For most parents, they can find it difficult to get their newborn to sleep. This can be very difficult for new parents. This is fine and natural shortly after your baby is born as you’re simply working out a good sleep cycle between all of you.
A good night’s sleep is very important for your newborn baby. Not to mention being very important for mum and dad. It promotes growth and development as well as giving them the energy to play and explore.
At SmallSmart, we understand the challenges parents face in giving newborns a good night’s sleep. In this article, we look at tips and tricks to help parents give their babies and themselves a good night’s sleep.
- Swaddle Your Baby
Swaddling your newborn help gives them a good night’s sleep. The reasoning behind this is that after nine months in their mother womb, they are used to being held and with limited movement.
During the first four or five months, your baby would have something known as ‘Startle Reflex’. This is where they feel that they’re falling. This causes their arms or legs to jerk, reacting as if they were falling and this will wake them off. Unfortunately, this is likely to happen when they’re drowsy or about to sleep.
By swaddling them, they are able to rest comfortably and won’t wake themselves with a Startle Reflex.
Using Cot Bumper can also be used so your child does not hurt themselves when lying in their cot. A useful accessory for new parents and newborns for getting a good night’s sleep.
When do swaddle your baby, you’ll want to use a good swaddle that will stretch. Some believe this will replicate the elasticity of the womb. Also, it will react and stretch to any movements as they sleep.
- Use Good, Firm Crib Mattress
The crib mattress is very important to giving your newborn baby a good night’s sleep.
It is important essential that you use a firm crib mattress. A soft mattress yields too much to the newborn’s body, such as their head or face. If lying face down, this increases the risk of suffocation. A soft crib mattress can increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
A good firm crib mattress provides your newborn with the necessary support they need to sleep safely and comfortably.
- Dream Feed Your Baby
Dream feeding is the feeding you give your baby right before you put them to sleep. Naturally, feeding them right before they sleep limits the chances that your newborn will wake up hungry in an hour or so later. More often or not, this would happen right as mum is about to fall asleep.
By strategically feeding your newborn before naps and bedtimes, you can avoid this.
- Use White Noise/Nightlight Projector
Sometimes your baby doesn’t feel like having a nap or a little bit fussy. A useful thing to have would be a nightlight projector.
In the early months of your babies life, they’re slowly developing their senses and begins learning more about the world. Two very important senses are sound and vision.
A nighlight, a device which projects bright colourful lights and white noises or lullabies, can give your baby their own private light show. Engaging them and igniting their imagination, it can help create a calm, relaxing environment for your babies to nod off peacefully.
Skip Hop Owl Nighlight Projector
- Develop a Routine & Consistency
Perhaps the most more important thing to consider is developing a strong routine. A baby needs stability and predictability as does their parents, especially when it is their sleep. The world around them is new and very stimulating. Sometimes it can be overwhelming or frightening. Your child will find comfort in a good plan routine.
So, when you put your baby down to sleep, remember what you did to prepare them. Did you close the curtains? Do you have a moving mobile? Did you leave a nightlight on? Do you use a certain comforter? If you did and it helps them sleep, keep doing it!
Initially, this will be quite difficult. From naps, bedtime and the steps leading to either, through repeating these and developing a consistent routine, it will get better.
