Help Your Newborn Sleep Through the Night

Bringing a newborn home is a joyous and transformative experience. Nothing beats the newborn snuggles and becoming a parent for the first time. But parenthood is not without challenges. Say hello to sleepless nights! As a new parent, you may find yourself yearning for strategies to help your newborn sleep peacefully, which in turn will help you sleep peacefully. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore practical tips and gentle techniques to create a nurturing sleep environment, establish healthy sleep habits, and promote restful nights for both you and your precious little one.

Understanding Newborn Sleep Patterns:

Before diving into sleep strategies, it’s crucial to understand the sleep patterns of newborns. Newborns sleep for approximately 16 to 18 hours a day, but in short, sporadic intervals. While adult REM cycles are normally 90 minutes, infant REM is much shorter, about 60 minutes or less. Their internal clocks are not fully developed, so they cycle through sleep stages more frequently than adults. Recognizing these patterns can guide you in creating a sleep routine that aligns with your newborn’s needs. We discuss newborn napping in further detail in this post. But for now, we will focus on night time sleep.

Creating a Calming Sleep Environment:

1. Optimal Sleep Space: Set up a dedicated sleep space for your newborn, such as a bassinet or crib. Ensure that the mattress is firm, and the bedding is minimal to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Keep the sleep area free from soft toys and loose bedding. Babies are safest sleeping on their back, and sleep much better when swaddled. Here is a link to my favorite newborn swaddle.
2. Temperature and Ventilation: Maintain a comfortable room temperature (around 68-72°F or 20-22°C) to prevent your baby from overheating. Ensure proper ventilation and use lightweight, breathable sleepwear to keep your newborn cozy without being too warm.
3. Dim Lighting: Dim the lights during nighttime feedings and diaper changes to signal that it’s time for sleep. Use a soft nightlight during the night to provide a gentle glow, making it easier for you to check on your baby without disturbing their sleep.
4. White Noise: Consider using white noise machines or apps to create a consistent and soothing background noise. White noise mimics the sounds your baby heard in the womb and can help drown out other household noises, promoting a more peaceful sleep environment. Here is a link to my favorite white noise machine.

Establishing a Gentle Sleep Routine:

1. Create a Consistent Bedtime Routine: Establishing a consistent bedtime routine helps signal to your newborn that it’s time to wind down. Incorporate calming activities such as a warm bath, gentle massage, or soft lullabies before placing your baby in their sleep space.
2. Day-Night Differentiation: Most newborns have difficulty knowing when it’s night time. They are used to the womb where it is dark always. This is known as day/night confusion. Help your newborn distinguish between day and night by exposing them to natural light during waking hours and keeping nighttime interactions calm and low-key. This aids in regulating their circadian rhythm and promoting a more predictable sleep-wake cycle. Day/night confusion is normally regulated by 2 weeks.
3. Feeding Routine: Consider incorporating a feeding routine into your bedtime routine. Whether breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, a full belly can contribute to a more extended period of sleep for your newborn. Remember, newborns need to eat every 2-3 hours, so it is normal for your baby to wake throughout the night for feedings. You may be able to stretch out one feed throughout the day, so you want to be sure to do this one at night! I recommend doing a dream feed right before sleep, and then trying to get that 4 hour stretch right as you go to sleep.
4. Responsive Settling: Respond promptly to your newborn’s cues. If your baby is fussy, attend to their needs with comfort and reassurance. Responsive settling fosters a sense of security and trust, creating a positive association with sleep. The newborn stage is not the time to begin sleep training. There will be a time and place for that, but not at this phase. You can read more about sleep training in this post.

Safe Co-Sleeping Practices:

The American American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends against co-sleeping, as this increases the risk of SIDS. They do recommend room sharing- having the baby in a bassinet near you for at least six months to reduce the risk of SIDS. If you opt for co-sleeping, follow safe sleep guidelines, including using a firm mattress, avoiding soft bedding, and placing your baby on their back to sleep.

Understanding Newborn Sleep Cues:

Being attuned to your newborn’s sleep cues is essential for responsive parenting. Watch for signs of sleepiness, such as yawning, rubbing eyes, or becoming fussy. By recognizing these cues, you can respond proactively, helping your baby transition to sleep before becoming overtired. Also understanding wake windows will help you get your baby to sleep before they become overtired. Newborn wake windows are 45-60 minutes. Wake windows from 4-12 weeks are 60-90 minutes.

The Importance of Tummy Time:

Incorporate supervised tummy time into your daily routine to promote physical development and strengthen your baby’s neck and upper body muscles. Tummy time during waking hours contributes to better sleep by preventing discomfort associated with prolonged periods on the back.

Navigating Night Feedings:

Night feedings are a natural part of caring for a newborn. While you can’t avoid them entirely, you can make the process smoother. Keep the lights dim, avoid stimulating activities, and maintain a quiet environment to minimize disruptions to your baby’s sleep. Ideally baby should go soundly back to sleep after the feeding, allowing you to get back to sleep for another stretch until the next feeding. Remember, at the newborn stage, you can have one extended stretch between feedings, up to 4 hours. Maximize this one during the night! Eventually, you will be able to extend these nighttime feedings, by 5 weeks you can try stretching this to about 5 hours.

Encouraging Self-Soothing:

While newborns are not developmentally ready for formal self-soothing techniques, you can encourage your baby to develop self-soothing skills gradually. Allow short periods of fussing before responding, giving your baby the opportunity to learn how to settle back to sleep independently. Often your baby will make fussy noises while still sleeping. While the newborn stage is too young to sleep train or utilize the “cry it out” method, it is reasonable to use the “sit back” method, which means waiting 1-2 minutes after your baby begins to fuss, to ensure they are truly awake and hungry, instead of just making noises while in their REM cycle.

Seeking Support:

Parenting a newborn can be overwhelming, and it’s essential to seek support when needed. Share nighttime responsibilities with a partner or ask for help from family and friends. Taking care of your own well-being ensures you can provide the best care for your newborn. People will tell you “sleep when the baby sleeps,” and it’s true! Sleep when you can. The sleep deprivation of the newborn period was the hardest transition into motherhood for me personally.

Conclusion:

Navigating the world of newborn sleep requires patience, flexibility, and a deep understanding of your baby’s unique needs. By creating a calming sleep environment, establishing a gentle bedtime routine, and responding to your newborn’s cues with sensitivity, you can lay the foundation for healthy sleep habits. Remember that every baby is different, and what works for one may not work for another. Sleeping through the night in the first few weeks of life is not likely- new babies need to be nourished so frequently. But gradually you can stretch out these night feedings, and hopefully, soon you will both be sleeping soundly! Embrace the journey, savor the precious moments, and find joy in the small victories as you embark on this incredible adventure of parenthood. Sweet dreams to you and your little one!