Third-time mom shares the most effective ‘sleep hack’ commonly misunderstood by parents

There’s no right age to learn. Despite her six years of motherhood experience, a third-time mom struggled to find a resolution for her youngest son’s sleep problem. Anna Richey, who goes by @theannarichey on TikTok, revealed a sleep hack recommended by a pediatrician for babies who wake up in the middle of the night. Such problematic sleep patterns also result in fatigue and exhaustion for both the baby and the parent. To fix that, Richey suggested that feeding the baby well during the day would reasonably wind down the nightly tantrums. 

Following months of struggle, Richey finally decided to see a pediatrician about her youngest son’s sleep issues. He “was waking up every hour of the night for two months straight,” and the mother of three was pushed to the edge when she came to the expert for help. She admitted having spent an “embarrassing” amount of money on sleep courses, looking for parenting hacks and guidance. Richey cut to the chase and shared that the pediatrician immediately asked her about her baby’s eating habits. The mom recalled saying, “It’s not great. He only eats a few ounces a day, and then he is cranky and fussy all day. He seems like he’s always tired and ‘cause he wakes up every hour of the night.”

It did not take long for the doctor to realize that the baby was hungry. The mother was, however, confused because she had been abiding by the charts and feeding her son all the right ounces of food. “He goes, ‘No, no. There’s no such thing as an overfed baby',” Richey said. The doctor advised her to feed the baby green and orange purees in jars to relieve him of constipation. She was asked to feed the baby jar after jar and top it off with a bottle of milk. With the expert advice in mind, the mom fed her son accordingly and found he was eating five ounces every meal. She was surprised to find that the baby “immediately” started sleeping through the night without throwing toddler tantrums. 

As a mother of three, raising a younger baby does come with its own set of challenges. The tired parent shared she has two other sons on sleeping schedules, but it simply did not seem to work with her baby son. When she asked the doctor about sleep schedules, they explained that those were helpful only for babies to get to bedtime, while food was the secret to a good night’s sleep. Meanwhile, the sleep courses never referred to this fact and only focused on external factors like windows and positioning, she said. “This is a hack that will save your life, and I really hope that it does because desperate times call for desperate measures,” Richey stated with a warning for sleep courses. 

The comments were brimming with a range of insights from fellow parents. @amberodette1 said, “This is the best advice I’ve ever heard as a mom. Thank you.” “Babies are intuitive eaters! If they are eating, they are hungry!” chimed @sambamsamjam. A sleep coach, @builtbysleepcoaches, shared, “This is why I hate feeding schedules! Babies are all different! Nutrition is huge!” 

You can follow @theannarichey on TikTok for more videos.