Baby Sleep Advice for Newborns

Newborn babies are just as individual in their personalities, habits and needs as an adult is, and parents will all have very different experiences when it comes to babies and sleep. Stretches of sleep typically vary from just 2 to 4 hours in the first few weeks of life, as tiny babies need to feed little and often. Temperament means some babies will be easy to settle back down after a feed while others fuss and cry before finally dropping off. While parents can't change if they have an "easy" baby or a "challenging" baby there are things they can do to help their babies fall asleep, remain sleeping for longer and start fostering a good bedtime routine.

Rocking

When you were pregnant you may have noticed that your baby's routine mirrored yours - when you were busy and active, he slept and when you were resting or sleeping he would kick and wriggle. This because when you were moving around those movements lulled him to sleep. So rocking is often an effective way to help your baby fall asleep, or pacify them when they are crying.

You do not need anything special to rock them - your arms will do just fine - but there are benefits in buying a rocking moses basket stand, or a rocking cradle. If your baby falls asleep in your arms they will often wake suddenly once you try to put them down. If they fall asleep in their cradle or moses basket they will stay sleeping peacefully once you stop rocking. It is the first step in getting them to self settle, and they will not require the rocking so much as they get older.

Swaddling

Many babies feel calmer when swaddled, and will often sleep for longer periods. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, being tightly swaddled reminds them of being in the soothing environment of their mother's womb, where conditions would have been cramped and movements would have been restricted. Secondly, restricting the arms calms the moro reflex (also known as the startle reflex). This is the jerking movement you may have noticed your newborn sometimes makes when sleeping, particularly if there is a loud or sudden noise. Sometimes the reflex is vigorous enough to wake your baby - hence your baby is less likely to be startled into a wakeful state if they are swaddled.

White Noise

You might imagine the womb was quite a quiet place, but this is far from the truth. Even without the muffled sounds of the outside world your baby would have been surrounded by noise, such as the sound of blood pumping around your body. So while most adults like the bedroom as quiet as possible when they go to sleep, silence can feel unsettling to a new baby.

For this reason, white noise is often effective for both calming a fussy baby and relaxing them into a state where they will peacefully drift off to sleep. There are many household objects, such as vacuum cleaners, which work well as white noise but the most practical solution is to buy a white noise CD. Mothers-to-be may want to consider purchasing a home fetal Doppler which can record the mother's heartbeat, and be played to the baby when they are born to remind them of the familiarity and security of being in the womb.

Please note that while the suggestions here will work for many babies, they will not work for all. You may need to experiment a little to find the perfect routine for your little one.