No one really warns new parents about how visually exhausting having a baby is. Sure, everyone talks about sleepless nights and caffeine addictions, and during pregnancy, everyone says, “Just you wait.” Honestly, people still say that during the newborn stage, too. But surprisingly, no one mentions how your eyes will easily start getting super irritated. No, really, so, between late-night feeds, early mornings, and trying to scroll on your phone in the dark without waking the baby, your eyes take a bigger hit than you’d think. Like a much bigger hit than you’d ever even imagine, to be honest.

It’s like parenthood comes with a secret side effect of permanent tired-eye syndrome. And while sure, there are so many self-care tips for moms out there, it’s usually the standard “taking a shower, eating healthy, and don’t be afraid to ask for help”, it’s usually those. But your eyes will wear you down, and it’s not just about covering up with concealer, but it’s more about actually trying to solve this problem.

Besides, it’s not just about being tired; it’s about how your whole routine, sleep included, messes with the way your eyes look and feel.

Those Late-Night Blurs That Become Your New Normal

At first, it’s all adrenaline. You’re somehow surviving on two hours of sleep, a handful of toast crusts, and the sheer will to keep a tiny human alive. It’s weirdly invigorating, mostly due to the fact that anything difficult is either enhanced due to postpartum hormones or it’s all blurred out due to the love and excitement of this beautiful newborn baby. But then week three hits, and your body starts to realise this might be the new normal. The 2 am feeds, the 4 am cries, the early morning “might as well stay up” moments, well, they all add up, every single one of them.

Just generally speaking here, your eyes aren’t built for that kind of schedule. They start drying out, getting red, and feeling heavy, even when you’ve technically slept a few hours. Oh, and add in the fact that most new parents scroll on their phones during feeds just to stay awake, and that blue light exposure does your eyes no favours either.

So, if you really think about it all, it’s a perfect storm of exhaustion and strain that leaves your face looking like it hasn’t seen rest since the baby arrived.

There’s the Early Mornings and the Illusion of Energy

Seriously, there’s something cruel about the way babies always seem to wake up before the alarm would’ve gone off. You’ll never truly appreciate how bright 5 am feels until you’ve been awake an hour beforehand. Plus, your eyes barely open, your brain’s foggy, and you’re just wanting to go back to sleep.

But the problem with constant early mornings is that your eyes never fully recover. They get puffy, they water more easily, and they feel dry by midday. It’s not just lack of sleep; it’s the lack of recovery time between wake-ups. Your eyes don’t reset when you’re running on broken sleep. They need proper rest, hydration, and light breaks from all that strain. All of these are super obvious, but as a new parent, where are you even going to get these needs met?

Scrolling on Your Phone Just Makes it Worse

Night feeds have a strange way of blurring time (it really doesn’t matter if you’re pumping, formula feeding, or breastfeeding either). You’re half-asleep, balancing a baby, and trying not to drop your phone while you scroll to stay awake. That soft glow feels harmless at first, but the constant screen exposure in dark rooms strains your eyes like nothing else.

Now, why is this even a problem? Well, it’s due to the fact that blue light doesn’t just make it harder to fall back asleep. Sure, that’s one aspect of it, but it also tricks your eyes into thinking it’s daytime. Yes, even if you have it on the lowest brightness setting, it’s still an issue. So when you do finally close them, they’re dry, irritated, and begging for relief. It’s no wonder so many new parents end up rubbing their eyes constantly, which only makes them look puffier.

It might not be fun or ideal, but you’re honestly better off not using your phone during these feedings.

How Sleep Deprivation Shows Up on Your Face

If you don’t know it yet, you soon enough will. So, there’s tired, and then there’s new-parent tired. It’s in the way your face changes (but yes, the energy levels overall do impact it as well). So, it’s things that were briefly mentioned already, but you have to deal with things like the dark circles, the dryness, the way your eyes look slightly smaller because they’re so heavy. Again, all parents deal with this, so there’s literally no shame, and yes, it’s not about vanity either, but it’s biology.

When you don’t sleep, your body produces more cortisol, which affects the thin skin around your eyes, causing fluid retention that makes them itchy and puffy. As you can see, this can lead to a domino effect of your eyes getting more irritated (like you’ll want to rub them more often). They can even get dry too, so you’ll probably need eye drops for dry eyes as well (you’ll especially need that if you’re not sleeping much in the summer months).

Small things like, like the eye drop, not rubbing your eyes, help, cool compress (or an ice maks) helps for puffiness, and even a humidifier can help as well (and drinking plenty of water too).

Downtime Doesn’t Always Feel Like Rest

When the baby’s finally asleep, it feels like a miracle. But instead of resting, you’re probably cleaning, catching up on messages, or watching something on your phone because you desperately need “me time.” It’s kind of ironic in a way, right? Like that downtime, you desperately wanted, quite literally became another strain on your eyes.

Honestly, yeah, it’s hard to resist that quiet time, but giving your eyes a real break helps more than you think. Just try closing them for ten minutes. tot to sleep, just to rest (granted, you might slip away into a much-needed nap). It’s surprisingly refreshing, like hitting a small reset button after a long day.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.