Such exciting times it is when you come home with your little bundle of joy! Ah I remember like yesterday when we came home with Michael. I was exhausted, excited, sleepy, happy, crying, hurting, and so many other things that happen after giving birth. All you want to do is take in your new member of the family and sleep. I just remember a blur of nursing and trying to sleep. Once labor starts you NEVER get to sleep the same way again. EVER. After labor you are mom. You don’t get to sleep or recover from however many hours it took to get your baby out in the recovery room. There are nurses coming in to check on you around the clock. Your new little one is up to eat at all hours and you want to take in their presence too… after you sleep. But you don’t get to sleep. This word should be taken out of the dictionary when you become a mother. I have a secret for you though, you CAN get your sleep back faster. It comes with a partner and some negotiating. We will touch on this in a minute.
Oh the days and nights of sleep deprivation. It was an amazing moment in our journey. Going through the phase of having a newborn and being new parents goes so quickly. Enjoy every single second! Take all those little cries in. The cute moments of them being swaddled. Get out and go for a date while they are still in this phase and will sleep through a meal. Trust me, you’ll 
wish you had done it more once they get older. Looking back, I wish we had implemented our routine way earlier. I was so addicted to Michael I didn’t want to miss a second of anything so I chose not to get as much sleep as we both needed. We had a pretty good routine going though and played team really well. As a nursing mom you have a TON to learn and a relationship to develop with your little one. Consider implementing what I am going to say after about a month or whenever you start to pump. You pretty much should know that taking on breastfeeding you are also sacrificing your sleep. So once you get your relationship squared away after about 6 weeks or so, start getting your sleep back little by little. I remember telling Kevin how some people may fantasize about going to some exotic place and all I was fantasizing about was going to a hotel, taking a large sleeping pill and getting at least 14 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Oh how dreamy it sounded (and still does). Kevin, being the best boyfriend and father EVER got me a surprise one day. A beautiful card with a hotel room confirmation for a Friday night! OMG I was the happiest mom in the world reading that! I am pretty sure I cried lol. When people say enjoy your sleep before having kids, they are NOT kidding. NOT AT ALL. It is NEVER the same.
Some parents luck out and their little one starts sleeping through the night early, we were not those parents. Michael still doesn’t sleep through the night…sigh. We have adapted though so yay. Now for the good stuff, how to get MORE SLEEP with a
newborn. The secret is pretty obvious after I say it, you could already be implementing it in your own home, but we didn’t figure out how amazing this was until my lactation consultant told us about it. Now most parents sleep in the same bedroom and baby in the nursery or wind up in the same bedroom with the parents. Am I right? For us, I am. Michael slept in our room for roughly the first few months and then we moved him into his own room. Why might you ask? It was just easier, that’s why. However, what would’ve been easier is doing what I am about to say a lot sooner than when we had started. Ok crazies, first and most important step for the secret to work is getting a great blow up bed. Yes, a blow-up bed, air mattress, whatever you want to call it, go get one. Have any idea where I am going with this? STOP sleeping in the same bed! Lol I could also be saving you from a surprise baby number 2 as well, you’re welcome. Yes, stop sleeping together for a duration of time. Both of you will feel so much more energized, I promise! Here’s what we do now and man o man are we just thriving and not completely drained. Every couple of nights, (I suggest rotating every couple nights because one night of rest just isn’t ever enough) take the blow-up bed and blow it up in the nursery or another room besides your own. Turn off any monitors you have to check on baby or anything you could possibly have in your room that would wake you. One of ya’ll sleep on the mattress with baby and do all the night duties for 2 nights, then switch. It is AMAZING how well rested you can feel implementing this secret. A sample schedule would look something like this:
Monday-Tuesday: Mom gets a break – make sure you are pumping fully before bed. you will most likely wake up engorged, BUT you will have a full supply to feed in the morning and plenty to pump
Wed-Thursday: Dad gets a break
Weekend: you choose if you want to rotate it out or enjoy each other’s company
Pretty simple, isn’t it? Again, I would recommend starting this after you get your nursing relationship on lock. We started doing 
this way down the line, but they always say the first is practice right? Sorry Michael. I would also tip when it is your night to get some ZZZ’s to play some relaxing meditative music to drown out any possible back ground (or a baby crying) noise. Nothing like getting a night off and waking up every couple hours still. Ew.
Your secret to not being a zombie for infinity with a newborn is right here. Once they are sleeping more through the night obviously you don’t need to continue, this is for those starting out and feeling like you have no idea what life even is at the moment. GIRL, I have been there…oh my gosh I am so happy Michael is better with sleeping now! We aren’t getting full nights like these unicorn parents, however you take what you can get. Try my secret out (or maybe it isn’t a secret, who knows) and let me know what you think! IF you have ever done this with your newborns, how did it go for you? I wanna know! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE for great tips and love. As always beautiful, cheers!