Get more sleep with a Newborn: The 3 things I did to help my little one sleep longer overnight

     Mommies I know are looking for anyway to help their little one get a little more shut eye so that they can too.  Baby D is now 10 weeks old.  He's sleeping a lot better than he used to.  But with only two weeks until I go back to work, I was getting nervous.  His usual pattern was 5 hours, 4 hours, and then 3 hours.  Because I can finally get things done once he's down, I was getting sleep in 3 hour chunks.  As a guidance counselor, I need to be mentally alert and let's be real 3 hour sleep chunks aren't going to cut it.  So thanks to two of my favorite ladies--Bridget Wieczorek and Sherry Diller--I changed three simple things.

1: Increase your Protein Intake
     Bridget, who has been a midwife for over 20 years, told me that the amount of protein I eat and can affect D keeping him fuller longer.  I've heard it takes about 10 hours for the food the momma eats to become milk for the little one.  This means that my breakfast and midmorning snack are extremely important.  Some mornings a bowl of cereal seemed to satisfy my hunger; however, I have to remember that baby D will be much fuller at night if I eat some good protein.  My go to breakfasts now are Arbonne's vegan chocolate protein shake and Arbonne's peanut butter protein bar.  Here's the recipe for that:

Arbonne Protein Bar Recipe

2: No more Coffee (even Decaf)
     Since my second year of teaching seventh grade special education, I have been a coffee connoisseur.   When I found out I was pregnant, I quit the good stuff.  (I love the smell of freshly ground dark roast beans in the morning.)  However, now that D is here I figured a cup of decaf in the morning wouldn't hurt anybody. (I never thought I'd be a decaf drinking...I used to say what's the point.  But after nine months without a good cup of joe, decaf was better than nothing.)  As it turns out, my baby--like me--is super sensitive to caffeine.  Without the coffee, he sleeps so much longer.  (Thanks to a sleepover with Sherry Diller and her kids I discovered this one!  I haven't had a drop of decaf since.)

3: Double Stuffed isn't just for Oreos Anymore
     We use cloth diapers.  I know there are a lot of moms out there who think that cloth diapers are disgusting or at least a lot of work, but so far we have been really happy.  (We used disposable diapers at first.  I figured we had enough things to learn as new parents without adding figuring out how to snap a diaper at 3 AM.  Since we have been using the cloth diapers, baby D has not had a single diaper rash.  Plus, I like to keep my money, so not buying diapers is wonderful!) My friend Sherry told me I could double stuff my Fuzzi Bunz (@FuzziBunz).  So I sat down in front of my latest Netflicks binge and  wrestled two inserts into each diaper.  D has been "sleeping like a baby" and for 7 hours straight!

     I hope these 3 tips will help you get a little more sleep.  If you have other suggestions, I'd love to hear them.  It takes a village!