STARTING AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON - your New-Born Baby and Sleep

Prepare for the birth of your new-born with our Top Tips

All too often I hear the words from parents with older babies/toddlers 'we got into a bad habit and now they won't sleep / sleep alone / only sleep in 45 minute bursts' etc...

Let's not beat about the bush... new-borns and sleep, typically don't go together in the same sentence positively. It's a well known fact that new-born babies do waken regularly simply because a) they have to to feed and b) their bodies are unable to link sleep cycles. Sometimes there are health reasons that contribute to poorer sleep, but the average, healthy new-born can not be expected to sleep for much longer than 3-4 hours MAX (and yes, for many parents, even this is a dream!).

At around 3 months old, their bodies begin to produce Melatonin (see my Blog on Melatonin if you're keen to learn more) which means they begin to develop the ability to sleep longer as their bodies recognise day from night and to link their sleep cycles (but typically they'll only do this if they're given the opportunity and support to learn this skill and THIS IS KEY!)

So, if you're keen NOT to fall into the bracket of the 'we got into a bad habit...' parent, I'm going to share some top tips and advice with you on HOW TO START AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON (when it comes to your baby's sleep).

1. From day 1 (or as soon as you're physically able to after birth), expose your baby to natural daylight twice a day - morning and early evening preferably - this will help their bodies to develop their internal clock more easily than if they are just inside. Make daytime light, bright, stimulating etc and make evening/night time dark, quiet and calm. They will soon learn the difference.

2. Accept the early days are hard going and you (most likely) wont get much sleep. Prepare and organise support to see you through these first few weeks. Also keep in your mind that the things you're reading here and are doing ARE SETTING A FOUNDATION FOR YOUR BABY TO BECOME A GREAT SLEEPER. Ensure lots of skin to skin contact, follow safe sleeping guidelines and use a sling/carrier for contact naps.

3. Don't panic or worry about putting your baby down for naps if they're not up for sleeping independently (if they are, great! Enjoy some hands free time). Even popping them down for a couple of seconds or minutes at a time now and again, will get them used to sleeping independently and using a swaddle will help them feel more secure.

4. As soon as you've got your bearings and caught your breath, try to consider a gentle routine (I say gentle because it will need to be super flexible to start with) including feeds, naps, bed-time, bath-time and morning time. Our 0-6 Month Sleep Guide has suggestions to help with this.

5. Pause - just for a few seconds - when you hear your baby stir at night or at nap time. Allow them the opportunity to re-settle themself. As soon as your little one feels safe and secure and able to, they will go back to sleep BUT THEY HAVE TO BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW TO SETTLE, or how will they ever be able to? Often, by not pausing, we actually disturb them more. Babies are naturally very noisy sleepers and sound like they're awake even when they're sleeping, particularly when they are transitioning between sleep cycles.

6. Make sure their sleep environment is conducive to sleep and try (if possible) to have (some) naps at home in the sleep space they sleep in at night. If they get used to being pushed in the pram for naps or being in the car then you'll find that, soon enough, that'll be the ONLY way they'll go to sleep. Ideally (some) naps will be in their night-time sleep space, in a dark room (invest in a blackout blind), with white noise at the correct temperature.

7. Check out our 0-6 MONTH SLEEP GUIDE. It has everything you could possibly need to know in it to ensure you raise a confident baby who sleeps well and develops good habits. This will be your saving grace in years to come and at £19.95 is definitely an investment.

If you found these tips helpful and reassuring, why not book in for a Pregnancy / New-Born Consultation. Ask all the questions that niggle in your mind and feel fully prepared for your new arrival, knowing that years of sleeplessness do not have to be on the cards.