Schedule / Routine
Sitting on the couch with my swollen legs propped up on pillows, I looked over at the stack of newborn baby sleep books on the coffee table. Over the course of several hours, I devoured each book, skimming through the pages.
I was determined to learn how to make a newborn sleep.
Then…my son was born.
And….he didn’t sleep.
Imagine that. A baby not sleeping the way a book says š
I fumbled through it the first six weeks. I was so unsure of myself.
Thankfully, we pulled ourselves together, armed ourselves with some key infant sleep facts, developed a plan and implemented it.
We stuck with it, and at 4 months old, our son was sleeping 11-12 hours at night and naps extended to 1.5 to 2 hours. Woohoo! We’ve experienced sleep regression, sleeping on the go, sleeping through teething…and so much more!
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How to get a newborn to sleep.
Getting your newborn to sleep longer stretches at night is not a perfect process. There is an ebb and flow. It’s all about trying new things and finding something that works well for your baby.
We used these tips for our daughter, and she slept so well during the newborn phase, my husband and I enjoyed a generous amount of time hanging out.
Here’s the best part: When your baby sleeps better, you will notice a more patient, more tolerant, more engaging baby after a good night’s rest or quality nap.
1. Swaddle
From birth to about age four to five months, babies innately possess a startle reflex, in which they feel as if they are falling. The sensation of falling causes jerking movements, and the baby will incidentally wake up.
Keeping a tight swaddle prevents babies from startling themselves awake, helping the newborn baby sleep both better and longer. I like to think of the baby as āsnug as a bug in a rug,ā and I used to tell my son this every time Iād swaddle him snugly.
I loveĀ the HALO SleepSack Cotton Swaddle
Both help keep the baby swaddled snugly yet safely.
Even if your baby seems to dislike the swaddle I would keep trying. If you think about how it was for them in the womb, it is a very familiar feeling for a baby to enjoy a snugness around them.
We stopped swaddling once our son could regularly get his arms out and roll over. We continued to use the Halo Sleep Swaddle and just swaddled around his torso, leaving his arms out.
2. Dreamfeed.
The dreamfeed is the feeding given to the baby right before you (mom or dad) go to bed, and it helps prevent the baby from waking up just after you finally drift off to sleep.
Isnāt this the pinnacle of sleep deprivation?
You just fall asleep and the baby wakes up.
The dreamfeed can help your newborn baby sleep for longer while you sleep. We used it until about age 4 months. After than time, it can start to disrupt sleep and create more nighttime waking.
Here’s an example of a newborn sleep schedule that we loosely used during the first 3-12 weeks.
- 7 am – Wake up, eat, play
- 8 am – Nap
- 9:30 am – Wake up, eat, play
- 10:30 am – Nap
- 12:00 – Wake up, eat, play
- 1:00 pm – Nap
- 2:30 pm – Wake up, eat, play
- 3:30 pm – Nap
- 4:30 pm – Wake up, eat, play
- 5:30 – Cat nap
- 6:00 pm – Wake up, eat, play
- 7:30 – Eat again (cluster feed), then down for the night.
- 9:30 pm – Dreamfeed.
- 9:30 pm – 7 am – night feeds as needed.
Generally if you can get a newborn to go 3-4 hour stretches during the night from birth to 6 weeks that is pretty good! From 6-12 weeks if you can get aĀ 4-6 hour stretch that’s great. Some babies will go 8-9 hour stretches with the dream feed.
When most author’s taut “getting baby to sleep through the night” they are referring to a 6 hour stretch of sleep. A newborn’s stomach is very small and I typically like to feed at least 2.5 hours during the day, cluster feed in the evenings AND dreamfeed. The more calories you’re able to feed during the day, the less they may need at night.
If you’re looking for more baby sleep schedules, check out my book Routines, Rhythms and Schedules. Inside there are 20+ printable schedules from birth to age 5.
3. Limit the length of naps during the day.
I know itās hard to wake a sleeping baby, but sleeping too long of a stretch during the day can rob nighttime sleep. If the baby sleeps past the 2 – 2.5 hour mark, I would go ahead and wake the baby up, feed him, keep him a wake for a bit, and then lay him down for another nap. If you feel the baby truly needs longer naps, feel free to increase the nap limit to 2.5 hours. Breaking up sleep during the day will help your newborn baby sleep better at night. It also enables you to get more feedings in during the day, which is very helpful.
There were, of course, times where our sonĀ was overtired and needed a little recovery nap. We would allow him to sleep for a little bit longer for just that one nap and then we started getting back on track with our daily routine.
Related: How to Help Baby Take Longer Naps
4. Use white noise.
No one wants to miss a party, so if your baby is listening to all the fun going on in the house it can be hard to fall asleep and stay asleep.
I place a fan on medium in the babyās room rather than directly next to the baby, so it does not blow directly on him or sit too close to his sensitive ears. Using white noise also helps immensely when we are traveling! We are usually able to avoid asking friends or family to be quiet š
I’ve used both a regular fan and a white noise machine in the past.
5. Follow the eat, wake, sleep cycle.
The baby wakes from sleep and immediately eats. Then the baby is awake for a while to play. Then the baby goes back to sleep….
This cycle has several purposes. First, it encourages full feedings by allowing the baby to eat immediately after waking. The baby will have the most energy immediately after waking, making him more inclined to take a full feeding and go longer between feedings.
Also, by feeding the baby after sleep rather than before sleep, the cycle prevents the baby from associating food with sleep or using food as a sleep prop. When using this cycle, a feeding before bedtime is typically only feeding before sleep.
Of course, there were times where I definitely fed my baby before sleep. He needed a little TLC for a certain nap, and I was totally fine offering it when he needed it. But for the most part, I tried to avoid feeding him right before sleep.
Note: Newborns require frequent feedings and rest to ensure healthy growth a development in the early months. Always feed your baby as frequently as your baby needs to ensure healthy weight gain.
6. Use a pre-nap and bedtime routines.
It is well known that babies thrive on routine, structure, and predictability. Routines are also an excellent tool to help newborns get settle before sleep at night. Creating consistent routines will help bring order to a very chaotic world for your infant.
Choose a pre-nap routine that works for you.
A pre-nap routine may include taking the baby to his room, close the blinds or curtains, place the baby in his sleep sack or wearable blanket, turn on the white noise, sing a quick song (e.g. Twinkle, twinkle), give a few cuddles, and say your sleepy words āI love you. I hope you have a good sleep.ā
A bedtime routine would typically be a little longer.
It may include a bath, a massage, reading a story, offering a feeding, placing the baby in a wearable blanket or swaddle, turning on the white noise, a few cuddles, and saying your sleepy words. Following the same exact routine as consistently as possible cues the baby for sleep, and over time the baby will learn that sleep immediately follows the nap and bedtime routines.
Use these printable (and adorable!) baby sleep routine cards to keep parents, grandparents and babysitters ALL on the same page.
Inside the baby sleep printable pack, I also include a chart to help you know how much a newborn should sleep. It’s a great resource to use when creating your own custom newborn sleep schedule.
7. Change your baby’s diaper strategically…
Changing the diaper before a middle of the night feeding prevents the baby from waking up too much after a feeding is finished. When the baby wakes up change the diaper and re-swaddle to prepare him for sleep immediately following a night feeding. If you change the diaper after the night feeding, the baby may become too awake, making it more challenging for him to fall asleep.
Now, I’ve also heard from parents of very young newborn babies (Think: Birth to 3 weeks) sharing that the baby poops right after a night feeding. This is very common during the early newborn phase when babies are still working out the flow of their digestive tracts.
If your baby is consistently stooling after a night feeding, then certainly, just wait to change the diaper until after the feed. Once your baby’s gut matures and he or she stops stooling immediately after a night feed, you can go back to changing the diaper before the feed.
8. Understand how a baby sleeps.
The more your baby sleeps, the more they will sleep.
It’s backwards but true!
If your newborn won’t sleep, there’s a very good chance, he’s way overtired.
Keeping a baby awake in hopes of tiring him out will actually result in over-stimulation, and he will experience both difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. It is very likely an overtired baby will sleep shorter, not longer.
Note: Sometimes this tip confuses readers. And it’s no wonder. First I said limit naps during the day, and now I said an overtired baby will sleep shorter, not longer.
Let me be more clear:
- Limiting the length of naps is important to support night time sleep. You want the baby to get in as many feedings as possible during the daytime. Think: More daytime feeds = less nighttime feeds.Ā
- You don’t want to keep the baby awake for long stretches. Your baby will get over-tired, fussy and have difficulty falling back asleep.
- Bottom line: Encourage lots of naps AND feedings during the day following the eat, wake, sleep cycle.
Related: 8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
9. Don’t rush in…
We may inadvertently encourage the start of a bad sleep habit by rushing in when a baby cries or rustles during the night. Often times, babies wake up babble and go back to sleep.
The baby may even cry briefly or babble and still be asleep.
Give the baby some time and see if he will resettle himself. Avoid rushing in and disturbing this process in order to help your newborn baby sleep better.
Waiting anywhere from 2-10 minutes to see if your newborn settles is a good place to start. There’s no exact science. Listen to your baby’s cries. If your baby is starting to escalate, it’s usually a good sign he needs some extra comfort and support.
10. Lay the baby down awake, but drowsy.
The most important way to encourage your newborn to sleep in the long run is to teach him to fall asleep independently, which is essentially the beginnings of teaching independent sleep.
Babies, like adults, will naturally wake up during the night. Without knowing how to get back to sleep, a baby will cry out after waking regardless of actual need, resulting in night waking droning on for much longer than is actually necessary.
Once a baby gets older, falling asleep independently enables a baby to drift back to sleep after waking in the night, ultimately helping your baby sleep better in the long run.
You can start by settling your baby into a drowsy state with your newborn baby routine, then lay your baby down in their safe sleep space. If needed, place a gentle but firm hand over your babies chest while he drifts off.
Print your free baby sleep checklist!
Chances are…you won’t remember the tips from this post. This printable simplifies it! Plus, when you grab this printable, you’ll get instant access to my free 3-day baby sleep eCourse.
Download Your Free Printable
- Download the checklist. Youāll get the printable straight to your inbox, plus get my Free 3-Day Baby Sleep eCourse!
- Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock would be ideal.
- Place it on your refrigerator. Use it as a quick reference and donāt forget a thing!
Want more on how to make baby sleep?
- 8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
- How to Get Your Baby to Take Longer Naps
- Why You Should Absolutely Wake a Sleeping Baby
I've created a free email series just for you! If you are struggling with finding a routine, rhythm or schedule, this email series will help you find one that will work for YOUR family. Yes, really. I've seen my sample routines work time and time again for parents. I know it can work for you too.
This free email series will help you:
- free sample routine for your child
- learn one easy routine that will help you get more done (and keep your child happy)
- get simple hacks for managing the day with mulitple kids
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I found that swaddling made a remarkable difference. I remember the nurses in the hospital saying it gives the baby a sense of comfort.
Yes, we swaddled for as long as we safely could. We loved the Halo Swaddle!
Well i have tried swaddling but seems to never works for me.But the method with music and baby sleep sounds worked better with my kids.Also there are some good tips from Baby Sleep Miracle and some are really effective .Any way i am now over that peroid and wish luck to all the moms out there.
My 2 year old never slept through the night, after using the baby miracle sleep program I found HERE ( http://instantbaby-sleep1.bestips.info ) my baby falls asleep in minutes until the next morning. Best product I got my hands on, clears the mind, relax the body and there we go all fast asleep.
Well i have tried swaddling but seems to never works for me.But the method with music and baby sleep sounds worked better with my kids.Also there are some good tips from www,MyBabysleep.info and some are really effective .Any way i am now over that peroid and wish luck to all the moms out there.
My baby almost 5 months batlles to sleep in the night. He sleep 4-5 hours and then he is up every hour. What do I do? Must I keep ons giving him a bottle but then he drinks 20ml and sleeps again and then he is up again in an hour for another 30ml. Please help
Sleeping through the night is so important for you and your child. What really helped us was the sleep training a friend recommended us. You can find it here: http://www.SleepTrainChild.info
Hi, my baby is 2 months old.
Is it too late to set a schedule for him, or I can still do it ?
As he suffers from colic so night time sleep is very difficult for him.
My baby never slept well (especially through the night) until I started using http://www.InstantBabySleep.org – by far one of the best things I’ve ever got my hands on to get him to fall asleep quickly. Best time is 45 seconds from awake to asleep! Canāt imagine life without it! I heard about it through a kindergarten teacher who uses it to put to sleep a group of 30 children.
Do you feed baby the full bottle you would have fed when you dream feed? And do you have troubles burping? My LO struggles to take the whole bottle during the dream feed and I have a terrible time burping our usually great burper. It makes for a very unhappy and gassy baby in the morning. Thanks!
I believe I usually offered about 5 ounces during the dreamfeed, which I estimated was a full feeding for the dream feed. I breastfeed so it’s difficult to say what a full feeding would be in ounces exactly. For whatever reason, I pumped and bottle fed the dream feed because it was easier for me. So I just fed what I pumped. I always skipped the burping during the dream feed and it didn’t seem to cause troubles for him. For a short while I was holding him upright for 5- 10 minutes after the feeding. Sometimes he would burb. Other times, he would not. Gas issues are tough š I wish I had better advice. We did use gas drops and grip water, but the efficacy of both is usually debatable among moms. Some swear by it and others say it doesn’t really work. I hope this helps.
will you please explan to me how to offer the dream feed, should i hold her to while sheās a sleep in bed, and what about the burb ? how will i let her burb while sheās a sleep, which in her normal day if she slept directly after feeding i canāt let her burb and some times when sheās in bed she wakes up crying and little milk is coming out of her mouth till the mattress .
My baby never slept well (especially through the night) until I started using https://www.SleepBaby.org ā by far one of the best things Iāve ever got my hands on to get him to fall asleep quickly. Best time is 45 seconds from awake to asleep! Canāt imagine life without it! I heard about it through a kindergarten teacher who uses it to put to sleep a group of 30 children.
Yes, you are so right, crying and fussing are different. Thank you for sharing your tips and experience. Letting a baby cry is a very tough decision and I completely understand and respect parents who prefer not to use crying as part of sleep training. We did use some crying, but we worked very hard to minimize it and keep it very short in duration given his age and developmental level. Swaddling with arms near the face or arms out, I believe, is an awesome way to swaddle and it’s how we did it. Thanks again for sharing your tips. All my best ideas come from other parents!
We used white noise with our twins. It worked a charm. If only we had of done that with our first born!
I know some moms worry their babies will be reliant on white noise for sleep, but we’ve experienced a lot of success with it, and it’s a simple and easy way to encourage sleep. It’s encouraging to know you experienced success with it as well, Krystal.
When dreamfeeding is your baby supposed to be awake or asleep? I have tried dreamfeeding but then my baby is up& it takes her a while to get back to sleep.
It is intended for your baby to be in a slumber like state, but my son did wake up usually. I would usually only turn on a nightlight, change his diaper first, then re-swaddle him, then feed him. I did not make any eye contact or engage him at all. Just all business. He was usually able to fall back asleep during the feeding or at least get very drowsy. Also, the dreamfeed is intended to be offered about 3 hours post bedtime and it is usually only helpful up until about 4 months of age. Beyond that, I believe it becomes more disruptive. If you are already doing all the above mentioned things and it is still a struggle to lull your baby back to sleep, then it is possible that the dreamfeed isn’t really worth it. Some moms swear by it and others say it didn’t really help that much. I’m interested to know what ends up working for you….feel free to send me an email at themilitarywifeandmom(at)gmail(dot)com if you’d like to share. I’m sure other moms would benefit from what you have to share about your dreamfeed experience.
First, I saw this post on Facebook with your son Jameson’s picture and was completely taken aback by the fact that this particular picture looks just like my first born’s newborn picture. Anyway I just recently had twins and was trying for the life of me to remember how I turned my son’s sleep schedule around, and this post is exactly what I needed. I’m also a military mom and wife so I know how important it can be to learn a routine to help keep your sanity while the hubby is away!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, Ashley. Can you tell I love a good schedule? š Motherhood in the military adds a whole other dimension to everything, and the schedule brings a lot of comfort and sanity to our home. If there is a motherhood + military life topic you’d like to see discussed on this blog, I’d love for you to send me an email and share your ideas! All my best ideas come from my readers.
How do you get the baby to nap in their crib? She will nap in her swing, but is having a hard time napping on a flat surface.
My daughter is one month old. At what age do you recommend implementing your tips on sleep scheduling and no longer nursing at night? She is gaining weight really well. Do you recommend nursing more frequently during the day so she’s fuller at night? What age do you think she can move from our room to her room in her crib?
Hey Ellie,
During night feeds it is just eat/sleep. No awake time. And if your baby falls asleep during the feeding at night time, I always thought that was fine and dandy. Easier for me to get back to sleep, right? During they daytime, you can try to keep the baby awake for a bit after a feeding, but when they are newborns their awake time may very well be the time it takes for a feeding. Then they go back to sleep. After about 3-4 weeks they will be awake a bit more, so you could try at that point to make sure they are staying awake for a full feeding and awake for a bit there after. My lactation consultant encouraged me to undress the baby or change the diaper before the feeding to help wake the baby up a bit. This will give the baby a better chance of taking a full feeding. If they are too warm and cozy, the baby might just snack at the breast, which would prevent the baby from getting the good hindmilk at the end of the feeding. Sorry there a lot of random thoughts here š Hope this helps a bit.
Lauren
Thanks so much responding and so quickly, Lauren! I really appreciate it! All very helpful information. Thank you!
With breastfeeding I just had baby in bed with me from the time I brought her home. To be honest, for the first 12 months I never had to wake or get out of bed at night. And having her crib side car to our bed allowed her to transition very easily
Great tip Cara. I know a lot of moms enjoyed success with this.
Lauren
thank you, we shared these tips on our twitter feed.
Thanks!
Hi Lauren! I love all your tips on sleeping. My husband and I are trying so hard to get our 3 month old to take naps during the day. Unfortunately we took some bad advice and we held her for her naps until about a month ago. We have been trying to get her to nap in her crib for about a month now. Usually we can get her to sleep for 5-15 minutes at a time and then she wakes up. I know she’s tired because she will go right back to sleep if we go in and rock her. We have tired letting her cry, coming in every 5-15 minutes to sooth her and I even tried staying in her room putting her passy back in her mouth to see if she would fall asleep. Nothing works and we are out of ideas. Can you help at all? We’d love to hear from you!
Hey Becky…sleep is so tough to navigate sometimes. It sounds like you are doing a really awesome job. Without knowing too much about your situation, I would recommend a few things, but you might already be doing them! I would make sure she is on a good schedule and be very consistent with that. Right now at 3 months, she will likely do well on an approximate 3 hour schedule. See here–. If she is struggling to fall asleep, there is a good chance she is overtired or overstimulated. So if you get her on a good schedule first then you will know when she needs to fall asleep. Next, I would keep swaddling her even if you think she doesn’t like it. At this point it is still likely she is startling herself awake. Also, check out my post about infant sleep facts…sounds like she is having sleep cycle transition issues in addition to having difficulty reaching deep sleep. See here Lastly, if you are just looking to learn more about sleep outside of my blog posts, you may really find my eBook For the Love of Sleep: Practical Baby Sleep Solutions for the Everyday Mama. I intentionally made it really affordable for any family, and it may really help you in your sleep journey. Here are some testimonials if you are on the fence…
I had problems putting my 2 older kids to sleep. I didn’t know about these things. So this will truly help new or young moms to putting their babies to sleep and sleep long and soundly. Great blog!
Thanks for such an encouraging comment Becky!
I loved the swaddle blankets from that they gave my little guy at the Hospital for free. About a month later I bought him a Sleeping Baby swaddle blanket and he loved it! He was double swaddled for naps and nighttime sleep until he was six months old. Got the Zipadee-Zip when we transitioned him from being swaddled in the rock n play to sleeping in his crib. We did cry it out method and we needed him not to be swaddled for that. It was a life saver! I thought this kid was going to be swaddled forever. I just recently stopped using it and put him in a sleep sack with arms. I highly recommend it!
Yes. We use a sleep sack as well and at age 2 my son still wears one. Thanks for sharing a bit of your experience with everyone!
Very nice post! A very helpful thoughts specially for new moms. š
Thank you!
How do you navigate a swaddle with a tummy sleeper? Our son is 3 months and only sleeps on his tummy… and being the second baby… we just go with it…
Then no swaddling needed š
Hi Lauren, saw this post, it’s so helpful. We usually put my son down for sleep at 7pm, but he protests and would not fall asleep till 9ish, everytime he cries we pick him up, he comes down but as soon as we drop him in the crip he starts crying again, These cycles would last 2+ hours. But sometimes he goes down fine and just require one or two soothing in the crip he would fall asleep. Any tips?
Thanks in advance
Sherry
Hi. I have a 6 1/2 month old baby girl who will only be breast fed to sleep. I’m trying to break this habit by laying her down when she’s drowsy, sushing, stroking her head, introducing a comforter etc but she just kicks off. My other half is making me feel really bad about it, but I’m not sure what else to try. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hello!
My baby is a month old. She sleeps well at night (wakes up every 2-3 hours and Sleep immediately after her feed but during day time is impossible to put her to sleep. She is awake for almost 7-8 hours at a stretch everyday. After each feed sleeps for 5-10mins and after that she is wide awake.
She is not fuzzy or doesnāt cry except when She is hungry. But I am ready worried about her sleep pattern. Please help me.
Nikita
Thanks a lot for the your tips as I was looking for SLEEP TIPS.Hope it will help me a lot.
Thanks for the tips.! we did swaddling for my son,but that was the only thing i did which didnt work as such.It would have been better if i knew about white noise at that time
great article and thank u.
although i do have a lot of question so i would love to find some of u at koocam site so more people like will have the chance to get suitable tips. thank u
I recently had a baby, and we are trying to help him sleep a little more. It is definitely a tiring duty as a mom, but it is definitely worth it. These tips should definitely help, though! I hadn’t thought how feeding the baby after sleep rather than before would change a baby’s cycle, as you explained. Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome!
Never thought we’d resort to YouTube, but we’ve come to rely on lullabies and animations to get our little guy to sleep. He doesn’t even need to watch it– we just run the song throughout the night and it keeps him relaxed even when he wakes up in the middle of the night. I think music helps a lot š We even made our own channel for him: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyuwsXtz3I5fJqsXILa0rMQ
We have a 11 months old baby. We have started following the tips above and find most helpful. Thanks a lotf or your great article you have been sharing.
Thank you so much. I’m glad this was useful for you!
The best trick to give your baby sound sleep is using super absorbent and comfortable diapers. The main obstacle for the baby’s sleep is wet nappies. If we use diapers from good companies then your babies will definitely sleep tight. And also give him good massage.
I’m not sure how my wife and I got confused but just want confirmation…
Should we swaddle during naps also. Baby is 5 days old
Yes most certainly swaddle during any type of sleep (naps or nighttime) -it works charms – then eventually you transition to maybe an arm out then both arms out…the Halo sleep sack/swaddle is the best when they get bigger and able to turn over, many options with it.
What did your schedule look like at 6 weeks? I’m a first time mom and feel like I’m not getting a good schedule down.
We followed a 2.5 hour schedule (approximately). You can find all my schedules in my book here, Mandy. https://themilitarywifeandmom.com/sleep/
When you say 2.5 hours, do you mean 2.5 hours from awake time to awake time or 2.5 hours of sleep only? I’ve found this page so helpful in just the one night that we’ve used it with my 7 week old. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I wish I found this for my first.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge to us. I learned something new today.
You can know that the health of your baby is good by his sleep. A newborn baby sleeps at least 16 hours a day. This is normal. Care about health and food will give your baby perfect sleep that he needs.
We have 9 week old twins and are really struggling. They like being swaddled but they also move around and break free. If we swaddle their arms by their faces they come loose within minutes. We do a white noise machine. We follow the wake eat sleep routine. We do dream feeds. We avoid changing diapers when they wake up at night. We are on the 2.5 hour schedule. Nothing seems to be working at all and it actually seems to be getting worse. They wonāt nap more than 15 min at a one during the day. They do sleep overnight but wake up almost hourly. What else can we do or try?!? We are so sleep deprived and will try anything.
I’m confused on some contradicting tips. You said to dream feed but also not to let them rely on eating to fall asleep. Also you had stated that the baby should not sleep too much through the day, and then went on to say not allowing the baby to sleep enough could potentially have the baby over tired and not sleep long enough. At what age would you say I should switch strategies or how should I go about this?
-1st time mom
I was confused about the same points. Our little man is 9 days old.
When in doubt, swaddle it out!
The baby is sleeping during the day for a reason. It is dangerous and a foolish tip to tell people to keep their baby awake. Babies need sleep, they rely on rem sleep for brain connections and memories, too little rem sleep has been linked to autism. Rem sleep usually occurs in the later stage of a sleep. Please retract this from your article.
Really great article! I had very similar help from Susan Urban’s guide titled ‘How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone’. The two parts of the book are for parents with children aged from 0 to 3 months and from 3 months onwards. It says exactly what to do with babies to make them sleep better since they were born.
The author also describes what and how to use (like swaddling, rocking white noise etc) and when and how to stop using them.
I tried it with my boy so I can really recommend it.
Urban’s guide is amazing! Finally some clear and fast instructions that make sense. We succeed after only 3 days. Much faster than we expected. I so wish I had looked into these guides before I had my first baby! Thanks so much for posting the info about the guide
This is the most practical, honest guide about how to make your baby sleep. Thanks for sharing the info about this guide, I appreciate it.
I got this guide from my friends and at the beginning put it aside because I thought I wouldnt have such a problem, but soon lost my dream. However, after reading the guide, just after 2 days, my beloved daughter slept like an angel all night long. In addition, it turned out that I have problems with feeding, which is why I also bought “How to make a breastfeeding pleasant and easy” and the rest of the guides š They are very cheap and useful. All tips in one place. All can be bought on her site https://www.parental-love.com/, but they are also available on the Amazon. Girls dont lose energy, if the solutions are so easily available, it isnt worth it. Regards!
I was just going to say those tips looks like from How to teach a baby how to sleep alone guide! I used the HWL method and it worked great. But I think it really helped a lot that we have had bedtime routine already established!
I’ve just purchased an audiobook! So many positive comments about it I’ve decided to give it a shot. Although I was never pro-sleep training if this HWL method works so amazing it seems to be worth a shot!
It’s totally worth it! I’ve never had more useful obok than Susan Ubran’s – short but giving you a lot of information at once! Brilliant.
This guide is brilliant! I’m surprised that I haven’t heard of it before!
The post is so useful, I will follow the instructions to have a good result. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Lauren,
Excellent tips. Swaddling makes a big difference as it comforts the baby just like he is in the womb.
What I have found to be effective in making my babies sleep in the night is dim the lights, make less noise . This makes my baby sleep atleast 3 hours a night and I can sleep too.
New mom question: Iām finding that after about 2 hrs of sleep my newborn seems to transition between active and quiet sleep as quickly as every 5 minutes, when he does finally wake up it is usually with a lot of crying. In this scenario would it be better to get him up when he first starts to rouse? Thanks for the advice and great article!
HI Lauren, I have gone through your article, and I have learnt quite awesome techniques from swaddle ,white noise and many more and thanks for mentioning such cool tools which you use. thanks a lot once again.
Hey buddy, being grateful as you posted such a useful and informative post. I like swaddling the most. š I would like to save it. Thanks a lot for sharing your great thoughts. Keep posting, looking forward for more from you
Thanks so much responding and so quickly, Lauren! I really appreciate it! All very helpful information. Thank you!
Hey there! Loved your article, but I am having a hard time with my 2.5 week old. We are trying the sleep, eat, wake cycle but he is VERY awake and will not go back down for a nap. We have swaddled, used white noise, etc…. he cries and cries and we have tried to let him self soothe but eventually he just ends up screaming. Any advice on this would be Soooo helpful!!!! Thank you!!!
Lauren
I have a 7 month old baby and the nights are terrible…It was so difficult to put her to sleep, but some friend talked me about nature sounds and white noises…i was very septical about this “magic sounds” but i give it a try. I downloaded an app, put it running on my phone, and i must say that the person how found these noises deserve a Nobel Prize!!!!! This magical how a simple sound can put your baby to sleep…. I installed one called “Happy Sleep Baby” and seems to be good. It’s simple and gives a variety of noises, but you can find others that do the same job.
The article is really greate Lauren ! Also I have a question for you and maybe for the others women :* Did you or someone of you read some ebook named \How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone\ by Susan Urban?? My best friend since few months talk about this… she is good in make a babies fall asleep, also that She is good at writing, that this ebook change her life š I think it is love š but for real, I’m curious, because I also want to buy it. My Thomas lately have sometimes trouble with fall asleeping, and I want do something to help him <3
I read this book and it’s just helpful and that it is the most important! I have How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone, how to make breastfeeding, and now I want buy how to create order in your child’s room, beacuse we are renovating a child’s room.
Iāve recently used Susanās guide to my second child and it worked amazing! Just 4 nights and he is alone-sleeper, just like planned. And I was really surprised how easy that was to accomplish, probably thanks to that step-by-step recipe. Highly recommended!
I have the same experience with this guide. It was my present for baby shower from my girls. Luke is my first born kid, so I hadn’t any clue about babies and how teach them to fall asleep. I read a lot of books, blogs, papers about babies and what mother should do since get pregnant and after that… But after labor for 4 months we had issues with night time routine and all sleeping things. I needed someting now, quick! I reached for my gift, the guide “How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone” written by Susan Urban. Can you imagine that after 3 (!!!!) days my baby boy was sleep like a log?! Like I was saing, it was the gift from my friends, my girls made from printed ebook the cutiest book ever! But you can get one of Susan’s books from Amazaon here https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Urban/e/B076ZN59YG/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1. I ordered the yellow one “How to create order in your child’s room” š
My 2 year old son for the past 2 weeks or so, has been waking up in the middle of the night talking and crying. He was creaming and upset, as soon as we open the door heās ok.. Crying every 10 minutes, we go to him calm him down and we leave , 10 min later heās crying again .. All night long. I was so tired. He was such a good sleeper, I didnt know what happened. I read about Susan Urban and her How to teach a baby to fall asleep alone and I just bought it. It’s 15th day and it helped, but I think that my baby is unchangeable when it’s about his sleep. Few days it’s okay, we live in harmony, but after that peaceful time, we have a little crisis, and we have to start all over again.. After all, now is so much better, I mean with all tips from guide than without. I thnk that with some time we get over this, it’s good way. I ordered my eboks via her site https://www.parental-love.com
I agree, I used it with my little daughter when she had 3 months, I recommend it
This ebook really works! I’m so shocked! Imagine, I even hired a trainer for a babys sleep training and even she couldn’t help me… The problem was a bad night time routine, I changed some elements with Susan’s advices, but myself, and after that my baby was asleep after 5 days all night long!!
Dear Sylwia, I had the pleasure of using this guide and I have to admit that he helped me a lot. We often look for complicated solutions, and the best are right under our noses, like a guide from Susan Urban, which is really cheap and helpful. In any case, in this guide you will find solutions for short naps, early awaking at night and going to bed. She is useing her own method named HWL which is quick and easy and the most important in this guide, she shows clear step-by-step instructions š She also has a blog with great tips, so you can check it, I will paste here the link https://www.parental-love.com. Sleeping solutions here are the best, thanks to them after 12 days we got rid of rocking for sleep and night feeding! My little son had woken up every couple of hours for 7 months since birth, but when I got this guide, after all those 12 days he slept all night and woke up with me and my husband in the morning š I recommend with all my heart!
Thank you so much for share such a nice article about baby sleep. In a word just amazing article. As a new mother, I was read many articles about baby care. Especially about baby sleep. But this is the best of those articles. I’ve got huge valuable information. Of course, I would love to apply your tips. I have a question for you. One of my friends suggests me to buy a Sleeper Bassinet for my newborn baby. But I’m confused about its health value. Is it good for health? Please give me your valuable suggestion. Thanks again for your great effort on this awesome article.
Hi Lauren,
For most new parents, Itās a difficult task to get the baby to sleep. I have just go through with all the 10 point all looks informative, I thought no 8 is most amazing. As a parent, you have to understand how a baby sleeps. Thanks for sharing this informative tips with us, Keep up the good work!
Try to get as much exposure to natural light during the day as you can. Take a break at the afternoon and go for a walk, take a dog for a walk in the park or meet a friend outside for a snack. This also helps you to avoid nap during the day. It refresh your mind.
Iām curious ā at what age do you start putting them down drowsy but awake? Do you wait until six weeks? I started at 8 weeks with my first son, and it was quickly successful, but Iām wondering if I can start any earlier with my second. Iāve tried it a couple of times (heās two and half weeks old) to no avail, and Iām curious if I should keep trying or wait a few more weeks before coming back to it.
Hey thankyou for all your tips. I have a 5 week old who wonāt sleep unless in our arms or moving. Iām really struggling getting him back to sleep after his night time feedings. For night time feedings he wakes I change him and then feed him ( he falls asleep on the breast) and then I burp him and as soon as I put him in his bassinet he wakes up and the cycle continues. How do I not feed the baby to sleep as you said that isnāt a good idea and also how do I stop the cycle of having to rock him/bounce him on a ball to fall asleep. You said to let them fall asleep in the crib/bassinet but how? Also I find he is falling asleep on the breast after his naps during the day how do I stop that? FTM and very tired would love some advice! Thanks so much!
Amazing blog. Really helpful for new mom and dad.New born baby is used to sleep with mom. Getting baby sleep in crib really difficult for mom. Thank for a guide to put baby sleep in crib. Really helpful guideline.
Great post! Using essential oils has been a godsend for me, I tried melatonin with my older kids but found my 5 year old would have nightmares, so I got some essential oils and use them on my kids and haven’t looked back. Also, the swaddling, white noise, and oils for my baby have been so wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
Sleepless nights and dark circles under the eyes become a part of a new parentās life. There are many reasons why your baby stays awake at night. Read on to find out.
https://www.parentcircle.com/article/10-reasons-why-your-newborn-stays-awake-all-night/
What a great guide! We were crazy about getting our babies (and later, toddlers) to sleep before they had baby breakdowns (fussy and crying for what seems like no reason). Using a swaddle was a huge help with my firstborn. She loved being wrapped up tight. We also used a few other strategies to help our little ones doze off fast and get more sleep. Now, I have a rep for putting babies to sleep, even at loud parties. It’s really not that hard once you know what works for most babies. That’s why I wrote them up here: https://mommycribnotes.com/how-to-get-your-baby-to-sleep-more/
New born baby is used to sleep with mom. Getting baby sleep in crib really difficult for mom. Thank for a guide to put baby sleep in crib. Really helpful guideline.
Limiting the day sleep is really crucial for the baby’s health in long-term. As you said, swaddling a baby perfectly is also very important for the sound sleep. I got a swaddle guide here ( https://momandbabylab.com/how-to-swaddle-a-baby/ ) for the interested person. In fact, you described all the sleeping issues nicely. I really loved this. Thank You.
Thanks so much for sharing this really helpful article. Sometimes I wonder how new parents coped when there weren’t resources like this to look to for advice from more experienced parents!
Hi! Then you for your tips, I will try them. However our baby just falls asleep when is on our arms… So for the naps is super difficult and we can not do anything at home. Also if we leave him at the cot he will wake up after 30 min, so he will not sleep as much as he needs. He is 3 months old now. What would you recommend?
My 4 months old baby doesn’t sleeps..,he goes to sleep and within 10 mins he wakes up crying..from yesterday night he’s not sleeping properly… he’s getting milk at the right time. still he is not sleepng.., in my calculation he got only 8 hrs of sleep.. what to do ..?
This was us 18 months ago, so I hear where you are coming from!! During the day, our ‘nap’ routine basically became: soothe for 30+ minutes (swaddling, rocking, running the water, white noise, dark room, sling, walks, lullabies – you name it), he’d finally fall asleep, he’d sleep in my arms (he wouldn’t sleep in his bed at all) for 10-30 minutes, then he’d wake up screaming, and we’d go through it all again. I knew he was exhausted. No joy. After two months of things getting worse and worse (and Baby getting crabbier and crabbier), we all finally decided to give sleep training a try. This video about sleep training helped us a lot https://bit.ly/2Uda4tH
According to a study by parents’ counselor Jodi A. Mindell, more than 90% of parents need to change their child’s cycle and sleep routine. It’s the perfect time to focus on your child’s sleep routines.
Hi Lauren, I stumbled upon your site as I was researching tips online on how to help my newborn sleep better (sheās three weeks old).
I like the idea of having a routine and schedule for her. I was wondering, how do you implement naps if you are out and about? I get a little stir crazy and plan on getting out occasionally, but I donāt want to overstimulate her. Is it okay if a nap is in the car?
Of course! You can do naps in the car or out in and about while you’re wearing her or in the stroller. If it works for you, then it works!
thank you for the tips it help my 8 month baby sleep well
My baby never slept well until I started using the method from https://www.SleepBaby.org – highly recommended.
Hi Lauren,
I have a 7 week old who fights taking naps and when he finally goes down, he only naps for 15 mins, he also needs to be held or rocked to sleep, please help!
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Hi Lauren! thank you for your great article and insights! we found also that swaddling was one of the only things that helped our babies to sleep better. I followed the eat-sleep-wake-cycle with two of my children, but I changed later. I had the impression that it was the reason for many short naps. don’t know. is this possible? (they never slept more than 45 minutes for many months… my other ones slept better during the day!) bedtime routines seems to be one of the most important things to help little ones to calm down! š
Thank you so much for this insights. I have a 4-month-old baby and this is helpful lot.
Hahahah, baby never lets you sleep the way you did all your life. I think we need to be prepared about babies sleep cycle before getting delivered.
Wow! what a thought? your key infant sleep facts are very informative for all moms. I really appreciate your developed plans and implementation.
This article is very helpful. I have a question/a cry for help though. My baby is almost 7 weeks and at night will go anywhere between 4 and 7 hours without crying out to be fed. I word that very carefully because she will wake up frequently and wiggle around her bassinet (actually moving her whole self in her swaddle), grunt, and wrestle with her swaddle. It wakes me. I’ve been trying to ignore it because I’ve been told that when she’s hungry she will cry and if she needs me she will cry. The problem is two fold. One: I’m not sleeping when she does this and sometimes it takes a long time for her to fall back asleep (if she does at all). Two: I’m concerned at just the sheer amount of time she spends doing this. I am torn as to whether to intervene. I’m not sure as to whether intervening somehow is going to make it worse. As an example the other night she went down around 9 and started doing the grunting/wiggling/wrestling about three hours later. I ignored it because there were no cries and I laid awake. Eventually she quieted and we both went back to sleep. Should I just have gotten up and fed her? Picking her up and trying to rock her or soothe her back to sleep works for a very short period of time; it’s like she’s insistent on being restless. She also does this for naps. She will sleep about 30 minutes then wake up and be somewhat quietly awake. I’m so confused as a first time mom. I want her to get the sleep that she needs but I also know that she’ll learn to settle herself eventually. I also am worried that if she’s awake having her little bassinet parties that she’s going to lose the association between her bassinet and sleep. Anybody have any thoughts or recommendations? Am I the only person who’s baby does this?
I would say that it is a good article for new parents who just got their first child. Even I got my newborn baby two months before, and I am also facing the same problems. This article helps me a lot with my child. Thank You, Lauren, for the Helpful content.
It’s nice to read this article, as it is so informative. It is best for the new moms. The new moms feel so worry for taking care their baby after birth. Yes, it is true, the baby need so many extra care and accessories after coming to the world. The moms suffer a lot, if their newborn don’t sleep at night. The information mentioned above is effective to know ‘how to take care and sleep the baby’. Thank you for sharing this article.
A newborn baby sleeps at least 16 hours a day. This is normal. Care about health and food will give your baby perfect sleep that he needs. You can know that the health of your baby is good by his sleep.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing such a informative and healthy Post…..!!
As much as baby sleeps, he becomes healthy. These tips are very useful for many parents to make there baby sleep longer without any interruption. Thanks for sharing such important facts with us.
Thanks for the valuable information. Some of them were unknown. Keep your article flooded with such true information
babies can sleep while listening to soft musics, lullabies
https://youtu.be/WxBV2W8Hh0E