Encouraging Healthy Sleep Habits in Newborns
Calming Bedtime Techniques for New Babies
Newborns need about 16-17 hours of sleep a day, which may seem like a lot, but most of that sleep happens in 1-2 hour increments (According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Website). Unfortunately, sleeping 2 hours at a time is not enough for a parent to feel energized. Getting a new baby to fall asleep can be difficult for new parents, especially while living in a sleep deprived fog. Many new parents are tempted to rock their baby to sleep or even sit and watch him once he has fallen asleep. That tiny creature seems too fragile to leave alone at first but a few basic techniques can help new parents learn how to get their baby to fall asleep so that everyone can get some well needed rest.
Create a Routine
Even the youngest babies can benefit from a bedtime routine. Calming activities before bedtime such as a bath, a story, or being rocked in a darkened room can help relax a baby and make him sleepy. Since newborns sleep off and on throughout the day, it can be difficult to stick to a set bedtime. Encouraging your newborn to stay awake for an hour or so before bedtime by playing with him, talking to him, and going through a bedtime routine can help prepare him to fall asleep close to bedtime so mom and dad can get some rest.
Differentiate Between Night and Day
Newborn babies often have their days and nights mixed up. During pregnancy, many babies are active at night when their mothers go to sleep because the rhythm of their mother’s moving body during the day rocks them to sleep. After birth, newborn babies need to adjust to sleeping for the majority of the time at night. Play with your baby and provide stimulating activities during the day to encourage your baby to stay awake for longer periods of time. Naptime is still extremely important for newborn babies but limiting naps to a few hours at a time during the day can encourage a baby to sleep for longer periods of time at night.
Newborn babies are going to wake up several times during the night for the first few months. Their tiny stomachs can only hold a limited amount of food and they need to be fed every few hours. Keep the lights out when you go in to feed your baby at night and avoid waking your baby up to much by talking or providing other stimulating activity.
Encourage Self-Soothing Skills
Newborns do not have the ability to self-sooth at first, but they can learn in a safe and secure way that helps build trust. Put your baby to sleep when he is sleepy but not completely out. Allowing your baby to fall asleep in his crib or bassinet on his own will turn bedtime into something familiar and comfortable. If your baby is used to falling asleep in the crib, he will be less likely to cry in the middle of the night if he wakes up and doesn’t know how to go back to sleep.
The practice of letting a baby “cry it out” is controversial for many parents and not generally recommended for babies under 6 months old, but letting your baby cry for just a minute or two when he wakes at night before responding can give him a chance to fall back asleep if he is not hungry and does not need to be changed. You will build trust by responding to your baby within a short period of time because he will quickly learn that you will always come, even if you do not come the second he starts to cry.
The newborn period can be stressful for new parents and sleep deprivation can exentuate those feelings. Remind yourself during those long nights in the beginning of your baby’s life that sleeplessness will not last forever. Soon enough you will be looking back fondly at those first few months and remembering the way your baby looked in the dim light in the middle of the night or the feel of his soft skin as you comforted him and you won’t regret one lost minute of sleep.
Sleeping Newborn
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