Mamamia Podcast – “Year One” – Getting Sleep Sorted
Mothercraft For Babies is a team of qualified and highly skilled Mothercraft nurses who will come to your home and help you solve problems around feeding/sleeping/routines for your baby or toddler In Sydney, Central Coast and Newcastle.
Recently I have been working with mums where my little customer has had older siblings. There is a common lament from mums where they feel that they should be better skilled and be more capable parents having already trodden the road less travelled the first time.
Mothers who have a second baby often ask:
- Why should I need advice and guidance again with this baby?
- Shouldn’t I know what to do this time?
- Why is this baby so different to my first baby?
Not necessarily.
Each child has a different temperament and there is a different dynamic in the family household according to what birth order they arrive into this world. If you think about it, your first baby has your undivided attention as new parents. Everything is new for both of you in terms of getting to know your baby, learning how to care for him and the best support he needs. You are working through this in a haze of sleep deprivation and anxiety and your previous lifestyle and routine has been turned upside down. Your first baby brings a big learning curve. How could you remember anything much from say 2 years ago?
The second baby arrives and you still have one pair of hands but also a toddler to attend to. Depending on the age of your eldest child, you may find that he doesn’t really understand why he needs to share your attention with the new baby. You have a whole new family dynamic to manage. This affects the time you have to give to both children with different needs and immediacy. Successful strategies you implemented to feed and settle your first child may not be as effective with your second child who naturally may have a different temperament.
This is a good opportunity to gently remind you that you can only do what you can do. Your second child may not have all his sleeps in his cot like your first. He may have to grab his sleep in the car and pram when you drop off and pick up your toddler from day care.
Baby Bjorn’s or carriers come into their own at the evening dinner, bath and bedtime routine when you multi task hands free whilst carrying your baby (an innate skill gifted to women may I say?). Try to keep a consistent bedtime routine at the end of the day for both children when your newborn feeding rhythms are becoming more predictable around 6-8 weeks. You can give some special one on one time with your toddler when baby is sleeping and ensure you involve him with the care of the baby when appropriate, lots of cuddles together. And when you are trying to settle your newborn, you can bring out the “special toy/game/snack” for your toddler that only comes out at that time.
Go gently on yourself, that hectic exhausting period only lasts for a relatively short time and they will both be good mates sooner than you think!
For expert advice and problem solving around feeding/sleeping/routine issues for your babies and toddlers, contact Mothercraft for Babies today and ask for Beth Barclay, an experienced Mothercraft nurse. Call (02) 8221 8877.
Related posts
