If you want to gain some informative and effective newborn baby sleep tips, then we can help.
It’s a fact that when your baby enjoys good sleep, you experience a more tolerant and, relaxed and patient baby who is a much more engaging baby. There’s no time like the present, so take these top sleep habit tips on board and ultimately help yourself get some much-needed rest too!
Here are some pointers to use with your little one…
Swaddling
Babies have an innate ability to have a startle reflex; this gives them the feeling of falling. It’s this sensation that results in jerking movements that subsequently lead to your little cherub waking up.
By using a tight swaddle it will avert your baby from being able to startle themselves into waking up, which will help them to sleep for longer and enjoy a better quality of sleep.
You can stop swaddling once your child has outgrown the startle reflex and can regularly get their arms out and roll over. This can be switched out for sleep bags that are a handy replacement for the next stage in their lives.
Do some dreamfeeding
Dreamfeeding is when you feed your baby just as you are about to head off to bed. This helps to stop your baby from waking up just after you parents finally manage to reach the Land of Nod yourselves.
If you’ve experienced being woken up by your little one just as you doze off, you’ll realise the frustrations for all concerned. This is sleep deprivation at its finest, but introduce the dreamfeed and it can really go a long way to helping your newborn achieve longer periods of sleep.
Obey the eat, wake, sleep cycle
This effectual cycle works like so:
- Your baby wakes from sleeping
- They eat straight away
- Then they stay awake to play for a bit
- Then they go back to sleep
The Sleep Advisor website’s Sarah Cummings says that this cycle serves a number of purposes. Initially, it supports full feedings by letting your little one eat directly after waking up.
Babies have most of their energy as soon as they wake, so this will typically mean they are better at taking a full feed without a fuss and then go on for longer periods without needing another feed.
Also, if you feed your child post-sleep as opposed to pre-sleep, this cycle stops your baby from relating food with sleep and it will also prevent them from using food as a ‘sleep prop’.
This doesn’t mean you can count out feeds before bedtime altogether. There will be times when this is necessary, so don’t think you’re ruining a good routine if you choose to do this. It’s best to steer away from letting it become habit though.
Try bedtime/pre-nap routines
It’s a well-known fact that babies flourish from routine. They, like most humans; even if you didn’t know, love structure, and predictability. By forming that consistent routine in your baby’s life, it will help bring some control in what is definitely a manic time!
It’s best to opt for a pre-nap routine that works for you too. A pre-nap routine example can go like this:
- Take your baby to their room
- Shut the curtains
- Place them in their swaddle or sleep bag
- Switch on the white noise machine
- Sing them a quick nursery rhyme-type song
- Let them have some cuddle
- Say some sleepy words like “have a good sleep.”
- Finally, tell them you love them
A strong bedtime routine will usually be slightly more extended, as it will most likely include a bath, a massage, a story being read, and then, from there the routine we mentioned above.
It’s this following of the exact same routine that will help to let your baby’s brain recognise the cues for sleep. Over time the baby will realise that following on from the nap and bedtime routines sleep ensues.
Limit how long day naps last
No parent enjoys waking their soundly-sleeping bubba, but if you let them nap for too long in the day, they won’t sleep well in the night, which is bad.
Anything longer than a two to two-and-a-half-hour nap and they should be woken up. Once they’re up, go ahead and feed them, keep them awake for a while, and then lay them back down to nap again.
As we said, stopping those lengthy periods of sleep during the day will allow your baby to sleep better at night. However, nothing is set in stone, so if you have to deal with some overtiredness by allowing a little recovery nap, that’s just fine.
Let them sleep for a little bit longer, but just for that one nap before moving back to your regular routine and you’ll have a well-rested, happy baby on your hands!
The post How to Get a Better Night’s Sleep with a Newborn Baby appeared first on Kyte BABY.
