Coping with broken sleep

Having a new baby can be a very tiring time for parents. No matter how your baby is fed, being tired just seems to go along with being a parent of young children.

This is a common question that parents ask. The following research findings may help you to understand why switching to formula is unlikely to help. 

• There is no research to show that feeding a baby formula or starting solid food early makes them sleep longer. 

• What research has shown is that mums who exclusively breastfeed their young babies (3 months and younger) get more sleep overnight than those who feed their babies formula in the evening. In fact, one study reported that parents who fed their baby formula in the evening or at night lost out on 40-45 minutes of sleep each night, on average.

• When a baby breastfeeds, a hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) is released in both mum and baby. This hormone is sleep-inducing so you both go back to sleep more quickly. Other hormones in breastmilk also help baby to sleep.

• When breastfed babies sleep close to their mums, they tend to have the same sleep patterns. So you’ll be ready to wake when your baby stirs. This makes it much easier to feed your baby and fall asleep again. 

Most young babies, no matter how they are fed, will wake several times or more during the night and need help from a parent to fall back to sleep. It seems that having broken sleep comes with being a parent of young children.  

However, continuing to exclusively breastfeed has benefits in terms of the amount of sleep that parents get and how mums are able to manage night feeds. So keep going! 

Try some of the following tips to cope with the lack of sleep. 

• Have your baby sleep nearby. This can make night-time feeds much easier, especially if you are breastfeeding. Less moving around can mean less time awake and easier getting back to sleep. The Red Nose charity recommends that your baby sleeps in the same room as you do for the first 6 to 12 months to reduce the risk of SIDS. 

• Keep lights low at night and get sunlight during the day. These things can help boost your own and your baby’s melatonin (sleepy hormone) levels, which can help both of you sleep better at night.   

• If you need to, change your baby’s nappy before a feed or between breasts (if your baby drinks from both breasts) so you and your baby can just drift off to sleep after the feed.

• Some families like to put baby to sleep in their own cot to start with. Then after baby wakes, move to a mattress on the floor where you both sleep after the feeds. Or bring baby into your bed after the first feed. Many parents do whatever they need to do to get maximum sleep.