Moms, dads and caretakers are often concerned with the bedtime, since this is a crucial moment that can influence babies’ development. There can be many tips and tricks as to how to make the newborn sleep, but we’ll show you that relying on the basics might be worth it.
Every child has their own routine and it’s part of the parenting journey to figure out what is the best way to get your newborn to sleep.
But here you can find some strategies that make it easier for your little one to relax and associate these moments with sleep time.
Tips to help your newborn sleep
A list with actionable and simple steps to help the little one fall asleep.
Calming bedtime routine
Don’t overstimulate the newborn just before their bedtime.
Everyone else in the house should participate, as this helps create an association between a certain tone of voice, volume, and lightning, and the time to rest.
Differentiate night and day
Help your newborn associate the different times of the day, and accustom their routines according to each.
In practical terms, this would mean making sure your baby is out playing (yet safe from sun damage) while it’s still bright outside. Whenever and wherever the baby takes a nap, keep the room quiet, with less lightning, and at a pleasant temperature: this will help when it’s night time and you’re aiming to get longer periods of sleep.
Swaddling strategies
The idea behind it is bringing the baby back to what they probably felt while being in the womb – notably, the safest place to be when the baby is developing.
Wrapping your baby’s body will help to regain this feeling of security and comfort.
Appropriate sleep clothing
Make sure the baby is set to sleep in appropriate clothing according to the climate.
Also, avoid clothing that can limit their movements too much, or even cause unwanted accidents such as choking. When choosing sleeping clothes for newborns, prioritize those that don’t have any loose strings or buttons that can untangle.
Setting the ambience
Once you’re figured out the right habits and schedule that will be followed to put the baby to sleep, prepare the room they’ll be sleeping in.
Dim the lights of the room where the baby will be at, including the bathroom when they’re taking a bath. Lower your tone of voice and put yourself in a state of calm so that the baby can follow, relax and go to sleep more easily.
Bonus: you can also try white noise as a strategy to soothe the baby and get them to sleep – just be careful not to overuse it and don’t put the volume exceedingly high.
Newborn sleep duration
As the baby is now part of the outside world, there’s so much their littles bodies have to interact and cope with. Naturally, this effort comes with a strong characteristic: newborns sleep a lot. Maybe not for long periods of time at once, but they do need rest.
Babies up to 3 months old usually sleep at least 14 hours a day. It’s also very likely that they’ll wake during the night because they need to eat.
Reasons your newborn might not be sleeping
If you’re struggling with your baby’s sleep at night, reassess your routine and check off these possibilities. If the difficulty of sleep continues, consider consulting a pediatrician.
- Your baby might be hungry: try stimulate them to eat more;
- They might be overstimulated: maybe they can’t tell night from day because they don’t associate the sunlight with activity and the night time with resting. Check above the topics regarding sleep routine and ambience;
- Are they experiencing pain or discomfort? Lightly touch and massage your baby’s body to make sure there are no signs of inflammation or swelling that would require medical assistance.
If you have some question about the bedtime send a comment and we’ll reply you.
