Sweet Dreams: 5 Expert Baby Sleep Tips
Author: Jazz Kostov
The newborn period is from birth right through to 3 months of age. Arguably, this is one of the biggest periods of adjustment for parents whether it's your first, second, third, fourth or so on. You might be surprised to learn that there is PLENTY you can do in that newborn period to set up great healthy sleep habits for later on! Here are my top 10 tips for helping your newborn to sleep as well as possible in the first 12 weeks.
1. AWAKE WINDOWS
When a newborn is overtired, they are much more challenging to settle off to sleep. Having a rough idea of how long your baby should be awake before having another sleep is so important. This single piece of knowledge can make for a much easier first 12 weeks and sadly, most parents are not informed about awake windows. I wish ALL parents were provided with this knowledge immediately after having their baby! This knowledge can make the difference between your baby fighting sleep or going off to sleep quite easily. Look for your baby's tired signs and and offer them sleep when you see these signs.
Birth - 3 weeks: 40-60 minutes
4 - 7 weeks: 60-90 minutes
8 - 12 weeks: 75-105 minutes
2. DARKNESS
From 3 weeks of age (or earlier if you wish) I recommend offering your baby their day naps and night time sleep in a very dark room. Before 3 weeks of age, babies are naturally quite sleepy and don't seem to phased by darkness or light for sleep. After 3 weeks of age your baby will start to 'awaken'. The production and secretion of melatonin (the sleepy hormone) is blocked by light and therefore, providing a dark sleep environment works with your baby's natural hormones to help promote sleep! A dark room will help your baby settle off to sleep and connect their sleep cycles much easier plus will prevent them waking up early in the morning when the sun comes up. When they're napping on the go in the car, carrier or pram - don't stress about a dark environment!
3. SWADDLE
From birth right through to 4 months (or when showing signs of rolling), I recommend swaddling your baby for all day sleep and night sleep. You can use a muslin/jersey wrap, love to dream, ergo bag or something similar. There are a few reasons for this recommendation. Firstly, your baby has the Moro Reflex (otherwise known as the 'startle reflex') that is present until it starts to fade around 3 months and is generally gone by 5-6 months at the latest. Swaddling helps prevent your baby 'startling' themselves awake during sleep. Secondly, your baby is used to a cozy, comfy space in your tummy and would have had limited space in their to move around at the end of pregnancy. Swaddling recreates this womb like environment. Thirdly, swaddling for every nap and night sleep is a positive sleep association and each time you swaddle them, they will start to associate this with sleep!
4. UPRIGHT TIME AND BURPING DURING AND AFTER FEEDS
Offering your baby upright time during and after feeds can help aid digestion and alleviate unsettledness due to wind pain. As the day progresses, trapped wind and gut discomfort can worsen simply due to an accumulation of wind. This can play in to that unsettledness in the late afternoon/early evening that is common for babies from birth to 12 weeks of age. Offer your baby upright time a couple of times during the feed and some back patting/gentle motion side to side and forward and back. Repeat this at the end of the feed and have an upright cuddle for 5-10 minutes after each feed to allow the milk to settle in their tummy before being laid down horizontal. Don't stress about getting a set number of burps! Just offer them the upright time, some pats on the back and motion.
5. USE A CONSISTENT NAP TIME AND BED TIME WIND DOWN ROUTINE
From birth you can start using a consistent nap wind down routine thats 2-5 minutes long and a bedtime wind down routine thats 10-20 minutes long before you put them down in their bassinet or cot for sleep. This consistent wind down routine will help signal to your baby that sleep is coming.
Nap wind down example: When you see tired signs, head into your baby's room, change nappy, darken room, hum or sing a quiet song, into swaddle and settle for sleep in their bassinet/cot.
Bedtime wind down example: 10-20 minutes before bedtime, head into your baby's room, change their nappy, offer a feed, read a quiet story or sing a quiet song, darken room, into swaddle and settle for sleep in their bassinet/cot.
Jazz Kostov is a Sleep Consultant, Midwife, and Maternal, Child & Health Nurse. She is the founder of Lets Sleep and is based in Melbourne. Although she helps families all over the world! To find out more about her services click here.
