One of the first questions I am usually asked at my Antenatal Breastfeeding Workshops, is ‘how can I get my baby to sleep?’
After months of broken sleep for both the expectant mum and dad, my clients are quite (very/desperately) keen to get their tiny tot into good habits from the start.
So this is what I advise them to do and 9 out of 10 times it works wonders! (There will always be one that simply won’t conform – but then you have to remember, baby is going to take after one of its parents)
How do baby’s work with regards to food and sleep? This is best illustrated in a story.
In the cavemen days, a new mum and baby would feed according to their clans routine. During the day, the men would go out hunting and leave the new mum in the capable hands of the elderly women. Mum and baby would sleep most of the day, particularly in the afternoon when her milk supply was low.
Why would her milk supply be low? you may ask. Well, in the afternoon between 1pm-4pm give or take, wild animals move toward watering holes. If a mum was feeding her newborn, she would be vulnerable to being eaten by one of the wild beasts.
At night, the new mum and baby would co-sleep and nurse all night. She and her little one would be safe as the men would have returned from their days hunting and so this is when most women find their supply peaks and is most abundant.
So when your little baby is born into the world, he or she will follow their instinctual behavioural pattern and sleep all day and then want to feed all night! Sound familiar?
You are not going to change this behaviour in a day, week or aften a month but if you put a few strategies into place from the start, you will get to that peaceful period of sleep a lot quicker.
Firstly, feed your baby as often as possible during the day – at least every 3 hours (start to start). The more calories your baby acquires during the day, the less she will need to take at night – when your supply peaks.
Feed according to your breast size – small breasts need to be fed from more frequently (maybe 2 hourly), larger breasts less frequently (still 3 hourly). Small breasts will need 2 breasts at each feed, larger breasts may only need one per feed.
Keep an eye on the output – yes –what goes in must come out! The more that comes out the better! You are looking for a chain reaction with each feed. If you are not achieving this, your baby may be older than 3 wks or you need more input!
Basically, the more calories your baby takes in during the day, the less he or she will need to take in at night! Quite simple whenyou understand how.
The Beginners Guide to Breastfeeding is jam packed with this kind of advice if you are interested or expecting a baby and want to be properly prepared.
