03/06/2026
Sleep can feel all-encompasing with a newborn or baby, it is so hard to not focus on "when will I sleep normally again?!" 💤
So it can help to remind yourself what's "normal" and why sleep is the way it is - not a simple straight line from newborn waking every 2-3hrs for feeds to sleeping 7-7 by 'x' age 📈
You may ask your fellow parent pals "when did yours sleep more?" And, like a mum at playgroup yesterday, despair slightly at the response from a mum of 2 that her eldest is sleeping much better at 3 years old...🙈🙉
As another mum and I were discussing her own 1 year old's sleep yesterday, babies and young children are all so different and waking and needing support in the night is very much normal (and, when you think about it, logical) 👶
Our little humans rely on us for a lot and so, if they wake in the night needing something, they'll seek assistance...from you! 🤱
I regularly...most nights even, wake up multiple times:
🚽 for a wee
📢 a noise wakes me (like my partner having a bad dream the other night after which, understandbly, he couldn't sleep...)
😢 pain - 2 nights ago I woke up around 1 sleep cycle after going to bed, with serious tummy pains and a fear I was going to need my regularly scheduled annual emergency hospital admission...
If I wake in the early hours of the morning, going back to sleep is harder, because sleep pressure is lower and cortisol higher so my brain is busier 🧠
And sleep is always worse if I'm worried about something or the conditions aren't quite right...so my sleep fluctuates. This is the same for your little one(s) - sleep goes in peaks and troughs 😴
Of course there are reasons and frequencies that babies and young children wake that can't be explained as simply and may need more exploration froma sleep and infant feeding coach (like me) and even further signposing to medical professionals 🆘️
How do you feel about your family's sleep? If currently expecting, do you have any thoughts, questions or worries about sleep after baby arrives? Let's chat! 💬
