how much sleep with i lose with my newborn?

Question

my fiance and i are expecting our first kid in july. just wondering how bad it will be for us and for how long with not getting any sleep or not knowing what to do for the baby?

Answer 1

Trust me, all will be fine. You will lose a lot of sleep but it is well worth it.

Answer 2

SLEEP?? What's that?? LOL

No really in all seriousness the first couple months I felt like I would NEVER feel fully awake again for the rest of my life...but now that my little girl is 4 months old and pretty much sleeping through the night (and I'm used to getting only 6 or less hours of sleep) I feel a lot better. It's tough but you'll pull through :)

My husband was SO nervous when our daughter was born, he thought he'd mess everything up but he just jumped in there and tried (with my encouragement and support) and he is a pro at everything now. He is really a wonderful father and I'm sure you will be too, just don't be afraid to try. Parenting is so hit and miss and it's all about trying new things...what works for one baby will make another cry, so just keep trying and soon enough you will be the expert :)

Answer 3

What an awesome guy you are to start asking questions !!!! BIG HUG for you~

You will lose quite a bit of sleep at first. As the anxiety of the situation if not the baby itself will make it difficult to sleep. BUT do NOT worry! We all go thru the same thing and I promise you sound like the type of guy that "cares", just support eachothers efforts and be friendly. Make sure you know that "mom" will be waaaay into the baby.... she will not be trying to short you on attention, it is Gods way of making sure the mom is ultra sensitive to the newborn helpless baby's needs , okay? Also ...
You will be amazed at HOW smart you become when you have your very own child that you love. There is NO greater feeling. I promise.

Answer 4

Not all babies are the same, but sometimes you can get a baby to start sleeping throughout the entire night around 3 months.

If you use your time wisely you will be able to sleep whenever the baby naps, which is VERY often the first month. I tried to clean the house and catch up with laundry instead of sleeping when the baby did. I regret that, and it is the best advise I could offer.

Your baby will probably be waking up every 2 hours to eat and be changed. As they grow they will sleep longer and then they will have periods of eating every hour! NEVER think that things will be consistent, they change constantly.

Answer 5

If baby is a typical baby, you can expect to wake up every 2 hours the first couple of months to feed and change baby. If baby is colicy, you could be up all night many nights with baby. Some babies are deep sleepers and will not wake up on there own to eat, you will have to set the alarm and wake baby up yourself through out the night to feed. If you don't baby could lose weight and you don't want that, cause they're so small already. You will lose quiet a bit of sleep, the first few months at least, but if you guys help each other out and share in the feedings, you each will get a lot more sleep.

Answer 6

Congratulations to the both of you!! Get as much sleep as you can now. Babies sleep a LOT during the first month, but also need to be fed every 3 hours or so. Your doctor might tell you to wake up your baby every 3 hours during the night to feed them, but if you're lucky enough to have a baby that wants to sleep 4 or 5 hours, let them sleep! As long as they are not jaundiced and are eating well during the day, nothing wrong with that! You will go through sleep deprivation during the first 3 months, no escaping it, but keep reminding yourself that it DOES get better!

Answer 7

Like everyone else said: How much you sleep is up to your baby.

Plan on not getting any the first year and that way you will be happy with what you do get.

I had the opposite problem. My baby would sleep thru the night and my wife would want to wake her up to feed her. I was a fan of the don't wake a sleeping baby rule. It caused a lot of arguments.

You're going to be amazed at what you're going to worry about in the coming months.

Answer 8

it all depends on your baby. my son was born knowing night from day and was born with his own routine.
he has slept through the night from day one. i had to wake HIM up to eat in the middle of the night, except he wasn't that interested, so i stopped doing that after a few weeks.
he is, now, 3 months old and goes to bed about 8pm and i wake him up at about 6:45 am to go to daycare.
we are soooo lucky b/c i've heard horror stories, but we get a nice night's sleep pretty much every night.

as for not knowing what to do...
can one of your moms come to help with the baby for a few days after you get him home?? my mom stayed with us for 2 weeks and it was great. she was there if we had questions and she helped out by cooking and cleaning while we learned how to care for our son. it was such a great thing!!!
i also recommend reading the first few chapters of "what to expect the first year". there was a lot of stuff in there that i wish i would have read before i had the baby. it's from the same authors of "what to expect when you're expecting" (the pregnancy "bible").

so, no one can really answer your question b/c every baby is different, but don't be worried. you will be willing to do anything for that little baby once he is here, so not getting sleep won't even bother you after a while....i promise!

take care:)

Answer 9

Take a deep breath...you'll be fine.

Newborns typically need to be fed every two hours. Your sleep will be interrupted and you will be tired, but you will get through it. You can share this duty by bottlefeeding either formula or pumped breast milk. That way Mom isn't losing all the sleep. This is especially important if you're both working. Get books and magazines to read up on problems and solutions you might face, and join some online communities. That way when you're up at 3am, the baby's crying, and your mother and mother-in-law don't answer the phone, you can get online and get quick advice. Information will help you a lot, and the rest is instinct. Congratualtions!

Answer 10

I have two boys one six and the other two, I would say tell your wife after she has the baby to let the hospital know that she wants her baby in the room with her. That way from day one the baby will get the sense of sleep time and play time. I found out from nurses, that the nurses at night are bored they play with the babies. So your baby is having the time of their life at night and when it is day time they are so tired they sleep. And when you get home play music not loud but soft baby music while they sleep that way they will get used to noise and won't get scared at night if a loud car goes by. That is all I can think of that will help you and your wife have a normal life with the baby. And one more thing that is very important I know you will be so in love with your new family member but try and let him/her learn to fall asleep on their own, because if they get used to you holding them to put them to sleep they will sleep a little and then wake up to be held again to go to sleep. I know that sounds mean but it isn't, I am not saying not to hold your baby and love him/her but not for hours after hours. They will get used to it and it is very hard to get them out of that routine. I learned that with my first one. *smiles* But you both will love every minute of it, so for now enjoy each other because when the baby comes it won't be too much mommy and daddy time unless you have family that can watch the baby once in a while to keep that love you have for each other.

Answer 11

when I had my first baby, she slept for 5 hours straight during the first night. After that, she woke up every 2 hours to eat.It was on and off like this for the first 12 weeks. Then she started sleeping for longer stretches of time (about 4 hours). Newborns sleep about 18 hours a day so tell your fiancee to nap when the baby is napping.That is what I did and it keeps you sane and able.