Five things to do on the 3am nightfeed

November 4, 2014

5 things to do on nightfeeds (including blogging tips)

Aaah, nightfeeds. It’s lovely to have sleepy newborn cuddles, and see your baby’s eyes looking at you in the near-dark, and aaah. But when you’re sleep deprived and completely exhausted, it can be difficult to keep your eyes open.

We’re only a few weeks or so into nightfeeds with Florence, but Eliza used to be up for hours feeding, and I never quite perfected the lying down feed / doze as I was terrified of squishing her. So I really needed to find ways to keep myself awake, propped up on pillows with a baby on the boob.

If you’re in a similar boat, here’s a couple of some ideas for things to do:

  1. Remember you’re not alone. Despite the fact that being up at 3am (and 12am, 1am, 2am, 5am and so on) can seem lonely and isolating, someone’s always awake somewhere in the world. Twitter and hashtags like #3amfc and #nightfeed are great for chatting to other mums at this time. I’m @gill_crawshaw if you want to say a sleepy hello
  2. I’ve noticed that this time round, Twitter at night is often full of automated tweets (not known for chatting back, sadly). So as you don’t often get a second during the day, it’s a great time to get in some reading. Here are some of my favourite blogs and I’m always on the lookout for more
  3. Catch-up on your own blog while you have time. Write posts, upload posts, edit phone photos, take notes on your phone. I do – sometimes – get lots of inspiration in the middle of the night so I tend to write it down before I forget. This usually results in either a genius idea or some incomprehensible gibberish. You decide!
  4. The middle of the night is also peak time to use social networks like Pinterest (here’s some more tips on breastfeeding and social media)
  5. Watch Netflix or catch-up on TV in peace. Here’s some good things to watch when you have a new baby.

Alternatively, just enjoy the silence x.

3 Comments

  • Jodie

    November 4, 2014 at 6:00 pm

    I’ve tried all of your tips and all result in me drifting off to sleep. I’m just THAT tired. We’ve mastered the lay down boob feeds but ive started to swaddle her the past two nights which has helped with sleep and so to stop me falling asleep and able to put her back in the SnuzPod (rather than accidentally falling asleep and co sleeping), I’ve been propping myself up on my elbow. Then if I doze off slightly I slip and wake myself up.

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