Baby Sleep Tips for Newborns

We’re going to share 3 sleep foundations you can implement right now to get yourself a good little sleeper.

We have used these foundations to help hundreds of families get their newborn sleeping well early on and we’re excited to help you too! 

Sleep Foundation #1: Awake Times.

This is your biggest guide to what your day will look like. You do not need to feel the pressure to follow a routine, but will be guided by awake windows. Newborns sleep ALOT and only have the ability to stay awake for short periods of time before quickly becoming overtired. The sleep foundation advises that newborns can sleep between 14-17 hours over a 24 hour period. 

So how long should your newborn be awake for?

1 month: 45mins-1 hour

2 months: 75mins-90 minutes

3 months: 90 minutes-120 minutes. It may seem like a very quick turn around by the time you feed and play with your baby, however it will help them immensely with getting some good sleep.

Sleep Foundation #2: Avoid Overstimulation

Newborns can become over-stimulated extremely quickly and this can create significant challenges for their sleep. 

Your little one has been in a dark, safe cocoon with constant noise for the past 9 months so coming into the world for the 4th trimester is a stark contrast. Some psychologists claim that being born could be the most traumatic experience in a person’s life.

Your newborn can become overwhelmed by bright lights, getting passed around from many friends and family coming to visit, lots of activities and much visual and audio stimulation. You will quickly learn that overstimulation is the absolute nemesis of sleep so being mindful of this and managing your newborn’s levels of stimulation will really help them with their sleep.

Sleep Foundation #3: Provide opportunities to fall asleep without sleep props.

One of the most crucial elements for teaching children to go to sleep and stay asleep is to help them develop self-settling strategies.

So often, many parents are unaware that they can put their newborn down awake and they fall asleep. They think that they need to PUT their newborn to sleep. This is often through feeding, rocking or patting. 

We’re not talking about sleep training. Newborns are too young for any traditional sleep training methods, however think of it as practice to give them the opportunity to fall asleep. You may be surprised!

Try to give your baby the chance to fall asleep independently 1-2 times per day. The best times of the day are the first nap of the day and evening bedtime.

They may lie quietly, or coo, grunt, moan and make a few noises. Just by simply trying this for a minute or two, you are giving them the chance to fall asleep on their own. If your baby gets upset or gets distressed, you can pick them up and soothe your baby and at the first sign of drowsiness, try to lay them back again.

Repeat the process, however, if your little one is not settling on their own, that is ok! You can just try again at another nap time. The more your baby practices their own sleep skills, the better they will begin to sleep.

Need more tips to get your newborn sleeping well? Download our FREE newborn guide with the 7 foundations to help your newborn sleep. Click HERE