My husband and I just had our new baby boy and right now I am coming up on my fourth week of 4-6 hours of sleep a night. Needless to say I am right in the middle of the ‘new baby fog’. Since I am a breastfeeding mama, it seems like my whole life revolves feeding this (very hungry) little man. And if I’m honest, I spend at least 6 hours a day breastfeeding. This is my season of life right now. So this month I am writing about the only thing I know – 3am feedings. If you’re exclusively breastfeeding, then it’s all you and you may need a few things to help. Here are 5 things you can do while breastfeeding at 3:00am.
I’m starting with the most obvious – if you don’t have the Pinterest app, get it fast! I have planned several elaborate birthday parties during my late night feedings.
Connect with Friends
With a newborn and a toddler, communication with friends has gone out the window. If I take a minute to respond to a text, that will be the exact moment my toddler decides to try to feed the baby an animal cracker. Of course no one actually wants to receive texts at 3:00am, so I will write them all out and send them during the first feeding of the day. Bonus: My sister-in-law works the night shift as a nurse, so I know she can commiserate with me when we are the only two people awake in the early hours of the morning. Find your person – it makes a huge difference!
Watch a show
I have a friend who told me she made it through a whole season of Friends during her early weeks of around-the-clock breastfeeding and it changed my life! (Or it at least made midnight feedings a lot more bearable) Whether you prefer Ross and Rachel or Jim and Pam, 3:00am is the perfect time to catch up on your current TV shows or re-start an old favorite.
Play a Game
The key to playing games on your phone during late night feedings is finding games you can play one-handed. Since one hand will be busy holding your little one, I have found that games like Solitaire, Sudoku, Dots, Disney Tsum Tsum, and Rop are the perfect distraction.
Sleep!
If you have a coordinated infant and you haven’t discovered the ‘side lying position’, let me bless your life by introducing you to it. You’ll have to make sure your bed is free of blankets and pillows to make it a safe environment for your baby and you really won’t fall into a deep sleep, but any way I can keep my eyes closed in the middle of the night is a big win for me!
Those are some of the tips and tricks that have helped save my sanity in the middle of the night. I hope the 5 Things to Do While Breastfeeding at 3:00am is a blessing to you. Are you a mama in the thick of the newborn phase? Know that you’re not alone and share your middle of the night secrets in the comments below! (You can bet I’ll be back at 3:00am to discover some new tricks!)
I stockpile articles on facebook – bookmark them for later. Then I can scroll through them and see if I want something funny, serious etc. it’s better than just looking at facebook because sometimes not much has changed on my fb feed between feedings.
That’s such a good idea! It’s always depressing when I get on Facebook 3 hours later and nothing has changed – why is no one else awake!?
Movies on HBO saved me! Heath Ledger in A Knight’s Tale and 10 Things I Hate About You made things so much better.
Those are some of my favorites!! I’ve also found documentaries on animals for when my oldest is awake. They don’t drive me crazy like the terrible kid’s shows, but they are also appropriate for little ears.
Sometimes I get headaches if I spend too long staring at a screen in the middle of the night and then I end up not getting very good sleep. I like listening to podcasts that interest me–a good alternative to articles or shows.
Meg, that’s a great idea! I also found out recently that you can stream audio books for free on Amazon Prime – it’s been a lifesaver!
You left out buying stuff you never knew you needed on amazon!