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Taking care of a newborn can feel like a round the clock thing and in many ways, it is. The biggest challenge for new parents is getting quality rest. Getting a baby to fall asleep and sleep through the night can feel nearly impossible. Taking care of yourself so that you can better take care of your bundle of joy is very important and the best way to do so is to get quality rest any time you can. Below, we will look at a few ways to get quality sleep when you are a new parent.
Skip Some Chores
There are some chores that you can skip so that you can get some time to rest. For example, you do not have to vacuum the house every day. You can schedule this for a few times a week so that you can rest when you should be doing these chores. Even if you have visitors, they will understand why your house is messy.
Get Some Help
Many people do not like to ask for help with their newborn, but it is perfectly okay if you have family members who understand what you are going through. Ask them to come over a few times a week to watch the baby as you get some rest.
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Good sleep hygiene can help you get more rest. One of the ways to do this is to avoid using electronics before bed. Using these gadgets can interfere with your ability to fall asleep and therefore cut the number of hours you sleep.
You also want to stick to a sleep schedule. This might be hard to do with a newborn in the house, but doing this will train your body to fall asleep at specific times. It will also help you fall asleep faster which is something you should be aiming for.
Lastly, avoid caffeinated drinks before bed as these too can interfere with your ability to fall asleep.
Get a Comfortable Mattress
One of the things you want to do when you have a newborn and want to increase the number of hours you sleep is to try to fall asleep as fast as possible. A comfortable mattress with a good hardness rating will help with this. If you can, opt for a memory foam mattress as these are great to sleep on!
Sleep While the Baby Sleeps
Babies take frequent naps that last four to six hours. If you are only getting sleep overnight and being constantly woken up by the baby, you will be sleep-deprived. It is, therefore, a good idea to sleep while the baby sleeps. This will notch you a few hours of sleep while they sleep and the total number of hours you sleep can even be more than the recommended eight hours of sleep a day.
Take Advantage of Parental Leave
A wife will take parental leave after the arrival of the newborn. Their partner should take parental leave a few weeks later so they can help out with the baby. This is also the time when fatigue starts to set in and the mother will be glad to have someone else helping them.
Place the Crib Closer to the Bed
Placing the crib next to the bed helps you tend to the baby faster and get back to bed faster too. Resist the temptation to have the baby sleep on the bed with you as this might lead to suffocation.
Share Baby Duties
If one partner is always taking care of the baby, they will never have good rest and that can lead to burn out. Partners should share these tasks so the other can have a few hours of sleep before it is their turn to take care of the baby.
Getting good rest when you have a newborn can be challenging. That said, if you find some time to sleep and share the responsibility of taking care of the baby, it should not be that hard to get enough rest.