Safer Napping
The advice for new parents is that your baby should sleep in the same room as you, day and night, until they are at least 6 months old.
What does this look like in real life?
Well, for a start, that beautiful nursery you have created is not going to get much use in these early months, unless you included an adult bed in your plans. Room sharing means being in the same space, within sight and sound of your baby and baby monitors do not replicate those conditions.
Here are some ways you can support your baby during day time sleep.
Contact Napping
Babies naturally fall asleep at the breast and the easiest solution of all is to simply remain where you are until they wake again to feed. Intervals between the end of one breastfeed and the beginning of the next can sometimes be only one sleep cycle (around 40 minutes) so you can just hang out until the next round!
Co Napping
Tired new parents need as much sleep as new babies, so it makes sense to “sleep when the baby sleeps”! Breastsleeping makes this more likely an outcome. By learning to breastfeed lying down, you can doze while the baby feeds and then sleep until they wake you seeking the breast again.
Wrap Napping
When you transfer your sleepy baby to a baby carrier after they feed, your movements as you take a walk or do light domestic tasks will not only lull them to sleep but help them transition from one sleep cycle into the next if you are lucky!
Take a break
If you find you just can’t sleep in the day time, its still sensible to use nap time as time out for self care. Rest is just as important as sleep. With your baby safely sleeping nearby, put your feet up.
Babies on wheels
A bassinet on wheels or a pram can be a safe sleep surface that you can move around the house. If you are folding laundry, stacking the dishwasher, meal prepping or hanging washing on the line, your baby can stay nearby. Babies who are exposed to typical household sounds as background noise are less likely to be startled awake - these sounds are familiar from life in the womb.
