And so the story goes …

Night 1 was fantastic – seriously. After giving birth at 3am the previous night and having constant visitors in and out the following day, sleep on night 1 was a dream (And not to mention, I had little to no sleep for the months leading up to birth. Thank you, pregnancy insomnia. Check out our ultimate pregnancy sleep hack post if you’re struggling with the same). And the best part? Baby K slept right along with me.

Night 2, on the other hand, was a totally different story. Kaiden was up all night. He couldn’t feed enough, be rocked enough, soothed enough. He was miserable. And thus, I was miserable. Not to mention my husband was home with a fever, so this was allllll on me. Was he not getting enough colostrum? Was he in pain? Did I totally suck at comforting my baby? Was something wrong? Little did I know, this was all totally normal.

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From Night 1 to Night 2

Why this 180 shift between night 1 and 2? Well, the first night after birth babies are notoriously exhausted, just like the mamas. Birth was hard work and working to feed themselves for the first time is even harder. So sleep, very deep sleep, is the result. And praise Jesus for that.

Night 2 on the other hand is when the newborn first starts to realize that they’re not in the comfort of their mamas womb anymore. Their surroundings are scary and unknown and all the familiar sounds, smells and feels they used to know as home are gone. No more mamas heartbeat or the whooshing sound of the fluid around them. No more comfy pillow-like beds and now instead a hard bassinet surface. They’re experiencing their first feelings of hunger and bodily sensations of digestion. It’s a crazy world out here and your little one is ready to keep you up all night writhing and wailing to make sure you know it.

But fear not! Here are 10 tips to make night #2 just a little bit easier for you. After all, knowing is half the battle.

10 Tips to Make It Through Night 2 After Birth

1. Know this is a means to an end

This was by far the best thing I could meditate on to help my mindset in getting through night 2. The craziness of night 2 is most definitely a means to an end. You can do anything for 1 night mama. Now, I’m not saying things will immediately turn around and night 3 will completely resemble the peace and quiet of night 1 again. BUT, it will get better slowly but surely. Know that your baby’s fussiness and complete inability to be consoled is totally normal. Does that make it easier? No. But maybe a little.

*Be sure to check out our posts on sleep training the foolproof way if you want more info on getting your baby to sleep through the night by 8 weeks old!

2. Limit visitors on day 2 in the name of rest

I know bringing a new life into the world is incredibly exciting for everyone in your family and friendship circles. HOWEVER, you’ll learn very fast that mama self-care is extremely important for your own sanity and for the wellbeing of your spouse and children. In other words, get sleep while the opportunity is there. Because it won’t be come night #2. Leading up to night #2: if the baby is sleeping, you sleep too. It will make getting through night #2 that much easier when you have a little bank of stored up sleep in your arsenal.

3. Coordinate all testing with your doctors so you can plan any rest accordingly

If you know anything about giving birth in a hospital, you know the time following is jam-packed with newborn testing, OB check-ups, social security registrations and birth certificate verifications. The people who perform these tests and push all this paperwork typically don’t care if you’ve been up for 673212 days (or so it feels like) – they just need to get their jobs done. What you can do is speak with your nurses about coordinating this testing during certain hours or at the very least get a heads up about their timing so YOU can coordinate YOUR sleep accordingly. This isn’t always a possibility but it’s always worth asking.

4. Stock up on snacks and liquids

When you’re up all night with a newborn appendage at your boob, snacks will make you feel better. I preferred juices over water (love me some sugar), and easy finger foods over a fork and knife meal. Bring these with you TO the hospital in preparation because typically all that’s available on the postpartum floor is apple juice, saltines and graham crackers. At 4:30 am those start getting kind of old.

5. Bring soothers to be used temporarily

Now, I know lactation consultants will say not to use pacifiers until solid breastfeeding techniques are established – BUT when your nipples need a rest and you can’t hear your newborn cry any more – a quick dose of binkie on that second night as a mama will not totally derail baby from the breastfeeding train. It might save a bit of your sanity though. Remember, newborns will be sucking harder than normal in these first few days until your milk comes in. This is because your thick, syrupy colostrum is a lot harder to get out than the free-flowing breastmilk. This intense sucking can lead to some pretty decent pain and uncomfortability in the first few days. Not to mention, your newborn will want to suck to soothe herself more so now as she’s getting used to life outside the womb. These wubbanubs are our favorite.

6. Don’t be shy about asking your nurses for help (swaddling, bathing, etc)

Swaddling a baby has a serious learning curve. So enlist the experts and don’t force your overtired just birthed a bowling ball self to figure it out in the heat of the moment. Swaddling is second nature for nurses and most of them (the good ones) will be more than happy to assist you so your baby can calm down and you can have a breather. A proper swaddle drastically improves the odds of getting some shut-eye – it’s the closest thing for your newborn to feeling hugged in the womb (besides your arms, of course). It also keeps baby’s startle reflex at bay, which is one of the top culprits in waking a baby before she’s ready. If you want to learn more about why swaddling is so important, definitely check out the following books: Happiest Baby on the Block, Moms on Call Basic Baby Care (0-6 months) and On Becoming Babywise.

Side note: While we’re recommending this book On Becoming Babywise, we have created a FREE Printable that goes along with this book to help your baby get on a schedule! CLICK HERE to subscribe to the Newlymoms and get our FREE Babywise Printable Schedule. And check out these posts: Setting Up Baby For Sleep Training Success and Should I Try To Get My Newborn On A Schedule?

As for bathing, your nurse will typically offer this after the first day and night #2 is a great time for this. It’s calming and tiring for baby all at the same time. If your nurse doesn’t offer, be sure to ask. And make sure to do some skin-to-skin after bathtime to help get baby’s body temperature back to normal.  

7. Do as much skin-to-skin as possible

Skin-to-skin is this amazing thing that bonds mommy and baby almost as much as breastfeeding itself. Your body temperatures sync up with one another and baby learns the smell and sound of mommy more effectively than through layers of clothes and perfumes. It’s also just an incredibly sweet time to spend with your little one. It won’t happen often as baby gets older. So try to savor this time of baby only being soothed by your arms and the familiar smell of home.

8. Don’t be surprised if baby only wants mama

With our second baby, my husband was NOT SICK (thank GOD), but he still felt totally helpless. Baby T only wanted mama. This was more frustrating for him than for me because he truly wanted to help but the most he could do was hold her while she cried as I went to the bathroom. This is normal and totally okay. You just have to go into it knowing it’s going to happen. It won’t always be like this. And this leads me into my next point…

9. Be okay with a little crying so you can take care of yourself (bathroom, 5 minute rests, etc)

Hearing your newborn cry can be devastating, especially for a first time mom. Just remember this: your job as mama is not to keep your children from crying. It’s to love and raise them up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). So this means you HAVE to take care of yourself. If you don’t (because no one else will), you can’t effectively take care of other people. So if you need to hand baby over to hubby or put her down in the bassinet while you go to the bathroom or even just rest your arms for 5 minutes, be okay with baby crying during this time. Sometimes you can’t avoid it without totally sacrificing your personal needs and that’s no good for anyone.

10. Bring a sound machine

Like we mentioned above, the familiar whooshing sound the baby constantly heard during her stay in your womb is now gone. Do yourself a favor and try to recreate the sensations that were lost as much as possible. This sound machine is the closest we’ve found to a natural whooshing sound and it uses actual air pulled through the machine to do it. In other words, it’s not digitally simulated.

So – all that to say, the best thing you can do to get through night 2 with a newborn is to be prepared. Some things are unavoidable but knowing what you’re getting yourself into is half the battle.

Don’t forget to subscribe for your FREE Printable Babywise Schedule!

What other questions do you have about night #2? Any other tips from the seasoned mamas out there?