Up all night to pee etc, how different is it with new baby?

[d_b]

Having a newborn was sooo much worse than peeing every hour. While pregnant i always heard about having to get up in the night but i didnt realize how long i'd be up each time. With DS he would wake every 2 hours but I'd be up for at least an hour changing him, breast feeding, changing him again, trying to get him back to sleep in his crib, giving up and letting him sleep on my chest as I drifted in and out of sleep.. Sometimes he'd be asleep in his crib like 5 minutes then wake up crying again.. For a while he woke every hour and he never slept for more than a 4 hour stretch until he was 9 months old.. Ugh! I hope this next one sleeps!

 

[rowleypolie]

If you bf it's not any different, if not easier than being pregnant. Especially once you master the laying down position. I would only be 1/2 awake or feeds and DH would bring baby to me so I felt pretty lucky to get a good amount of sleep

 

[Rafferty]

Newborn was 10 times harder! My DD had days and nights backwards...slept all day and awake all night. I was up every 3 hours and her wake periods would last 90+ minutes. Plus BFing always made me sleepy in general. Uggggg not very excited to start it all again, but it does get better. Around 8 weeks we were getting decent sleep again.

 

[Livebythesea]

Thank you for all of the replies!

 

[special_kala]

I find newborn easier then being pregnant. Yes you get less sleep with a newborn but any sleep you do get is your sleep. I'd rather 5 hours of actual sleep (even if disrupted) in 24 then 12 hours of bad sleep.

Also if your breastfeeding your bodily is biologically set up.to deal with less sleep which makes a huge difference imo

 

[mrs_park]

It really does depend on the baby. I remember saying to DH one night that no one has the right to use the word 'tired' unless they have a newborn. I reached levels of exhaustion that I never knew possible. There were nights were I literally nodded off standing up with my head resting on the wall whilst rocking his bassinet, trying to get him to settle. I wanted to bed share but didn't trust myself as I was just too tired. But it is a 'labour of love' and no matter how tired I was I would rather be waking up to his sweet face than peeing and tossing all night

 

[spinneybaby]

for me, pregnancy has got nothing on having a newborn! DS was not a sleeper and when he was awake to feed, it would take a good hour or longer by the time he nursed on each side, had his bum changed, burped him and got him settled back to sleep again...and sometimes we were up all night cause he thought nightime was daytime! Not to mention those times he was cluster feeding all night to help my body produce more milk in anticipation of a growth spurt...it's all exhausting but still soooo worth it! I agree, it all depends on the baby but regardless, you will manage...Sleep is for sissies...Caffeine is for Parents!

 

[Noo]

Personally, a newborn is far worse. When you get up to pee you literally get up... pee... then go back to sleep. With a newborn it may take 40 minutes to feed the baby, another 20 minutes to settle the baby, then minutes to go pee and maybe get a drink and get back to sleep. That's an hour gone where you've been asleep and it its anything like mine - He wanted to be up and on the breast again an hour to an hour and a half later and the whole process of being awake and up for an hour starts again. It's not quite as simple as it sounds. Especially when you have a partner/DH who has to go to work in the morning so it's not as if you can just get on with it - I had to leave and feed him elsewhere otherwise DH was disturbed 3/4 times a night for an hour to an hour and a half each time! You'll get to notice your babies pattern. DS tended to cluster feed 6.30pm-9.30pm ish then sleep for 3 hours straight. Although this was a bit early for me to want to sleep with having stuff to do/things on TV/life etc - I soon learnt this was the best stretch of sleep I'd get all night and went to bed when he settled after that feed as it was a bit relentless with the feeding after that. Then he'd sleep 6.30am-9.30am ish, again I went back to bed and slept and took advantage of this!

 

[MindUtopia]

I found that having a new baby was much harder than being pregnant, at least in the initial weeks. I did have a really easy pregnancy though and I am not a great sleeper, so always wake up multiple times a night pregnant or not. That's just normal for me. But when you have a new baby, it's not just getting up to pee and going back to bed, it's getting up and staying up around the clock. My nighttime feeds were lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours each every 2-3 hours for the first 8 weeks or so, and I was also sick with mastitis for quite a few weeks. So my body was really drained and it was exhausting because you're trying to recover but never getting more than an hour of sleep or two here and there. For me, being able to stay awake through those long night feeds was really hard, especially when I was unwell. But if you're bottle feeding (and hubby can share the work at night) or you have a fast eater (some babies eat and are done in 10 minutes), then you might find you cope better. Those hard days don't last forever though. My daughter started STTN at around 3 months and though she does wake up some nights now for one night feed, I'm able to get about 5-6 hours of sleep straight, which is a huge improvement over the early days. But definitely try to get your rest now! I made the mistake of not putting my feet up enough or taking naps or going to bed early in late pregnancy and I wish I had now because I wasn't able to catch up on sleep later like I thought I would.

 

[MnMommy]

It depends on the baby. DS was a great sleeper from day 1. He would sleep 12 hours at night and only wake 1-2 times to feed. He stayed healthy and had the appropriate weight gain, so I never forced it more than that. I had a really hard time understanding what all the fuss was about with a newborn. Hopefully his sister will sleep as well as he did!

 

[MnMommy]

Plus I forgot to say that DS was a great eater. He would eat and go back to sleep- so I was NEVER up for more than 20 minutes, and usually it was closer to 10 minutes. It really just depends on the baby.

 

[Noo]

It depends on the baby. DS was a great sleeper from day 1. He would sleep 12 hours at night and only wake 1-2 times to feed. He stayed healthy and had the appropriate weight gain, so I never forced it more than that. I had a really hard time understanding what all the fuss was about with a newborn. Hopefully his sister will sleep as well as he did!

How lucky! Good luck with that

 

[cantwaitforu]

It all depends on the baby.

I had/have pregnancy insomnia with both pregnancies.

DS1 woke up every 3 - 4 hours to be nursed throughout the night, then I would fall back to sleep. I didn't have to pee every hour, or move around because of hip/back pain.

He never cried (I actually mean never - we were concerned for a while).

I was told all throughout my pregnancy "wait until the baby is here" when I would complain about being tired. My 13 months off of work with him was the most relaxing, peaceful year I've ever been fortunate to experience.

Hoping I get lucky twice! I'm at my wits end with my insomnia and have 4 weeks left of work

 

[bekkie]

It obviously really depends on the baby... my son didn't like to sleep and so we were up constantly, like every 45 min to an hour - and not just for a quick pee... up for 15 - 20 minutes feeding, back down for 45 min, back up again - for the first few months... he didn't STTN until he was almost 2... so getting up now to pee constantly is nothing. Even the nights when he would go more than 45 minutes without waking, I was so conditioned to getting up that I was awake anyway...

We are co-sleeping this time immediately so hopefully it will help LO and me get some sleep.

 

[samface182]

I was one of the lucky ones who never had sleepless nights, he slept in our bed and breastfed, so when he woke to be fed, I just popped a boob in his mouth and went back to sleep!

 

[rainbowskin]

For me it has been very different. At least when I was up all night having to pee etc. I could get back to sleep quickly. With a baby I am up for hours sometimes.