How much sleep deprivation can I expect with a newborn?

expect sleep deprivation for 5-7 years

Just had a baby. Six months old now.

Baby sleeps 4-5 hours at a time now.

I expect wake up twice a night.

Its not to bad. Its worse for the wife as long as she is breastfeeding.

Edward Teach wrote:

expect sleep deprivation for 5-7 years

I have a 15 month old and there hasn't been too much sleep deprivation the past year. Only the first few months were rough. Usually he goes to bed at 7 to 7:30 and wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30. Only occasionally does he wake up in the middle of the night and need to be rescued.

Maybe it gets worse, but it hasn't been too bad for me. I do make sure I that I don't go to bed too late, because we hardly ever get a break in the morning, there is definitely no such thing as sleeping in when you have a young kid.

Totally, unpredictable. Our first child was colicky and I thought I would never get 3hrs uninterrupted sleep again the first year. Second child was sleeping 4hr+ almost immediately and the full night after a couple of months.

Things should calm down when they finish paying off their student loans.

Read "Preparation for Parenting - Along the Infant Way" aka Babywise. Follow it (not blindly, use some sense) and you can have a baby sleeping 8+ hours a night in 8-12 weeks.

Both of ours slept 10+ hours in less than 4 months. If they get sick, you'll be up more. Give up TV and go to bed early for a while and you can actually gain sleep, that's what I did. We alternated the night feeding (I'd do 8, she'd do 11, I'd do 2, she'd do 5) and then you're getting a good chunk of sleep. Of course, breastfeeding changes it up - but we had to supplement (low production) so we did the bottle feedings at night. If your wife breastfeeds, get the baby, help her get comfy, and go back to bed. You can't do anything more. No reason for you to both be irritable.

"Your" welcome.

We did BabyWise with both our kids.

One learned quickly. One took much longer.

One thing to know. Like everything else, some women have trouble with breastfeeding. Not just with production but with staying awake/sleeping with the baby to do it. Also, some kids are just hungry and some are not. Somehow with just 2 kids we managed to hit both side of just about every issue.

Good luck

Enough to take you to the absolute brink of insanity.

Lotsa folks gonna freak, but:

With co-sleeping and breast-feeding, sleep deprivation was ZERO for me AND the wife (if'n that's too scary for you, consider a bedside cosleeper).

In anticipation of the freakout, none of our children was crushed (we're neither drunkards nor druggies nor obese) and all eventually made their own way out of the bed of their own accord around age 4.

Discussion and research here:http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes

Shhhhhhh wrote:

Lotsa folks gonna freak, but:

With co-sleeping and breast-feeding, sleep deprivation was ZERO for me AND the wife (if'n that's too scary for you, consider a bedside cosleeper).

In anticipation of the freakout, none of our children was crushed (we're neither drunkards nor druggies nor obese) and all eventually made their own way out of the bed of their own accord around age 4.

Discussion and research here:http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes

Many people co-sleep now and still get no sleep. Every kid is different.

My kid breast fed and co-slept for the first two years. He was a terrible sleeper. He drove my wife crazy. He really only started sleeping through the night when he was 18-24 months. Even then, it was dicey. I eventually just slept in a different bed because there wasn't enough room and we never bottle fed. I just had to get up every now and then and help if he was crying a lot.

Co-sleeping leads to more night feeding which leads to less sleeping which ultimately leads to severe daytime dysfunction for everyone. I should know, as it consumed my life for >4 yrs.

Do. Not. Co-sleep.

Oh boy...

I was one of those guys who just thought it was "no big deal" after our first child was born. We did BabyWise, breastfed and everything was fine. She slept like a champ after the first week. She is 9 now and still sleeps like 9 hours a night and has never even asked to come into our bed. I thought it was my great parenting skills, LOL.

Second child comes along and blows up our world. No more than 2 hours of interrupted sleep for almost 2 years. Want to test a marriage? Try that shit. Holy freaking smokes. You think you're a nice guy? Wait until you hear what comes out of your mouth at 3am on a Tuesday night when you are arguing over who needs to get up and change the 85th diaper of the night and rock the kid to sleep. I have seriously asked myself how some kids survive past age three. I am a good dad, have patience and love my kids. There were times when I wanted to just run out of the house and never come back... or worse. My son is 4 now and things are a lot better, but we did the co-sleeping thing and it was a bad idea. It made things better in the short term, but at almost 5 years old, he still doesn't sleep well if he is not in our room. I am not sure we could have gotten through the first two years without it, though.

TL;DR - It varies DRASTICALLY by child. Do what works for you and ignore the people who think they have all the answers. I had all of the answers, too... until I didn't.

Shhhhhhh wrote:

Lotsa folks gonna freak, but:

With co-sleeping and breast-feeding, sleep deprivation was ZERO for me AND the wife (if'n that's too scary for you, consider a bedside cosleeper).

In anticipation of the freakout, none of our children was crushed (we're neither drunkards nor druggies nor obese) and all eventually made their own way out of the bed of their own accord around age 4.

Discussion and research here:http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes

Raised all three of my kids with them sleeping in the bed with my wife and me. Each moved into their own bed when they wanted to (around 10 years old).

Currently raising a 4th (1 year old) and have every intention of doing the same.

For those who think that odd or worse try to think of human beings as a species of mammal and then think about what is most natural/emotionally healthy. Hint: It is not to be put down by oneself as an infant to sleep.

If a primate (non-human) did that in a zoo they would be considered unfit to parent and the infant would be removed from their care.

Anyway, the topic is worth more time/words than I'm willing to put in here. But you may want to think it through.

Making new babies while the old kids are still in bed with you? That's disturbing.

Also, co-sleeping is dangerous. I don't care if you're not fat, drugged, etc. You can kill a baby with your weight or just your pillow landing in the wrong spot. SIDS has basically been debunked - they call it that now so parents don't feel as guilty about smothering their child by co-sleeping or by giving the infant that nice comfy blanket.

Every baby can fall asleep without you. Let them learn how. A little self soothing if a great life skill....too many adults today always got whatever they wanted when they cried and look how well they function now....

Thank you for displaying your ignorance.

Also, what is disturbing to you is irrelevant to me. Indeed, someone as ignorant as you is only good for a quick laugh. So, thanks for that.

As a future Dad, this is one seriously depressing thread. Thanks guys.

each kid totally different.

I never really had sleep deprivation it was more constantly being woken up from a deep sleep..feed baby and change then go back to bed and before you know it they're up again every 2-3 hours. So I still got 8 hours of sleep it was just constantly interrupted. It was more that for us and our kids