Second Night, not a rest night.

Image Tracee Elizabeth Photography

Second night is NOT a rest night.

You welcome baby in this world usually after several exhausting hours of labor.
It is exciting, you are thrilled.
But it has taken a toll on you- the sleepless hours, the pain, the changes in your body.

Can you also imagine the adjustment for baby?
The light, the sound, the temperature, the 9 months of being in a warm, quiet, snuggly place and now this crazy world.

So once babies are born, they often have this quiet alert period where they are taking in the world.

They will often take the breast for the first time in those first hours and then sleep.
& so should you.

The second day is much different, baby has come to realize that this is life, life beyond the womb. They no longer have unrestricted access to food, things are so much different in the outside world.

So the second night they are often unsettled. Trying to get warm, to get cold, for it to be less light, or less dark, to hear you, to smell you, to let you know that they are having difficulty adjusting.

The best place for them to be is with you.
For some this will be in the hospital, so if your husband left you rest the first night then you might want to keep him for the second. If you are at home, give yourself grace.
This is a normal transition to life outside the womb.

But it by no means is a rest night.
Babies often wake frequently to nurse- whether it is for food or comfort it doesn't matter.
The best most safest most smoothest transition to life outside the womb is right here, right on your chest.

Stay calm,
Sing to your baby,
Rock your baby,
Pat their back gently,
Rub their back,
You will get through this together!

Do you remember the second night?
How was it for you?