Alexandra Blair, the Times Education Correspondent, has been getting by on just a few hours’ sleep a night since her daughter, Martha, was born a little over a week ago. But she is daunted by the thought that it could go on for another four months.

“I understand that babies this young are like little animals and like to feed regularly through the night. Last night she didn’t sleep at all between 11pm and 2.15am, then woke up again at 4am until 6am and then was awake again at 7.30am. I’m listening to a lot of the BBC World Service so am quite expert on foreign policy and the General Petraeus testimonies,” she said.

“I would be really quite concerned if I thought it was going to go on like this for more than six or seven weeks.

I’m 38 and I think older mothers are less capable of keeping going on a few hours’ sleep. I know Margaret Thatcher ran the country on four hours’ sleep but I need a bit more.”

She said all the gadgets and information on baby rearing has made parents “completely terrified”. “I already feel anxious about doing the wrong thing. The number of different monitors and accessories available to ensure your baby is fine plays on your fears. You feel guilty if you don’t have them. I hope as we go on I can take all the advice with a pinch of salt,” she said.

However, she does not think that she would be able to sleep peacefully if Martha were crying. “I know our mothers’ generation were happy to let babies cry but I can’t imagine that’s easy. I think it would go against my instincts.”

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