When you bring your baby home, no one tells you that "sleep like a baby" only lasts a short time. This article will give you 10 tips to help your newborn sleep better.
Disclaimer: Before I get to 10 tips to help your newborn sleep better, I thought it might be dangerous for a newborn (only a few weeks old) to sleep through the night . He really needs to eat at least every 3 hours for those first few days to grow and thrive.
It is also safer to place the baby on his back to sleep , to protect against SIDS ( Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) . For this, we recommend that you use a baby pillow or a protective cushion that will protect your baby's head.
So, now that I fixed this problem.
baby's sleep
1. Short waking period of the newborn
For the first week or so, your newborn will most likely barely be awake, but after the first week or two, key #1 with your newborn is to keep wake times very short at first. You need to soothe your baby so he can sleep after just 1-2 hours awake. You need to look for signs that he's falling asleep and start calming him down. If you expect him to be fussy, grumpy, or cry, you're too late!
An overtired baby will have a harder time calming down , falling asleep and staying asleep. Some babies are much more susceptible to exhaustion than others, while others will barely notice their child falling asleep until they do, others will start to realize how bad they must be in tune with their baby!
By waking time, I mean including feedings and diaper changes and not taking into account the length of her last nap. For example, little Suzie starts napping at 8 a.m. and sleeps for 3 hours. She eats at 11 a.m. and you change her diaper. Now it's 11:30 a.m. and you decide to give him a bath. At 11:45 a.m., she begins to get restless. She is already very tired and she needs a nap! At first, they can't wait long before they get tired and overexcited.
2. Swaddle your baby
To mimic the feel of the womb, it helps to swaddle your newborn. This basically means wrapping it in a blanket like a small burrito. You may have seen them do this in the hospital. It helps him feel safe and also helps him stay asleep during startled moments. These reflexes are said to be similar to the sensation we have of falling asleep. It can sometimes take up to 4 or 5 months for your baby to stop jumping.
3. Infant day/night confusion
While you may be tempted to keep things quiet and darker for your newborn to get a good nap, it could prolong the day/night confusion that almost all newborns will have. The day/night confusion can last up to 6 weeks . When he was in Mommy's womb, Mommy's movements put him to sleep , and when Mommy was resting, he partied . When the baby comes out, he does not know that he must act in a completely opposite way.
So keep the days bright and vibrant, and the nights dark and calm, and it will help your newborn sort out their days and nights faster. It may be more than you want to know, but it's the light that tells our eyes whether to stay awake or when it's time to sleep.
Here are some tips for setting up a good sleep pattern for your baby. ( Click here )
4. Limit baby naps
If he takes longer to adjust between days and nights (or if you have a really hard time following him through the night), you can speed up the process even further by limiting naps to no more than 3-4 hours during the day. To learn more about newborn sleeping habits and schedules, click here .
5. An after-feeding routine
To help your newborn sleep better day and night, you should develop a play routine after he has eaten during the day. Keep your baby awake 30 minutes after eating by playing, singing, bathing, etc. Again, the light that stimulates his eyes will help him understand that daylight is made to be awake at least a little. Many people recommend the eat-play-sleep routine for newborns.
6. Sleep with your baby
Sometimes it helps to have your newborn with you in the bedroom for quick access in the middle of the night for feedings and diaper changes. It can also help him feel more comfortable around you because he can hear and smell you . For safety reasons, it is strongly recommended to use an extra bed or a crib, rather than having baby in your bed.
7. Tilt the baby mattress
For babies who spit up a lot or have reflux , it is useful to tilt the mattress when sleeping , so that the baby does not lie face down. You should tilt the mattress so that their feet are lower than their head, so that their stomach contents stay in place. To tilt the mattress, you can simply change the level of the support platform to one side on most cribs. If that's not possible, you can put blankets and a pillow under the mattress . Please note that the mattress should always lie flat, just tilted. You should also be careful not to tilt the mattress so much that your baby slides on the bed. I strongly recommend that you consult with a knowledgeable medical professional first to ensure that what you are doing is the best and safest for your child. I just wanted to emphasize the idea.
8. White noise or night light to soothe baby
White noise is made up of sounds like the hum of a fan, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, etc. He helps the newborn to sleep because inside his mother's womb there were only white noises. The sound of his blood flow, the beating of his heart, etc. That's why he finds comfort when you can operate the vacuum cleaner. Of course, you can't run it all day, so I recommend getting a white noise device.
You also have a few white noise apps for smartphones that can help your baby sleep.
9. Carry your infant
For particularly fussy babies or just for the convenience and cuddle of the parents, it is useful to "carry" the baby using a baby carrier . They are very folded in a baby carrier, again, it imitates the uterus and babies love it! Our sling baby carrier is ideal in these situations. It really helps to walk without the baby weight which is a bonus. It helped a lot of parents when they had to prepare dinner for example or do things with their child.
10. Rocking motion to soothe your newborn
As I said earlier, the movements of the mother rocked the baby while he slept in the womb. So I recommend trying a swing as well , but don't be surprised if your newborn only likes it at high speed. There are some very sophisticated swings these days, like those with scream detection technology. They had nothing like it when I was shopping for a swing! The technology is amazing!
Important Note: Some say it is not safe for a newborn to sleep in a car seat, so be careful about this. Some say it's very good. Be sure to consult your pediatrician, as recommendations change daily, it seems.
Unfortunately, some of these tips create sleep associations. Here are 5 things to know about your baby's sleep . But for the first few weeks, you really do what you can to make it happen. Obviously, it never hurts to try and put your baby to sleep without any of these "tricks", but as I've probably said before on this site, it doesn't work for everyone.
I hope this article has answered some of your questions. To help baby fall asleep, we also recently created a Spotify playlist ( Click here to subscribe, it's free) where you will have access to many white noise sounds, and other soothing sounds like rain, the flow of water from a river...
White noise helps babies fall asleep more easily. Click here to learn more about white noise.
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