Mother Just Have A Baby? Here Are 8 Tips To Get A Quality Rest

Illustration of tips on getting quality rest for mothers who only have babies (Freepik/wavebreakmedia_micro)

YOGYAKARTA Mother who has just given birth or during breastfeeding, as we know, her rest time is limited. She has to breastfeed during night hours, change diapers, to break her baby if she wakes up and doesn't have time to sleep well. Even though she is busy, mothers need to take care of themselves. Mothers can also follow the tips for getting quality rest from sleep specialist Grace W. Pien, MD., MSCE. from John Hopkins Hospital below.

Pien said, if you get enough sleep, you will be better able to fulfill the responsibility to take care of your baby. Enough sleep also makes you more patient and tends to feel happy raising your baby.

Newborn babies sleep periodically for 2 to 4 hours with a total of 16-18 hours of sleep every day. New parents often have a very lack of sleep if they only sleep at night.

"sleeping when a baby sleeps can sometimes be difficult because there are other kids at home or our internal body clocks, but it's a good idea to try and rest," Pien said.

Skipping household chores to steal rest time, can be a solution. Instead of washing dishes, it's better to do power nap.

You and your partner can share assignments at night. Starting from changing diapers and other tasks in caring for babies at night. Breastfeeding mothers can pump breast milk and store it in a cooler or refrigerator. Well, when a baby wakes up and is hungry to breastfeed at night, it can alternate with a partner when breastfeeding using milk stock.

Placing a baby bed or baby basket next to a mother's bed makes it easier for the mother to take care of the baby and then go back to sleep. That way, at night get the chance to sleep. Although sleeping together in the same bed as the little one may seem tempting, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises not to do so because it risks narrowing the baby or other risks.

Mothers don't need to be ashamed to ask friends or relatives for help. Whether it's to complete the task of taking groceries, sweeping floors, or holding a baby while you're taking a nap. Friends and family members may also be willing to help at night by changing diapers and feeding them.

If the mother works, take advantage of parental leave. Maybe employers' policies about parental leave vary. But sometimes parents can take time off from work to make it possible to raise babies and make them get more rest time.

Good sleep hygiene helps mothers get more rest. Regardless of having newborns at home or not, but some strategies can be done. First, limit or avoid consuming caffeinated drinks. Second, don't access gadgets during bedtime.

"You may want to upload your baby's latest photos on social media, but using cell phones, tablets, and computers at night can interfere with overall sleep," Pien said.

Device light or electronic devices can also disrupt your body hours. For the third tip of practicing sleep hygiene, it is important to maintain a regular sleep schedule. But keep in mind, because mothers have babies, you still have to be flexible and anticipate if you have to wake up at night.

Starting at the age of 3 months, many babies start to sleep longer at night. Starting from 4 to 6 hours, although this varies with each baby. At the age of 6 months, two thirds of babies sleep all night long. Smaller babies at birth start to sleep longer as their weight approaches 12 to 13 pounds.

To help your little one develop healthy sleep habits, Pien suggests putting your little one to sleep at night when they are sleepy. But this is a personal choice. It's important to know, it's important to get used to your little one sleeping in his own bed, Pien suggested.

Tips for getting quality rest for new mothers to have babies, Pien recommends helping babies learn to calm down. Don't forget, you also need to take care of yourself in the midst of a busy task of caring for your little one