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It is a source of great discomfort to many parents, especially mothers since they bear the brunt of it, that an infant must be fed every three hours or oftener around the clock. This means that for at least a couple months and maybe longer, one or both parents may rarely receive a full night's rest. I remember going through this with my own babies and thinking that it was almost too much to be expected of human endurance. Somehow parents have been going through this for generations. Here are a few strategies to help one cope and to encourage one's baby to sleep through the night.
First it helps to remember that this stage is not going to last forever. The experts say that a baby must be at least twelve pounds and possibly two or three months old, before you can expect them to sleep through a middle of night feeding. After that point it will be safe enough to try a few things to encourage baby to sleep overnight.
If the baby is sleeping too long during the day, wake her up and feed her. Encourage her to be awake during the day. Within reason, do not be worried about keeping the house quiet during the day, because we want the baby to wakeful and sleep lighter. During the day, have the shades up or the lights on so that baby will learn the difference between night and day. In contrast, when you must feed the baby in the middle of the night, keep the lights as dim as possible, and whisper and be as quiet as you reasonable can be. Avoid play or eye contact, but this is usually not too difficult if you feel half asleep anyway as you are taking care of your baby's needs.
Establish a bedtime routine at the time just before what you hope will be the last feeding of the evening and try to stick to it more or less every night. Check the temperature of the baby's room, remembering that babies under the age of six months will lose heat through the tops of their heads a little quicker than you. Keep and use the stocking cap the hospital gave you to help keep baby warm. Also try the swaddling technique that the hospital uses on newborns. The snugness of a receiving blanket keeps a baby's own wiggles from waking it up.
Last, but not least, be skeptical of the tales some mothers may tell about how their newborns started sleeping through the night the day after they brought them home from the hospital or some such. Nothing is more discouraging than thinking you are being deprived or that your baby is not on track developmentally. Cope by taking naps when the baby naps during the day and cut down on any extra tasks that can be put off a few months. Ask for and accept real help in all the non-baby areas of your life so you can devote top priority to your baby and your rest.
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