EnJoY yOuR sLeEp NoW

@dienkimt My first born didn't sleep through the night reliably until a year or so too. And is still not a great sleeper. I agree, I'm pregnant with number 2 and while I'm not sleeping as well as when I'm not pregnant, I'm dreading the lack of sleep when the baby comes; it's literal torture.
 
@andrewcb It absolutely is but she smiles for dad so it kinda stings lol.

Plus the contact only napping. Carrier ruins it, stroller ruins it. Carseat ruins it.

Night sleep tho? Freaking GREAT.
 
@man_in_pain My son is almost 3 and still prefers to fall asleep on me for his naps. He’ll still nap when I’m at work, but if I’m home he won’t nap until he can cuddle on my lap on the couch 😅

He was a huge contact nap baby when he was little. I’d move him into the crib and he’d be up in 10 minutes
 
@vanerahelson It's definitely different for everyone. Pregnancy can be miserable, and it's hard, when you're in the depths of that misery, to imagine postpartum being worse in any fashion. For example, I got antenatal depression (hadn't even known that existed!) when I was about 8 months pregnant with my first. Found out what was up, thought ok, I'll probably have postpartum depression too, and this is probably about how it'll go. Postpartum hit and it was so much worse. There was no way I'd have ever been able to comprehend how much worse it got before I experienced it. On the other hand, my sleep was so much better after BOTH pregnancies. My oldest slept almost through the night like a champ pretty much straight from birth. 5-6 hour stretches, bottle, another 2-3 hours and then she'd wake up and play for an hour or 2. I was able to get great sleep and at night, and even when she woke up for a bottle, it was easy to get back to sleep. My partner would handle the early morning wake window since she's usually still up at that time due to insomnia and then she'd sleep during the day and I'd wake up when baby did. I got so much more sleep between not being massively physically uncomfortable and not having to work or go to doctors appointments or do really anything other than take care of baby. The sleep I did get felt more restful too. Once the PPD really hit it was hard to appreciate, but my sleep really was a lot better. With my second I didn't get as much sleep bc she was breastfed so sleeping after 1 am was very hit or miss. I also had a 16 month old who still slept in our room when baby #2 was born so going to bed early was hard. We also had doctors appointments nearly every day because of baby's health issues for the first 2 weeks. I was able to nap occasionally (baby was jaundiced so she fed near constantly those 2 weeks) but even then, the sleep I got was so much better quality than when I was pregnant. Pregnancy was so draining I could sleep for 12 hours and maybe feel awake for 1 hours afterwards. During the newborn stage, a 5 hour sleep could keep me energized for at least 3 maybe 4 hours. Worlds of difference. Some people have shitty pregnancy sleep and postpartum sleep is so bad they can hardly tell they slept at all though. You never know until you give birth, even if you've had kids before because each pregnancy and each child is different.
 
@vanerahelson I hated hearing this and was struggling w major heartburn in the last tri. Sadly, I totally get why people say this now. I know the first few months w a baby would be wild but for me, the biggest shock was that after delivery there's basically no time to rest. I got up to mother baby at around 4 a.m. after three hours of pushing and thought I'd get like 8 hours to sleep and recover. Nope.. nurses coming in and out, baby in room, trying to BF, changing out ice pad, etc. This went on for three days. I think the longest stretch I got was two hours during that time. I never caught up. My aunt visited me during my stay and now tells me she never saw exhaustion on someone until that visit. It is shocking to me and something I wasn't prepared for. With that said, our bodies are amazing and I was able to push through (that and the next 12 weeks). It was exhausting but I now look back on it fondly. Best of luck to you OP!
 
@rtrulock Omg the hospital was the WORST. I actually cried multiple times about the lack of sleep there. My MIL came to visit, she was the only one I allowed because she is a former nurse and very helpful, and that was the only time I got two hours of uninterrupted sleep after my c section. She held the baby and shooed away medical staff. I actually counted ELEVEN different hospital employees barging into my room within one hour at one point.
 
@vanerahelson I wasn’t enjoying sleep the last month of pregnancy, but I will say…I’m enjoying it even less now that baby is here. 😭 people keep saying it gets better but can’t say when.
 
@dpowerz My little guy is just 2 and 1/2 weeks old so we are still very new to this. But 2 and 1/2 weeks is apparently long enough for me to desperately miss sleeping lol. I hope mine chills out before 3 months but I’ve heard lots of stories like yours too so I’m trying not to get my hopes up. Babies are gonna baby I guess. I hope your girl decides sleeping through the night sounds awesome soon!!
 
@katrina2017 This was me too! My first was tiny when he was born and ate every 2-3 hours around the clock, more frequently when cluster feeding of course. I felt like I never slept more than 1 hr at a time for months. I get it that the saying isn’t helpful, but oh how I missed the pregnancy sleep when I was early postpartum! It just goes to show it’s different for every baby. My first started sleeping longer stretches around 5 months and has been sleeping through the night (knock on wood!!) consistently since 7 months. He’s 14 months now. Hoping it gets better quickly for you!! I’m due with #2 in December so we’ll see how it goes this time 😅
 
@suzannelynne Yeah my little dude is a very consistent 2-3 hour eater. And it’s like, by the time I nurse him, burp him, and get him into his crib, that leaves me 1-2 hours tops to sleep. And that’s assuming 1) I have nothing else I need to do, 2) I am actually able to fall asleep (struggling with postpartum insomnia), and 3) he is able to sleep in his crib for that particular nap. He’s sometimes too fussy or simply only wants to contact nap. Either way, it means I’m not sleeping. Let alone cluster feeding, which he’s done a couple times already. 🥲 I love him more than anything and I’m glad he’s this side of my belly, but I definitely was better rested even while 9 months pregnant. I know some people have a different experience (I was hoping for it after seeing some of the posts on here!) but it wasn’t meant to be for me I suppose. As you said, just have to hang in there until they’re ready to sleep longer stretches at a time. Hope your baby keeps being a good sleeper for you!
 
@vanerahelson The quality of my sleep is better now but I do miss being able to lay in bed scrolling on my phone for an hour before getting up or being able to have a few glasses of wine with dinner without having to parent the next day with a giant headache at 630am like I could pre-pregnancy/baby. For my birthday this year I am asking for my bed with no interruptions. The sleep is impacted differently now than it was while pregnant. There are pros and cons to both sides for sure!
 
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