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10 Ways to Help Newborns Sleep Better

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Part 2 of “Parents of Newborns Say. . . ” Series

“How can I get enough sleep . . .” You will not get enough sleep for the first few months after bringing a newborn home. But these tips will help baby  sleep better and at better times. These are excerpts from Lauren Tamm at The Military Wife and Mom .com

  1. Swaddle – Firmly wrapping baby keeps their startle reflex from wakening them frequently.
  2. Dreamfeed -this is a feeding right before you go to bed, to help prevent the baby from waking up just after you finally drift off to sleep.
  3. Limit the length of naps during the day. If the baby sleeps past the 2 – 2.5 hour mark, wake the baby up, feed him, keep him a wake for a bit, and then lay him down for another nap. Think: More daytime feeds = less nighttime feeds.
  4. Use white noise – Baby will hear a soft regular sound nearby and will be less disturbed by noises from another part of the house.
  5. Follow the eat, wake, sleep cycle. The baby wakes from sleep and immediately eats. Then the baby is awake for a while to play. Then the baby goes back to sleep….

This cycle has several purposes. First, it encourages full feedings by allowing the baby to eat immediately after waking. The baby will have the most energy immediately after waking, making him more inclined to take a full feeding and go longer between feedings. Also, by feeding the baby after sleep rather than before sleep, the cycle prevents the baby from associating food with sleep or using food as a sleep prop. When using this cycle, a feeding before bedtime is typically the only feeding before sleep.

  1. Use a pre-nap and bedtime routines. It is well known that babies thrive on routine, structure, and predictability. Creating consistent routines for your baby will help bring order to a very chaotic world. Choose a pre-nap routine that works for you. A pre-nap routine may include taking the baby to his room, close the blinds or curtains, place the baby in his sleep sack or wearable blanket, turn on the white noise, sing a quick song (e.g. Twinkle, twinkle), give a few cuddles, and say your sleepy words “I love you. I hope you have a good sleep.”

A bedtime routine would typically be a little longer and may include a bath, a massage, reading a story, offering a feeding, placing the baby in a wearable blanket or swaddle, turning on the white noise, a few cuddles, and saying your sleepy words. Following the same exact routine as consistently as possible cues the baby for sleep, and over time the baby will learn that sleep immediately follows the nap and bedtime routines.

  1. Change your baby’s diaper strategically – Changing the diaper before a middle of the night feeding prevents the baby from waking up too much after a feeding is finished.
  2. Understand how a baby sleeps. Encourage lots of naps AND feedings during the day following the eat, wake, sleep cycle. Keeping a baby awake in hopes of tiring him out will actually result in over-stimulation, and he will experience both difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. It is very likely an over-tired baby will sleep shorter, not longer.
  3. Don’t rush in… Give the baby some time and see if he will resettle himself. Avoid rushing in and disturbing this process in order to help your newborn baby sleep better.
  4. Lay the baby down awake, but drowsy.

The most important way to encourage your baby to sleep well in the long run is to teach him to fall asleep independently, which is essentially the beginnings of teaching independent sleep.

To read the entire article and follow some additional links, click: The Military Wife and Mom .com

Newborn’s Sleep

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Watch for “Parents of Newborns Say. . .” This series of articles will cover things these parents claim that no one told them about before baby came.

“I had no idea newborns sleep so much but wake up so often!” The next few articles will help you understand why you are sleep deprived and some ways to try to get more sleep.

Let’s start with five things you probably didn’t know about newborn’s sleep.

BabyCenter.com has a great article about newborn baby’s sleep. Here are the highlights.

  1. Many newborns have their nights and days reversed. They sleep for longer stretches in the daytime and are more alert at night. As the baby’s brain and nervous system mature, the sleep cycles will get longer and more sleep will occur at night. This usually takes a month or more.
  2. Newborns typically sleep 12 -18 hours until they’re a month old. That’s the good part. The bad part is that they rarely sleep more than two to four hours at a time, day or night!
  3. Babies do not need peace and quiet to sleep. The womb is a noisy place with heartbeat, digestion and so on. Noise doesn’t bother them. They will sleep anywhere and anytime they need to sleep.
  4. Babies have their own sleep personalities. They come from the womb with their own temperament. Some are light sleepers and some heavy sleepers.
  5. Babies are safer and sleep better with no blankets or pillows in their bed. Doctors recommend sleeping on their back on a firm, flat mattress with a tight fitting sheet. Keep them cozy with layered clothing or a one piece sleeper. (If you are going to co-sleep or have a family bed, please read this article, “Sleep Sharing.” Don’t worry, it isn’t against this practice, but does give some directions that could make this more successful.)

Click here for a video on Baby Sleep Tips for Birth to 3 Months

Baby Expressions

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Have you been observing your baby or child to know them even better? Do you know how he/she reacts to tastes, smells, noise, smiles, hugs, strangers, and being alone? I’m sure you already kn0w the answers to many of these.

Some of these preferences are based in their personality and won’t change much throughout life. But others may change very often. What they liked yesterday, they may hate today. Their choice of toys and games they play with you changes very quickly too. So stay flexible and alert.

Though little babies do not understand your words, they do understand your tone. So, as you notice something about them, talk about it. Say things like, “I see you really like bananas today. Bananas are yummy.” Or “Ah, so you don’t want to play Peek-a-Boo right now. This Little Piggy is your favorite game today.” As you practice reflecting out loud what you are observing about your baby and child, you build bridges with them. They will feel more connected to you and your parent-child relationship strengthens.

scared-baby
What is he trying to tell you?

active-sleep-baby
How asleep is she?

I have a fun exercise for you to try now. There are different levels of consciousness that you can observe even in little babies. Go to, States of Consciousness, with pictures of these levels of consciousness. Try to match the pictures with the descriptions. See how well you do. Then be aware of how your baby demonstrates these levels of consciousness. (Note: Both parents should try this!)

Then go to:  Baby Emotions. Since babies cannot tell you in words, it is important we can identify their facial expressions. See how well you do at recognizing these Baby Emotions. Be sure to tell your baby what you observe. They will learn the words for the emotions they feel as you continue to use the correct words. Of course, sometimes you will miss it entirely. That’s OK, keep practicing and you will get better at this non-verbal communication.

The Gottman Institute calls these exercises, building love maps. As we gain knowledge of each other and each of our children, we have a better ‘map’ to their heart. Do whatever you can, even in small ways, to build your understanding and create meaningful connections. It’s an idea with a great future investment.

For more articles on Parenting Together see:

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6 Months Girl

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Key Thought

Using all her senses, your baby is investigating her world and is learning very quickly. Enjoy this time of discovery by providing a wide variety of things for her to play with. Looking intently, handling, and mouthing, banging and dropping or throwing everything within reach is your baby’s way of relating to her world. Encourage her explorations.

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6 Months Boy

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Key Thought

Using all his senses, your baby is investigating his world and is learning very quickly. Enjoy this time of discovery by providing a wide variety of things for him to play with. Looking intently, handling, and mouthing, banging and dropping or throwing everything within reach is your baby’s way of relating to his world. Encourage his exploration.

[Read more…]