2nd, 3rd, etc time mamas....

M

To those of you who aren’t first time moms, what did you do differently with your 2nd (or third, or fourth and so on) that helped with sleep? I know every baby is different and what you do with one might not work for the other....my first co slept with me for the first few months 😬 and I felt like she slept awful...but my second made my first seem like a pro sleeper...she didn’t sleep well at ALL til 7 months when we decided to move her into her crib in her own room...because I felt like when she would wake up I would nurse her, cause that was the only thing to calm her, but she wouldn’t really actively nurse, more like suckle like a pacifier...so more for comfort to fall back asleep...I know newborns are supposed to wake in the night to eat, I don’t expect my baby to sleep through the night right off the bat...but with my first two, I would hardly ever get a full 2-4 hours of sleep, the time in between a feeding was me just trying to get them to settle and go back to sleep, and by the time I did, it would be closer to the next time they want to eat....I know there isn’t a magic secret to having good sleepers, every baby is different, but I’m having a lot of anxiety, some of which surrounding fear of the sleepless night I’ll have when baby is here, since I already have a 3 year and 16 month old to take care of...and with this dumb virus idk how much help I’ll be able to get other than the one week I’ll have my husband home (hoping to convince him to take a little more time off cause his work WOULD let him) if you don’t have advice, some encouragement can help as well 🥴 I LOVE my children, but I know how hard it is to function and be the best mom I can be on very little sleep, especially after I had my second, I also struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety, and I fear it’s going to happen again, and I know lack of sleep can play a big part.