ways for women to sleep more throughout the first year of their infants’ lives. Here are three tips and tricks that can help any new mom improve her sleeping schedule:
1. Co-parent. Midnight feeding sessions can take a toll on sleepless mothers, especially if their partners are not helping out throughout the night. Making a feeding schedule each week is an easy way for parents to ensure that they alternate nights of solid sleep evenly. Mothers who breastfeed should make sure to pump bottles of milk for the refrigerator, so their partners will be able to take over at night without issue. Light sleepers may wish to use earplugs during the nights that they are not assigned to feed to avoid waking up to the baby’s cry.
2. Establish a schedule. New parents may feel like they are running on their baby’s time table, but weary moms should embrace the regularity of their child’s sleeping habits whenever possible. It can be difficult to run out for lunch or finish errands outside of the house with a child who is still young enough for both morning and afternoon naps, so mothers may find it easier to simply nap with their little ones during the day.