Learn what to expect and plan for the second night.
The first night, your newborn will often sleep to recover from their big journey but the second night they might be more awake and alert.
After 24 hours, babies have a strong need to be skin-to-skin with their mothers and may want to breastfeed very often. This is nature’s way of establishing breastfeeding.
For new mothers, this can be a very tiring time. You have been through a big journey yourself. You may be experiencing pain. You may have had many visitors. A wide awake baby can be exhausting.
Plan for the second night
- Get appropriate pain medication from your nurse if needed.
- Sleep during the day as much as possible. This may require you to limit visitors to a couple of hours during the day to help make the night manageable.
- Ask a family member to stay the night to help you care for your baby and provide skin-to-skin with your baby after feeding while you get some sleep.
- Be patient and know that this stage will last about 24-48 hours.
- Surround yourself with people who support you and support breastfeeding.