CLEVELAND — It’s no secret… A newborn baby means there are bound to be some sleepless nights.
The 3News Go! team turned to sleep expert Michelle Drerup, PsyD for help. She is a sleep psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic's Sleep Disorders Center. She specializes in treating conditions like insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, sleep apnea and more.
Dredrup's advice for new parents actually bends one of her own sleep rules.
“Everybody says this, it's really hard to do, but sleep when your baby sleeps,” Dredrup says. “Often times we don't recommend naps for someone who's having poor sleep at night, but in this case you need to just maximize when you're getting sleep.”
If you can, Dredrup also recommends splitting sleep time with your partner.
“For instance, I go to bed very early, so I would take the early bed shift, and I would sleep. My husband's a night owl, so he would be up with the child, and I would be up a lot earlier so it worked for our sleep schedules to kind of share that responsibility.”
The Cleveland Clinic also suggests limiting visitors for the first two weeks after the baby arrives. This is so the parents can rest and helps get breastfeeding well-established.
It's also a good time to ask for help from family and friends. Taking care of a newborn means there will be little time for things like cooking, cleaning and running to the store.