Welcoming a newborn into your life is a magical experience, but it often comes with sleepless nights and unpredictable schedules. As your little one adjusts to life outside the womb, it's natural to wonder if peaceful, consistent sleep is even possible. The good news? With a few practical strategies and a touch of patience, you can help your newborn develop healthy sleep habits right from the start. In this guide, we'll explore six simple yet effective tips and strategies to make those early days (and nights) a little more restful for both you and your baby.
Tip number 1
Newborn’s typically have later bedtimes, which are often around 22:00 to 23:00. Once their sleep patterns mature at around 4 months, you can begin to implement an earlier bedtime.
Tip number 2
I recommend keeping daytimes bright and cheery, and night times dark and quiet. In those first few months, day and night confusion is common as newborns don’t have a circadian rhythm established yet. They sleep on average of between 14 and 17 hours a day, some more and some less. However, this sleep will be spread out over a 24-hour period. You may find that your baby sleeps all day and then is awake at night and this is really common.
In order to help with the day and night confusion, it is important to expose your baby to lots of light during the day. Also, getting outside daily can be helpful too, as the natural light will help to regulate your baby’s circadian rhythm over time. At night time, I suggest keep the environment dark, boring and quiet so that your baby can start to learn the difference between day and night.
During overnight feeds and nappy changes, I advise keeping things dark and non-stimulating too, and using a night light when needed. It can be helpful to keep the TV off too, as stimulation from electronic devices could make it harder for your baby to go back to sleep afterwards. A dark environment is beneficial for all sleeps.
Although newborns circadian rhythms don’t develop till around 4 months of age, a dark room can prevent your baby from getting overstimulated when they are sleeping, especially when they transition between light and deep sleep.
Tip number 3
Recognising when your baby is in light sleep is key. Newborns spend more than half of their sleep time in light sleep. This means that although they are asleep, they may open their eyes, twitch, move their arms and legs, and even make noises. Hence, pausing for a moment and observing your baby to ensure that they are definitely awake before getting them up or trying to resettle them back to sleep is important.
Tip number 4
It can be of great benefit to use age appropriate wake windows and sleepy cues to your advantage. Wake windows are the amount of time your baby is awake between one sleep and the next. On average, newborns typically have wake windows between 45 and 90 minutes. But of course, these are just averages.
It’s important to keep an eye on your baby’s wake windows as well as become familiar with their sleepy cues so that you can settle them to sleep before they are overtired.
Some of the most common sleepy cues are yawning, frowning, sucking fingers fluttering eyelids, fussiness, but over time, you will begin to recognise your babies cues more easily.
Tip number 5
I recommend using white noise for all sleeps. As newborns spend a lot of their sleep time in lighter sleep, white noise can mask external sounds that could otherwise wake them. White noise also mimics the sound of the womb and so can be quite comforting and familiar. If you choose to play white noise for your baby, please ensure that your machine plays consistent white noise continuously throughout the night as well as for all naps taken.
Tip number 6
Swaddling your newborn is fantastic because it mimics the snug and cosy environment of the womb and it can also help to reduce the startle reflex that newborns have, which could otherwise wake them. It is imperative to stop swaddling as soon as your baby is close to rolling.
So there you have it, those are my 6 top sleep tips to help to enhance your newborn’s sleep. I hope you find these strategies helpful as you navigate these early weeks.
Speak soon
Rina x