Crib notes

Wondering how to survive the newborn blur? What sleeping like a baby actually looks like

- BY LAKSHANA N PALAT

For new parents, the only constant is chaos, at least at first. Mornings blur into nights, cries come without warning, and sleep feels like a myth.

That's Dubai-based Ajitha Das' experience, at least. After her daughter was born last year, Das just remembers the first few months of sleeplessness, waking up every few hours, coupled with the constant worry every time her little one cried. "I think every mother goes through this learning experience, where you slowly work out a rhythm and concrete routine and return to somewhat decent sleeping hours," she explains.

It's exhausting. Sometimes, everything seems to pile up, leaving just a numbing fatigue.

As many new parents quickly discover, textbook sleep schedules rarely survive real life. Between cultural advice, online noise, and sleep myths, it's easy to feel lost. Here's how parents can get through those tricky phases, especially while travelling or juggling schedules, with advice from Dubai-based sleep consultant Julie Mallon, founder of Nurture 2 Sleep.