Five Tips for Infant Sleep
It’s no secret; lack of sleep is hard. It’s also no secret that parents endure many sleepless nights with a newborn in their home. While, unfortunately, there is not just one simple, quick trick to getting every baby to sleep soundly at night, we do have a couple of tricks up our sleeves to help elongate baby sleep windows from a young age! Today we are here to offer five tips for infant sleep!
Infant sleep safety
It is important to note that a newborn baby typically needs to eat between every hour and a half and three hours. Before beginning to try to stretch your baby’s sleep windows, please check with their provider. Also, if the goal is to bring your babies’ weight up, it may take longer for their feeding windows at night to expand safely!
1) Routine
Humans love routine, and this starts while we are in the womb. When a pattern is created around sleep from day one, we begin to set babies up for successful rest. A routine doesn’t need to be complicated. It may be that each night before bedtime, you swaddle your baby, rock them, and then put them in their bassinet. Creating a routine early on will help your baby begin to distinguish when it is time for sleep.
2) Environment
DO you find that you sleep best in your bed? Is that the spot you feel most comfortable in? Just like us, babies get used to their sleep environment and become comfortable there. It is often recommended that your baby sleeps in the same environment both day and night for most of their sleep times. Of course, if you want baby snuggles and want to hold your baby while they nap, sometimes that is great too.
3) Swaddling
Swaddling your newborn will help with the morrow reflux and helps to ensure that your baby stays warm and snug while sleeping. Swaddling also mimics the cozy feeling that your baby felt will in the womb. A good swaddle can be highly beneficial for infant sleep success!
4) Daytime sleep and ” playtime”
Just like all humans, what we do during the day directly affects the quality and amount of sleep we get at night. Contrary to what would be expected, if a baby isn’t taking frequent naps during the day, their nighttime sleep most likely will be disrupted as well! A typical wake window for newborns is 60-90 minutes long. Playtime or independent time on a playmat during each wake window also can directly benefit babies’ naps and nighttime routines; this comes into play after the first initial weeks, at the 3-4 week mark.
5) Flexibility
Each baby is unique, and it may take you a while to figure out what helps your baby with sleep! Try to remain flexible! Babies are constantly growing and changing, so their routines do too!
We hope you enjoyed this week’s blog ” five tips for infant sleep.” For more tips and tricks on all things pregnancy, birth, parenthood, and postpartum please visit our weekly blog.
