This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read full disclosure here.
Long nights, exhausted days, and feeling like a zombie. I have been where you are now. Here is exactly how I got my newborn to sleep and stay asleep.
It is so true that every child is different. My daughter slept great. Sure, she went through the typical sleep regressions, and there was a learning curve in the early days, but we got into a groove rather quickly. It was great.
My son is a different story. He is a light sleeper, used to cry for hourssss at night (I am pretty sure he had colic), and it would take me 4-5 attempts to get him to stay asleep in his bassinet finally. Quite honestly I felt like no matter what I did I failed to soothe my baby. As a mother, this was a really awful feeling.
My son is now 2 months old and sleeps through the night (most nights). I never thought I’d say that. The biggest blessing has been these sleep bags. Everything changed once I put my son to sleep in this. So I stocked up and got more.
After washing them, they need to hang to dry. So you’ll definitely need plenty! Putting my son to sleep without a sleep bag on is horrible.
Here is what I did to get my newborn to sleep AND stay asleep.
RELATED: Why does my baby fight sleep so bad? Reasons + Solutions
RELATED: Newborn Survival Guide I Wish I Had
RELATED: 18 Essential Ways to Bond With Your Newborn
How I Got My Newborn to Sleep
1. Soothe Your Baby
All good mamas want to soothe their babies. I wanted my babies to learn from day 1 that they could always depend on and trust me. This begins by soothing my crying babies.
So when my son would cry, I would hold him for a few minutes and try to put him back down once he calmed down.
I will say that my kids quickly developed self-soothing skills. The ability to self-soothe is vital. Especially when it comes to sleep.
2. Use a Sleep Bag!
The Moro reflex (aka the startle reflex) is an involuntary reflex that occurs when your baby feels like they are falling. They will throw their arms and legs and may even cry loudly. This can disrupt sleep.
So during the first month, I swaddled my son.
Then he transitioned to this sleep bag and it changed everything. Because of this sleep bag, he actually lets me put him down in his bassinet.
So if you’re experiencing issues putting your newborn to sleep AND keeping them asleep, buy your baby a sleep bag.
If you’re wondering how to get your newborn to sleep in his or her bassinet, see if this sleep bag helps. I am willing to bet it will help your little one just as much as it helped mine.
Gone are the days when my son fought being placed in his bassinet and it took several hours to put him down for the night.
I am convinced this sleep bag is magical.
He also started sleeping through the night rather quickly, which shocked me. This would have never happened without these sleep sacks.
So if you are wondering what should a newborn wear to sleep, this sleep bag is it.
3. Use a Sound Machine
This has been another huge blessing. I never had to rely on a white noise machine with my daughter because she was always a good sleeper. I always knew babies liked white noise but never NEEDED it until having my son.
I am pretty certain my son had colic. Every night from 8-12 he would cry his eyes out. Some nights I would even cry with him.
I rocked him, sang to him, breastfed him, you name it. Nothing worked.
Out of desperation, I introduced white noise. I was stunned at how quickly it calmed him down.
So this white noise machine is now a part of our sleep routine.
4. Pay Attention to Sleep Patterns
After reading up on newborn sleep, I realized my newborn was sleeping too much during the day. This made nights unbearable.
So I started paying closer attention to his naps and wake windows. I do not let him sleep longer than 2 hours during the day and his wake windows are about an hour.
Being more conscious of how long he sleeps during the day makes a tremendous difference in our nights.
5. Teach Day & Night
Day-night confusion is when your newborn has their days and nights mixed up. If your newborn is sleeping during the day and awake most of the night, your little one is probably experiencing day-night confusion. This is common.
There are some things you can do to help teach day and night.
During the day, let natural sunlight in and turn on lights. As you prepare to put your baby to sleep at night, get your little darling into their pajamas and dim the lights.
Having a bedtime routine is also very helpful.
My son experienced day-night confusion and eventually, these consistent changes helped him distinguish the difference.
6. Make Sure Your Baby Is Getting Plenty of Milk
Newborns typically fall asleep during feedings. Keeping them awake can be tricky.
Ironically, my son slept like a rock during the day, but at night he was such a light sleeper. I would have to undress and tickle his toes to keep him awake during feedings. It was not an easy task.
Research shows that babies who feed more during the day are less likely to wake up to feed at night.
Aim to feed your baby every 2-3 hours.
Being conscious of the time between feedings helped make our nights easier.
7. Address Gas
Gas can be a major cause of wakings and fussiness.
This was the case for my son. I would finally lay him in his bassinet and boom. He was awake again because he spit up or had hiccups.
These drops were a lifesaver!
8. Listen to Your Baby’s Cues
Get to know your baby’s cues.
If your baby is rubbing their eyes, yawning, staring, looking away, or fussing, they are probably sleepy and need some rest.
Look for cues of your baby communicating that they are sleepy.
9. Create a Bedtime Routine
Establish a bedtime routine.
If you have other kids this can be tricky, but having a consistent bedtime routine is essential. I promise it makes a difference.
During the first few weeks of a family of four, we were in survival mode. Once I got into a groove and created a bedtime routine, the end of our day became much smoother.
Here’s what our bedtime routine looks like:
- I give my son a massage with this baby massage oil
- Bath
- Lotion
- Change into pajamas AND the sleep bag
- Read a story
- Breastfeed
All while keeping the lights dim!
10. Put Your Baby Down Sleepy
The goal is for your baby to become independent sleepers and self-soothe.
Putting your newborn in their bassinet when sleepy encourages them to settle by themselves instead of relying on you to fall asleep.
11. Don’t Rush In
Have you noticed that your newborn makes all sorts of sounds in their sleep? This is because babies are still learning to regulate their breathing.
Noise during REM sleep is normal, so don’t go rushing in. Instead, wait a few minutes.
More than likely, your baby will settle on their own.
12. Avoid An Overtired Baby
Paying close attention to your baby’s sleep patterns will help you avoid an overtired baby.
When a baby has been awake longer than they should have, this can cause them to feel stressed.
As a result, they will release cortisol, a hormone that will make it even more difficult to fall asleep.
13. Dream Feed
I avoid an overtired baby by putting my son down for the night at 7:00. Any later than that and it is awful.
I like to have a little me time before going to bed. So I have found dream feeding to be incredibly helpful.
Right before I’m ready to go to sleep, I breastfeed my son without waking him up. This allows me to get a longer stretch of sleep before the next feed (if he wakes up that night).
Right now my son sleeps through most nights, but will occasionally wake up once or twice for a feeding.
14. Be Consistent
If your baby is not sleeping well and neither are you, take a deep breath. I have been where you are.
Change does not happen overnight.
While the sleep bag and sound machine made the biggest difference, our nights are not perfect. But they are a million times better than they used to be.
My biggest tip is to be consistent. Eventually, your little one will get the hang of things.
It’s hard adjusting to life on the outside!
Other Posts You May Like:
23 Breastfeeding Must Haves Every Mama Should Own
Leave a Reply