‘Say goodbye to sleep’.
That’s one of the things I remember being laughingly told when we announced we were expecting baby number one, but the thing is it’s no laughing matter.
I’m now a knackered mum of three and sleep is the one thing I constantly crave but can never get enough of – and if you’re a regular follower of the blog you’ll know I’ll happily bang on about it until the cows come home.
So when sleep specialists Bed Guru got in touch asking me to take part in their #NestGuru campaign – which is all about understanding the importance of sleep and that no two people are the same when it comes to sleeping requirements – I simply couldn’t resist.
They asked me to share a little bit about my sleeping habits and what sleep means to me, which made me realise there’s an awful lot they don’t tell you about sleep after having a baby.
Things they don’t tell you about sleep after having a baby
1. It’s surprising just how little you can survive on. Before becoming a mum I was an eight-hours-a-night girl. Minimum. Now I’m lucky if it’s half that.
2. Get the biggest bed you can find. If I’d have known we’d routinely have all three kids in our bed at night we’d have gone for a super king, without question. We’ve even got one long bolster pillow so we can all sleep comfortably in a line instead of lining up individual pillows (I know, bonkers isn’t it).
3. Your mattress matters. BIG time. Since becoming a mum I creak in places I didn’t know it was possible to creak (I blame car seat hip and those other unavoidable pesky parenting injuries). Investing in a memory foam mattress has made a big difference to my quality of sleep – it’s the difference between a good night’s sleep and a mediocre one and how much I creak in the morning. If you’re thinking of investing in a new mattress Bed Guru has a range of mattresses to suit your own personal requirements from my personal fave the memory foam to pocket sprung to organic mattresses.
4. You could cheerfully throttle anyone who complains they’re tired when they don’t have kids.
5. Competitive tiredness is unavoidable. Whether it’s with your other half, your best friend or other mums and dads at toddler group, it’s one parenting trap you just can’t help falling into.
6. A good night’s sleep can make you feel reborn. Six hours uninterrupted in my nest and I feel like a new woman. It’s just a pain you don’t know when it’s coming or if and when it’s going to happen again. Of course, there are things you can do to ensure you get the best night’s sleep possible, like keeping your body and metabolism healthy with supplements – see MCT Wellness reviews for more.
7. You find yourself dreaming of your bed at random intervals throughout the day. If I had £1 for every time I think about climbing into my bed during the day I’d be significantly better off than I am now.
8. Hell hath no fury like a tired mama scorned. Only another sleep deprived mama can possibly know what it’s like to feel new mum sleep deprived, and it’ll bring out the worst in you.
9. There are actually some good things about broken nights. Like moon beams and sunrises you wouldn’t see if you were sleeping.
10. Lie-ins are golden. I get Saturday mornings and Misery Guts gets Sunday mornings. And they’re non-negotiable.
How has your sleep been affected since becoming a parent? Is your bed a nest away from it all like it is for me?
This post was written in collaboration with Bed Guru.
I’m not sure whether I preferred it when mine was a (fed at 2am every night, so my body got used to it) baby or my current ‘might sleep through, might yell for me at 3am to wipe her bum after a potty then be up for the dayt at 5’ threenager! Haha!
I’ll be honest, the sleep deprication thing only lasted around 6 weeks for me. Then we got the next-to-me cot and never looked back. I can probably count on both hands the number of times I’ve been properly up with the baby in the night.
It helps that my wife still breastfeeds and we co-sleep (dream combo for getting sleep). But she hasn’t exactly had a lack of sleep either. But yeah, it’s crazy how fragile our bodies really are. One bad night of no sleep and you’re done
After having Luke, I remember constantly arguing with his dad about who had had the most sleep. Sleep envy was a real thing and it can cause an alarming amount of damage to a relationship! I’m lucky that Luke’s only ever jumped in my bed once when he was really poorly, and it was only about an hour before my partner had to get up for work, so we ended up with a double to ourselves. Baby number two is on the way now and we are definitely keen to invest in a king sized bed before I go into labour! #CoolMumClub
With a 9 week old, I’m in the midst of this currently. Luckily our 3yo sleeps through 7:30-7:30 and actually, the baby is doing every 3 hours which I’m grateful of because I know how much worse it can be! I’m sleeping 11pm to 7:30pm with three feeds in-between and managing very well on that. If i need it, my husband takes the kids and I get an extra hour or so before he goes to work. I’m breastfeeding so no point in him being up in the night. Im dreading 4 months, and the sleep regression. Maybe then people will stop saying “you don’t even look tired!” #DreamTeam
Haha the competitive tiredness bit made me chuckle this is so true we had a terrible sleeper and got by one about one hours sleep a night for the best part of the first year it is truly amazing how little you can survive on isn’t it?!!!! Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub xoxo
Crummymummy1, thank you for your blog post.Really thank you! Awesome.
We love our memory foam mattress and as of yet to invest in a bigger bed. Now our littlest two are constantly in our bed, I’m in need of a much bigger bed, and maybe a bolster as well #coolmumclub
zzz We were feeling smug until we moved Zach into a toddler bed 4 weeks ago and now he gets up 4-5 times a night. I have no idea how I’m coping to be honest! #dreamteam
You’re going to hate me when I type this but my two actually sleep through now so I get a good 8 hours now most nights. Much difference now is that my body fiercely defends this new amount of sleep now and the slightest sniff of a broken nights sleep send a me spiralling back into a frenzy. It’s like my brain is shouting “Noooooo! We can’t go through that again!!” Sending sleepy peaceful thoughts for you hon. Thanks for linking up x #DreamTeam
Competitive tiredness hahahahaha – that made me giggle a lot because its so true. Theres a Mum in the playground, if I say I am tired – she is more so. If I am poorly, she is too, but worse! How funny. #Coolmumclub
I’m so guilty of competitive tiredness, working just isn’t the same as night feeds and maternity leave (and now I’m back at work I can say that with authority)! #coolmumclub
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