I’ve blogged a few times about sleep in the past. Previously, I wrote about how sleep is really important for our digestion. Today, I thought I’d blog about one of the things I’m going through at the moment: and that is lack of sleep!

AD-This post is in conjunction with TEMPUR®, but all thoughts are my own

Jude was always a pretty good sleeper. By 3 months, he was sleeping from about 8 pm-6 am, with a quick night feed in between.

By 6 months, we’d dropped the night feed altogether.

I thought I’d cracked it!

I hadn’t.

When Jude was 8 months old, several things happened. He started nursery.

We moved him into his cot in his nursery. I started to do more Keeping In Touch Days and we generally started to get a routine.

And then the sleep regression started…

Because the 4-month sleep regression had passed us by without notice, we’d assumed this 8 month one would be the same. But soon Jude started refusing to sleep in the cot and, then, just started refusing sleep altogether.

One night, he was up every single hour and I felt as if I was going insane…

After his recent spell of Hand Foot and Mouth, Jude’s sleep seems to have calmed a little again.

And, often without rhyme nor reason, it does get easier and that’s the first point of my post. Some days you feel like it never will but one day….they’ll start sleeping properly again!

Of course, by then, you’ve probably forgotten how to sleep yourself!

How lack of sleep affects your health

We tend to brush lack of sleep off as part of being a new mom but sleep is actually really important to our health. Our body does so much when we’re resting and being awake can stop those processes.

I’ve blogged before that lack of sleep can actually cause things like stomach pain or an IBD flare, but did you know it can impact things like your memory too? (as if baby brain wasn’t enough!)

TEMPUR, who are known for their memory foam mattresses, recently did some research into our sleep habits and memory and found that 59% of women reported they are likely to be affected by memory after a poor night’s sleep (this was higher than men, because, I assume, they appear to have selective hearing when it comes to the baby waking up!).

Poor sleep even beat things like being hungover when it came to impact our memory and a huge 80% of us wish we could have a better memory.

If you’ve ever watched The Let Down on Netflix, there’s such a funny-yet-poignant scene where she goes to the pub quiz after having a baby and can’t remember any of the answers because she’s just so sleep deprived.

It might not last forever but sleep has such a big impact on your memory and that, combined with baby brain, can be so difficult.

My top tips for surviving a sleep regression

-Go with it. Don’t check the clock. Don’t try to calculate how little sleep you have or the last time your baby slept through. Accept it for what it is, that it is just something you’re going through and know it won’t last.

-Don’t waste your money on sleep books. Your baby will do their own thing. I spent a fortune but the only one I enjoyed was ‘Sleep is for the Weak…’, which is one woman’s hilarious journey with sleep books and why they don’t work.

-Make sure your bedroom is set up for good sleeping when you do actually have the chance. Keep some pillow spray (for you or for baby!) close by and an eye mask if you need it; as well as investing in some proper bedding.

-If you do decide to look into sleep training, this is a great guide.

We have a memory foam mattress topper and were also kindly sent a memory foam pillow from Tempur, which has been a godsend as my neck and shoulders have been really uncomfortable after lugging Jude around all day.

. Memory foam can make such a difference-4 in 5 of us know that the right mattress can help our sleep but not all of us have one.

-Don’t do things you’re not comfortable with. You might be told that the only way to get through this is to try extreme methods like sleep training and controlled crying but if that’s something you’re not comfortable with (I’m personally not) then don’t feel forced to do so.

-Ask for help. Do whatever you need to do to get through a sleep regression. For us, it’s been Jude having extra sleepovers at my mom’s and the occasional extra day at nursery so I can catch up on sleep. There’s no medal for getting through without help.

-If your baby is a little younger, I’d recommend the app Huckleberry, which is great for giving you an idea of when you should be putting your baby down for naps and getting into a routine.

-I’m just updating this post to say we’ve been using the calpol plug-in for Jude as he’s had a cold and this has made such a big difference to his sleep!

Sometimes, just knowing someone else is going through something similar can be all we need to get through it. So, know that when you’re battling sleepless nights and forgetfulness, you’re not alone and it will get better.

–