First year sleep tips for parents
Sleep deprivation is a serious health issue for many new parents that can lead to anxiety, depression, and an increased risk of accidents for you and your baby.
Getting enough sleep is essential to being able to safely care for yourself and your baby.
Here are some strategies to implement if you are struggling with sleep. See Parent and carer wellbeing for more information on looking after yourself as a parent and coping strategies when your baby cries.
Utilise nap time
One of the most common pieces of advice new parents will receive is to “sleep when the baby sleeps”. While this can be frustrating to hear, it can be useful. Try to carve out some time to catch up on sleep while your baby is asleep or being settled by another caregiver. If you can’t settle to sleep, even lying down to listen to a podcast, some music or reading a book can help.
Sleep in shifts
If your baby is bottle-fed, it can be a good idea for parents and caregivers to split feeds overnight to make sure everyone is getting a slightly longer stretch of sleep. This can be more complicated for breastfed babies, and it’s recommended that parents who breastfeed speak to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) for support and strategies if they want to pump overnight.
Let there be a little mess
It can feel like mess builds up at a rapid speed when you first bring your baby home.
Mess like food scraps, spills and nappies should be cleaned promptly to avoid illness, but the dishes and laundry can wait another day if it helps you get some rest. If you feel comfortable, enlist eager visitors and family members in some household chores to give yourselves a well-earned break.
Find healthy sleep hygiene and routine
Good sleep hygiene can be difficult during times of chaos, but it can help you get better quality sleep and can also have benefits for your mental health. Sleep hygiene can involve things like
trying to stick to a schedule of going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, for example, baby goes to bed at 6pm and you go to sleep at 7pm
limiting large meals and caffeine right before bed
limiting the use of electronic devices like your mobile phone
See Sleep hygiene for more information.
Reach out for help
When family and friends offer help, take them up on it. This could be something like asking an aunty to do a grocery shop for you, getting a grandparent to bring over dinner or having a friend help fold the laundry and chat while you feed your baby. Accept help when it is offered, but only what you are comfortable with. Remember- it takes a village to raise a child.