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MUST READ: Infant Sleep Tips

One of the first things that we are warned about as new parents is the lack of sleep that we’ll experience. Although it seems like a small price to pay for the miracle you’ve created, in those late night moments I’m sure you’ll be feeling overwhelmed and desperate for solutions.

The birth experience usually starts out on an exhausting note with sometimes upwards of 24 hours of labor. The adrenaline of meeting your new baby might help you on night one but soon you will get a sense that you won't be able to make up that lost sleep. (cue the tears)

After day 3 I think I started questioning my ability to be a mom; it was mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually MORE draining than anything I’d ever experienced. So that’s when the research started and I put practices into place to set my little one up for sleep success.

There’s a period of time early on when your bundle of joy will just simply be too young to sleep for long periods of time; however, starting good practices from day 1 is SO important for that later success.

Tip 1:


Establish a consistent night time routine. There will be many things listed in this post but whatever you decide to do, be sure that you do it every night. Pick a bedtime and wake time and stick to it. It can be tempting to start your routine early if your baby falls asleep close to bedtime but don’t. Just don’t. Consistency is key!


Tip 2:


Use a white noise machine and use the same noise every night. (Remember consistency?) I love my Munchkin sound system. I have used the heartbeat setting since the first day that my girl came home from the hospital. This is a key piece of our bedtime routine and when we turn it on my girl knows that it’s time to sleep. (PS: 2 years later with nightly use and our Munchkin sound machine is still working wonderfully!)

CAUTION: be sure to NOT turn your sound machines up to full volume early in infancy! Babies can get hearing damage with decibels too high and unfortunately sounds machines at full volume actually do well exceed this! We downloaded an app to measure decibels before deciding what volume to use.


Tip 3:


Make day and night VERY clear from the start. Once bedtime starts it’s pitch black wherever we take the little one. We don’t even use a real lamp for night time feedings; I’ve had success with a night light switch and also this dimmable mini salt lamp.

I bought a beautiful lamp to match my daughter’s nursery but haven’t used it once because it’s just too bright.

Also know that eventually your kiddo will get so good at nursing that you won’t even need a light at all!

So on the other side of things, during the day time we leave lights on and curtains drawn (even during naps) to make sure that there is a clear difference between day and night. We also keep the tv or music running during the day and make the atmosphere quiet and calm at night.

BONUS TIP: Not only do I recommend turning down your screen brightness during night time feedings but also look for the setting to reduce white point – it makes a HUGE difference. Iphone users here’s where to go: Settings>General>Accessibility>Display Accommodations

UPDATE: I just recently discovered another amazing lamp option that we now use when we're trying to wind down for bedtime and need just enough light to read a couple of stories. The reason I love this one is that it's rechargable, touch activated and you can move from room to room! Give this Aukey Lamp a try!

Tip 4:


Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle!

We have used the SwaddleMe Original Swaddle since day 1. We didn’t dress our baby in anything underneath, so this was perfect to keep her warm but not too hot. We could have used a onesie underneath but that just made nighttime changes more time-consuming and complicated so we just made sure our room was the appropriate temperature for this option.

Although your babe might cry at first when you put them in the swaddle give them a nice snuggle and let them get used to it. Ultimately it will make them feel more comforted and remind them of a "womb-like" environment. They will get used to it as you continue with your nighttime routine and it will keep them cozy and secure-feeling in their sleep.



Tip 5:


Essential oils are your friend. It’s not recommended to put essential oils directly on a baby’s skin when they are very young but you can absolutely use them in their room or dab a little on their swaddle. I have rolled a tiny bit of lavender oil onto the outside of my girl’s swaddle since the beginning. It doubles as a great way to calm a stressed out mama!

UPDATE: Although my sweet girl is a little older now, we have never missed a night with our essential oils! After much trial and error I've found that Plant Therapy's Nighty Night scent is less overwhelming and their brand is also one I'd recommend as trustworthy and safe for kiddos!


Tip 6:


Make sure that you have a comfortable nursing chair. I will forever regret that during my pregnancy I spent countless hours restoring a beautiful wooden glider for our nursery and sewing cushions for it. This was all for not when I realized, after night one, that it was SO uncomfortable to nurse in. We ended up taking a cheap, cozy recliner from another room and bringing it upstairs- it was a game changer! I know this sounds like something for mom and not baby, but not having to readjust or struggle to get out of the chair to delicately set baby in her bed is SO important to a smooth night time feed.


Tip 7:


Daytime feedings are everything! Your baby has to get enough food during the day in order to go longer stretches at night.. During those first 2 months I was diligent about offering my daughter milk every 2 hours during the day AND whenever she gave hunger cues.


PS: This MimiJumi bottle was a lifesaver for us when our daughter refused to bottle feed before I went back to work. (More on that here)



Tip 8:


Get ahead of those night feedings. At night I would set an alarm (on vibrate) for every 3 hours – this is also key! Trust me when I tell you that waking up on your own terms is so much better than being jolted out of your sleep by a baby crying. If you notice your baby regularly wakes after a certain interval, try to get ahead of it! You can do a “dream feed” (where you feed while your child is still partially asleep) which will help the feed go quicker and smoother. I would also recommend checking their diaper and changing if needed BEFORE you feed. You want to make all of this as seamless as possible so that once you're done feeding baby you can lay her back down and then YOU can lay back down. After some practice my body clock was waking me every 3 hours, I could get my daughter changed and fed all while barely waking her. It sounds like BS, but trust me, once you get in that mama routine you will be a pro!

NEW MOM HACK: This might sounds gross, but to avoid having to unswaddle them, there’s usually a hole in the back of swaddle wraps and you can gently feel in their diaper to see if it’s dirty.


Tip 9:


As long as you don’t feel like it will compromise your commitment to breastfeeding, I would recommend moving your baby to their own room as early as you’re comfortable. My husband and I bought the Owlet monitor and it made us confident in our decision to move our daughter to her own room after 4 weeks. This transition is helpful because you are actually able to make your child’s sleep environment as quiet as they need it. I would get mad at my husband for rolling over too loudly, flushing the toilet or coughing at night because it would stir our baby at just the wrong time. So it will save your sanity as well!

PRO MOM HACK: Months down the road I would highly recommend putting baby down drowsy but awake to help them learn to fall asleep without relying on outside factors but when they are infants laying them down when they're asleep is only going to help things go smoother! The simple "limp limb" check is pretty easy, if their little arms are limp they are in deep sleep. Something super cool that you can do with the owlet monitor though is see their heartrate! You can take a peek and see if they have lowered back into a sleep range and wa-la! You know you can make that transition back to bed!


Tip 10:


Watch what you eat and drink. Use common sense and avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugar in the evenings. Although we don’t often think about it, alcohol has the ability to really disrupt sleep patterns. I also hate to say it but if you're looking for good sleep you probably want to lay off the alcohol for a little while too (I promise that day will come sooner than you think!) I've heard so many stories of what seemed to be colic turning out to be a food allergy based on what mom was eating. If you notice any sort of pattern, test out your theory and do some food journaling and try cutting out the foods in question 1 at a time.

Sample Starter Schedule:

  1. Bedtime/feed: 9-10pm

  2. 1st Dreamfeed: 1-2am

  3. 2nd Dreamfeed: 5-6am

  4. Wake up: 8am

Once you’ve confirmed that your baby is making good weight gain at his/her 1 month appt, I would start to move out the first dream feed a little at a time and then eventually remove all together. Please just make sure that you are always following the recommended durations for feeding by age and also listening to the advice of your child's pediatrician.


Before you know it, you and your baby will be sleeping through the night!


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