Having a Baby

As a Mum, it’s pretty fair to say that your life will never be the same!

But night time doesn’t have to be a big upheaval. Once your baby can sleep through the night, and you can get uninterrupted sleep. You will be amazed at how much easier everything becomes.

If you are one of the lucky one’s whose partner takes it in turns with the night feeds… Well you should count your blessings now. My partner is a professional driver, and I didn’t want him tired while at work, dangerous driving wouldn’t keep his job!

Firstly you have to remember that all babies are different. If your neighbour is boasting that her baby slept through from the third week, unfortunately it doesn’t mean that your baby will be the same! My son slept through from 6 weeks, my daughter from 11 weeks. While you are getting up in the night to feed your baby, it may seem like an eternity that will never end, it will though!

Teach your baby the difference between day & night

It’s a good idea to get your baby into a routine as soon as possible. At first he doesn’t know the difference between day and night, so you need to teach him.

Establish a bedtime routine. Maybe a bath, put on pajamas, followed by a story and a last feed. Try putting your baby into his cot awake, and let him fall asleep by himself. This will help to stop problems in the future when baby wakes up in the night. He will then be able to settle himself instead of needing poor old tired mum to help him get back to sleep.

Baby’s night feed tips

Some babies will still need their night time feeds for longer than others. The idea is, that if your baby doesn’t need his nightly feed, to encourage him to sleep through instead.

• Keep the lighting as low as possible when feeding your baby in the night. If you turn the light on full, to your baby this will look just like daylight.
• Keep the night feed as un-stimulating as possible for baby. If you spend time cooing over him, he will think it’s a great playtime. Make the feed quiet and as quick as possible.
• Try to avoid direct eye contact with your baby (I know, I know, easier said than done) All you want to do is look into his eyes and smile lovingly at him, even if it is 3am! Try not too, your baby loves nothing more than gazing at Mum, but he needs to know that now isn’t the time. If he doesn’t get the stimulation he wants he will be more willing to go back to sleep.
• Only change your baby’s nappy if he really needs it doing. There’s no better way of fully waking your baby than changing his nappy.

By the time your baby is 6 to 9 months he will be a lot less dependent on these night feeds. It could be more of a habit than hunger at this age. To determine if your baby does still need this night time feed, try offering some cooled boiled water instead. You may find that he loses interest and goes back to sleep.