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It's a new parents' rite of passage:
The sleepless night. After your new arrival finishes crying for
the night (assuming she finishes), after you've fed her, had your
spouse sing a lullaby (or two or three), and changed the baby's
diaper, you can go back to sleep. The problem: It's now four a.m.
and you can't get back to sleep. It's a good bet that one of you
adults has to get up in two hours and start getting ready for work
(as if the past two hours soothing the baby don't count as work.)
When your baby cries at night,
it's only natural to want to get up and comfort the little one-if
for no other reason than to have peace and quiet. The late Dr. Mark
Yarbrough, who was a Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at
the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Payne-Whitney Clinic, and a
writer for Healthology.com, cautioned against this approach. He
advised parents to not immediately rush to the baby's room:
However, Dr. Yarbrough also
advised that parents should use whatever approach they think is
right for their baby and themselves
Parents may want to consider
these hints for grabbing a good night's sleep while their newborn
makes demands on their time and energy:
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Opt for the night shift. Work out a schedule
with your partner that allows both of you to rest and take care
of your baby's needs. This guarantees that at least one of you
will get some sleep, and that both of you will share child-caring
chores.
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Take a cue from baby. You may want to finish
folding the laundry while the baby is safely asleep, but chances
are you'll feel better and get more done if you're rested. Your
baby can nap freely, so why can't you?
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Check your bedding
and baby's bedding. You may think that your mattress is comfortable
enough, but you may need a new one with all the changes in your
life. Read the following:
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Also, make sure your baby has the proper
bedding. That new crib your parents gave you may not have a mattress
that supports your baby comfortably.
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Treat comfort as a necessity, not a luxury.
This is going to be one of the most challenging stages in being
a parent. You need to look after your own health. Besides making
sure you have good bedding, be certain that nothing in your bedroom
interferes with your sleep. Keep the TV off, mute the hall light
if you're keeping it on for baby, check the temperature in your
bedroom. You and your partner deserve the same care that you give
to your baby.
Soon, you'll have no difficulty sleeping through
the night. That is, until your adorable little baby becomes a teenager.
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