Welcome to your baby! It may feel like every aspect of your baby’s life is a first for the two of you, and one of the most important areas, and one that is so calming for both you and baby, is the area of sleep. The baby sleep guide for parents will also cover safety and how to get a newborn to sleep on their own while busting myths about newborn sleep.
How to Get A Newborn to Sleep On Their Own
How to get a newborn to sleep on their own? Learn gentle & safe sleep training methods to establish healthy habits, create a safe sleep space & soothe your baby to dreamland.
Creating a Safe Sleep Environment
However, to get to sleep training techniques, creating a safe and comfortable ambience in which your little one will sleep is crucial. Here are the key recommendations:
Always place your baby on their back to sleep: This position is the most secure for the baby, especially when minimising SIDS cases. They should lay straight on their back for every sleep, including the naps.
Use a firm, flat sleep surface.
Select a crib or bassinet with a sturdy mattress that must be tight fitting, and the crib or bassinet should be a newborn baby crib. Do not place babies on soft materials such as sofa chairs or any adult bed, as the babies may suffocate.
Keep the crib bare
Never place anything extra, such as blankets, pillows, crib bumpers and small toys, in the crib. These pose a risk of either POS and newborn hypothermia or SIDS due to blockage of the baby’s airway or overheating.
Maintain a comfortable room temperature.
The temperature must be well below the comfort level but not significantly cool; it is preferable in the range of 68-72F or 20-22C at night. Choose loose, comfortable, light sleepwear suitable for your baby at room temperature.
Share a room, but not a bed.
Co-sleeping, where your baby sleeps with you in the same bed until at least six months or a year, is advised. However, bedding should not be allowed since it raises the risk of SIDS and suffocation on the bed.
Offer a pacifier at naptime and bedtime.
We understand that the use of pacifiers has been associated with decreased incidences of SIDS. If you’re exclusively breastfeeding, then it’s recommended to start using a pacifier after at least three to four weeks of breastfeeding.
Understanding Newborn Sleep Patterns
Thus, newborns are characterised by distinct sleep-wake cycles that differ from those observed in adults.
It is also more widely divided into different stages: active sleep or rather rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occupies more time, and the period of the night is not as long as an adult human needs. Here’s what to expect:
Frequent waking
In their first week, newborns wake frequently at night and during the day for feeding because their stomachs are too small to hold much food.
Shorter sleep stretches
For the first year, the child may only sleep for a few hours, for instance, between 2-4 hours and may gradually extend as the baby ages.
Day-night confusion
It remains a problem since the infants are not fully developed and thus have no set time-day cycle. Its signs may include becoming more active or awake at night and comparatively sleepier during the day.
Soothing Techniques for Newborns
Swaddling is important when putting your newborn to sleep or calming them down. Here are some effective techniques:
Swaddling
It also affirms that swaddling offers the type of sensations that provide feelings of comfort, even like being held. Have a thin blanket and ensure the wrappings are not too tight to hinder the hip motion of the infant.
White noise
That is why noise with the same frequency as human voice can interfere with sleep: using a fan, a sound maker or a vacuum cleaner at night is better.
Motion
Babies are easy to calm; if you rock them or take them for a ride in the car, they will sleep.
Skin-to-skin contact
kin to skin hereby releases oxytocin, a hormone responsible for bonding and calming an individual. Cradle your baby against your skin with your shirt off so that your baby can feel your heat and pulse.
Pacifier
If your baby is on a pacifier, it should be offered to the baby whenever they are cross or complaining, which shows they may be tired.
Age-Appropriate Sleep Schedules
Newborns do not have fixed timelines, but setting a loose schedule can assist in putting the baby to more hours of sleep. Here’s a general guideline for newborn sleep:
- 0-3 months: Infants usually have 14 to 17 hours of night sleep divided into frequent intervals of day and night sleep. The main emphasis is on responding to the baby’s signals, especially feeding.
- 3-6 months: When the baby starts growing, he earns more standardised patterns of sleeping and waking. Promote more nap-taking in between and a longer night’s sleep.
- 6-12 months: At 7-8 months, most babies are ready to sleep 6-8 hours at night, with 2-3 short naps during the day. Develop a schedule for bed that will help your child know it is time to go to sleep.
Gentle Sleep Training Methods
While formal sleep training isn’t recommended for newborns, you can start incorporating gentle methods to encourage independent sleep habits:
Put your baby down drowsy but awake
This assists the child in putting him to sleep and drastically cuts down on rocking or feeding him to sleep.
Gradually increase response time.
Whenever your baby cries each time you decide to place them down, you should wait before attending to the baby. This enables them to find a peaceful way to calm their selves down and go to sleep on their own.
Establish a consistent bedtime routine.
Getting them to eat, take a warm bath, have their massage, and read a storybook will help your baby understand it is time to sleep.
Early bedtimes
People mistakenly think that having the baby go to bed earlier ultimately results in improved sleep for the baby. Ideally, one should try to sleep between 6 p.m. and midnight.
Common Concerns and Misconceptions
- The belief is that: “My baby will cry it out if I do not pick them up at once.” Every parent wants to make their baby stop crying immediately, but it’s okay if the baby fusses for some time before being comforted. It allows them to learn self-soothing skills.
- Our language is still in our beds: ‘My baby needs to be rocked or fed to sleep.’ However, These techniques are good at the initial stages and lead to the development of sleep associations unsuitable for putting the child to sleep independently.
- There are far-reaching conclusions that sleep training is wrong and dangerous for babies. As I will explain later, gentle forms of sleep training are not toxic to the baby when sleep training is done effectively. Notably, they can produce positive effects concerning the quality and the amount of sleep and general health.
Addressing the Risk of SIDS
Parents should ensure they practise the safe sleep guidelines to lower the risks of SIDS. Here are some additional tips:
Avoid overheating:
After the bath, clothe your baby in light sleepwear and do not over-wrap them.
Breastfeed if possible:
Here is evidence that suggests that breastfeeding the child decreases the chances of SIDS.
Ensure adequate prenatal care:
You should also make visits to your healthcare providers throughout the pregnancy so that when your baby is born, you note the signs which may cause SIDS.
Avoid smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke:
The risks of SIDS are also elated by smoking during pregnancy or even after giving birth.
Immunise your baby:
It is also advised that your baby should receive appropriate immunisations as some of the infections can cause increased SIDS rates.
Conclusion
Sleeping is very important in the lives of all living beings, but to a newborn child, it is particularly critical; hence, placing a lot of emphasis on how to instil this habit in the child is key in the early days of the child’s life.
We believe that by keeping your baby’s sleep environment safe, understanding the baby’s sleep cycles, and using positive sleep training techniques, families can instil healthy sleep habits and ensure the baby’s safety and health at the same time.
