When we came home from the hospital with our first born, I felt extremely unqualified and unprepared to be caring for a little human!!! Yes, we had gone through prenatal classes, and yes, we knew the “theory” of having a newborn BUT in those postpartum months we often felt lost, overwhelmed and confused. One thing we knew nothing about was SLEEP. No one had talked to us about newborn sleep and we honestly had no idea what we were doing.
Looking back now, here are 3 things I wish I had known about newborn sleep before coming home with our baby.
1) WAKE WINDOWS
This one piece of information would have made a world of difference for us. Our first born often seemed cranky and fussy with loads of crying (what felt like all the time to us). We had convinced ourselves that he had colic and reflux. Looking back, I am fairly certain he was simply OVERTIRED. An awake window is the time that your baby can tolerate being awake between 2 sleeps.
In the newborn phase, a wake window between two sleeps should only be: between 45-60 minutes (from 0-6 weeks) and 60-90 minutes (from 6-12 weeks). Use these recommendations as a loose guide in combination with sleepy cues. Each baby will have their own unique sleep needs, but understanding age appropriate wake windows can be helpful to find your baby’s sweet spot.
2) You can start a bedtime routine right from day 1. Setting up a series of predictable and consistent steps before bedtime is a great way to start laying the foundation for health sleep. A bedtime routine helps your baby prepare their mind and body for sleep.
It does not have to be long, just a few steps that last 20-30 minutes. You can start this as soon as you feel ready.
3) It is OKAY and important to wake your sleeping baby during the day. If your little one is sleeping 3-4 hour chunks during the day they will end up missing daytime feeds and will look to make them up overnight. This is called reverse cycling. To optimize your baby’s sleep, you want to ensure that they are feeding every 2-3 hours during the day. This allows them to get all of their daytime nutritional needs met and will help keep that little tummy more full overnight.
If you have a little one that loves to sleep long stretches during the day, I recommend you cap naps at 2-3 hours to keep those feeds on track.
* Remember that night feeds are very normal in the newborn phase. Newborns have tiny tummies, and feeding should be a top priority.
BONUS: Create a relaxing and serene sleep space. We were very guilty of trying to set up a “cute” nursery space for our kids when we brought them home. What I did not know, was “cute” can also be incredibly distracting for a little baby as they are trying to sleep, and it can also be potentially hazardous! Keeping the sleep space boring (for example, no mobile over the crib) and safe (see my safe sleep checklist here) will be helpful when laying a healthy sleep foundation.
If you are expecting or you have a newborn at home right now, it can be overwhelming, lonely and isolating at times. You don’t have to go through it alone with only google as your guide. Be sure to check out my Newborn Masterclass. It includes an eBook with over 30 pages to walk you through exactly how to lay a healthy sleep foundation for your baby right from day one. In it you will find how to structure your day, sample schedules, education around newborn sleep needs, sleepy versus hunger cues, a step by step guide for how to implement the pick up put down method and so much more.