Navigating Sleep With a Newborn

Navigating Sleep With a Newborn: How To Get the Rest You and Your Baby Need

Bringing a newborn into your life is an exciting and magical journey, but it also introduces it’s own set of challenges, with sleep being one of the most significant. Understanding your baby’s sleep patterns can help you both get the rest you need.

In those first 6 weeks, rest and recovery are the most important things to focus on, aside caring for your baby. These early days are all about adjusting and healing, so prioritise your own rest as much as possible and soak up those precious moments and cuddles with your new bundle.

How Often to Feed at Night

You might be hoping I can share a secret to having your newborn sleep long stretches at night, but the reality is that waking 3-5 times overnight to feed isn’t just normal, it’s essential for newborns. Their tummies are so tiny that they will need to feed often, and the best way to manage it is to follow your baby’s lead and respond to their needs. Undoubtedly, this will leave you feeling totally knackered, but sharing the load as much as possible and taking up every offer of help or a cooked meal will make all the difference so that you can rest at any chance you get. Ensuring each feed your baby has is a full feed will hopefully mean they will sleep well in between feeds. Be aware that not every cry will be a cry for food and could mean your little one is tired, overstimulated, windy or even just bored.

Safe Sleep Practices

If there is anything you really should be doing from birth, it’s practising safer sleep. The Lullaby Trust https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/

are a great resource for newborns as they provide a huge amount of information and recommend the following to reduce the risk of SIDS:

• Put your baby down on their back for all sleeps on a firm, flat, waterproof mattress with nothing else in the cot, including  bumpers, toys and loose bedding

• The safest place for a baby to sleep is a separate cot, crib or Moses basket, in your room for the first 6 months of their lives

• Avoid your baby overheating – the optimum room temperature is 16-20 degrees

• The Lullaby Trust state that there is some research to suggest there is a link between using a dummy for sleep and the reduction of the risk of SIDS. If it is used, it should be for every sleep (once breastfeeding has been established) and it should not be used past the 6-12 month mark

Sleep Patterns and Goals

During the first three months, your baby will spend about 6-8 hours of their day sleeping and approximately 8 hours sleeping at night. Newborns’ sleep is divided almost equally between Non-REM (deep sleep) and REM (dream) sleep, which is crucial for their brain development.  You can expect them to be awake for about 45-60 minutes at a time between 0-6 weeks and up to 60-90 minutes from 6-12 weeks.

If rest and recovery are going well and you’re feeling ready to work towards a routine in the first 6 weeks, here’s a couple of things to consider doing:

• Distinguish day from night: Begin to help your baby differentiate between daytime and nighttime by keeping daytime environments bright and engaging, while nighttime should be calm and dark.

• Keep a track on awake time: Aim to keep your baby awake for 45-60 minutes before their next nap. This helps them build a more predictable sleep schedule and will also help to prevent them getting overtired by staying awake too long.

By 6-12 weeks, If you’ve found your feet and feel ready to – you can start to build the foundation for good sleep by introducing some gentle sleep strategies. As your baby grows, their awake windows will extend to 60-90 minutes and you could consider doing the following if you wanted to:

• Put your little one down awake: Placing your baby in their crib when they’re still awake can encourage them to fall asleep on their own. This can be done really gently, still providing comfort if they need it. Learning this skill can help them through the 4 month sleep regression more smoothly, and also give you some much needed time to put your your feet up and have a cup of tea or shower. https://stalbansandhertscentral.littledreamsconsulting.com/the-4-month-sleep-regression/

• Feed After Waking: Consider feeding your baby after they wake up rather than right before a nap. This helps them associate feeding with being awake and may encourage longer stretches of sleep.

• Introduce a Bedtime Routine: Around 8-10 weeks is a great time to start incorporating a simple bedtime routine if you haven’t already. This could include a bath, a massage and a lullaby, or some quiet cuddle time. A consistent routine can signal to your baby that it’s time to wind down for the night.

New Mum Myth Busting

Along your journey of motherhood, you will hear many pieces of advice, some less welcome than others. Here’s a few common myths busted to help take the pressure off:

Myth# 1.  Formula fed babies sleep better than breastfed babies

Studies have shown there is no significant difference in sleep patterns between those breastfed and non-breastfed babies (Demirei et al 2012)

Myth# 2. Keeping babies awake for longer during the day and skipping naps will make them sleep more at night.

Naps are just as important for babies as their night sleep. If little ones are kept awake for longer than they can manage, they are more likely to become overtired, producing higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline. These stimulating hormones have the potential to negatively impact nighttime sleep.

Myth# 3. Babies should be sleeping through the night by 6 months.

Firstly, it’s important to note that it is normal for babies to wake during the night. In fact, we all naturally stir and rouse as we transition between sleep cycles. Typically, your baby will wake briefly between 2-6 times a night. If a little one can self settle to sleep they may just wake briefly for a few minutes before falling back asleep, whereas others might need their parent’s help. The key is to introduce a consistent calming bedtime routine to help your baby wind down from the day, and to introduce a gentle settling technique to help support your baby in learning how to self-settle at bedtime.

Conclusion

Navigating newborn sleep can require lots of patience and flexibility and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Each baby is unique, and it’s essential to adapt strategies to fit your family’s needs.

If you’d like to feel more prepared for those newborn days and nights, get in touch to find out about the Antenatal sleep package we offer!

https://stalbansandhertscentral.littledreamsconsulting.com/contact/

https://stalbansandhertscentral.littledreamsconsulting.com/antenatal/

A Note From Grace

I am not someone who ever gives advice about sleep – I have an eight year old and eleven year old who are still regularly up at night! But I wish I had been reassured by someone like Pav that a lot of what we experienced in the early days is normal and that there is a middle ground between crying it out and doing nothing!! If you have a new baby and are getting enough sleep to think about Pilates – check out my postnatal classes