Any suggestions for establishing good sleeping habits for a newborn?

Martina - posted on 03/25/2009

I don't think you can start sleep training, but there's no reason you can't start encouraging good habits now. Things like establishing a daily routine, keeping times before sleep mellow, having a prebed routine. You're baby may not understand these things now but if you get into the habit of doing them then over time he'll start to adapt.



I recommend reading The Baby Whisperer. It has amazing info on how to establish a good routine.



Good luck!

Itsamystery - posted on 03/24/2009

Like others have said you can't really sleep train a 2 month old and their sleeping habits will change as they go through different developments. That said, there are a few 'good habits' you can get into. They include: make the room dark and leaving the light off at night,don't turn the light on or talk during night feeds; have a bed time routine that includes a warm bath and signals to baby it's time to go to sleep; if you're concerned about nursing to sleep you can nurse to drowsy and put baby down wake (doesn't work with all babies); learn to recognise cues of tiredness (red eyebrows, rubs eyes, starts getting clumsy, etc) and get baby to sleep before they get overtired. Once baby starts sleeping long stretches, give him a dream feed as you are going to bed which might encourage him to wake later (4am instead of 2am).

Most children don't sleep very well in their first two years of life, so don't feel like you've done something 'wrong' with your first child. Night waking in the first two years is normal; much more normal than the sleep training books make out. I agree with Alison that night time parenting just as important as daytime parenting, and solutions which encourage you to let your baby cry it out are ultimately harmful to your baby's emotional development and his trust in you.

Jana - posted on 03/24/2009

What I did with my daughter from day one, I never turned a light on during middle of the night feedings of diaper changes.  I put a bright night light outside in the hall and that gave me enough light to see things.  I also never talked to her in the middle of the night, unless she was really upset, then I just whispered in her ear but never above a whisper.  I went into her room at night, did what I had to do and then rocked her back to sleep all without a light on or talking.  Night time is for sleeping, not playtime.  During the day, we never played in her room until she already realized the her room was meant for sleeping.

I don't know if any of these things helped, or if she is just a good sleeper, but I have never had any problems with her sleeping at night (other then when we discovered she was lactose intolorant, but that it a different issue)  I have other friends that followed the "no light or talking rule" and all of their kids were good sleepers.  No, I haven't read any books about sleep (who has time) but these rules made sense to me and worked for me.  I hope you can find a routine that will work for you.  Good luck, and way to be proactive with your little ones sleeping habits.

Allison - posted on 03/24/2009

I honestly think that a healthy sleep pattern is developed by have support for the first 2 years at least. Babies just aren't developmentally able to handle sleeping alone very well as first, and although you can "train" them as they are a bit older (6 months at the earliest) I think they trades-off can be worse than just continuing to nighttime parent. Keep in mind that babies go through a lot of things the first 2 years that interfere with sleep: illnesses, growth spurts, teething, and developmental milestones. So even if you develop a good sleep routine and schedule, a couple weeks later baby changes and therefore so does the schedule. I find it better just to follow their cues and help them as much as possible - once they are developmentally ready to sleep all night, they do. With both my kids, that was after the 2 year molars arrived (age 2 for my daughter and 20 months for my son). Some kiddos sleep better earlier, but many do not.

Some good nighttime parenting experts that don't believe in the Cry it Out approach include Dr. Sears, Dr. Jay Gordon, James McKenna, and Elizabeth Pantley.

Try to just go with the flow and relax as much as you can with a newborn :-) Good luck!

Bernadette - posted on 03/24/2009

I agree with not trying to force a sleeping routine but  I use to never leave on the breast while they were sleeping (otherwise they won't sleep or go to sleep unless your feeding). Make sure they get used to being put down in their cot/crib to sleep without being rocked or cuddled to sleep. Also at night time I always kept it dark and quiet and wouldn't talk to or play with them so that they'd hopefully work out their was no point in being awake at that time. I don't know if it will help but I was blessed with four good sleepers!

Melissa - posted on 03/24/2009

Hi Jessica, Like Tamara said, not much you can do right now. My husband and I followed, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. We starting implementing a routine before he goes to sleep at about 8 weeks old. Also, from day one, we never talked to the baby in the middle of the night (obviously unless he needed extra soothing). From bedtime for us, till morning for us, we treated every feeding and diaper change like just a quick wake from sleep. Now our almost 7 month old has been sleeping from 6pm to 7am without any wake ups or fussing. I HIGHLY recommend the book we read. I have lots of insight to share on sleeping. If you would like to know more let me know....but I'm sure you will get lots of advice!! In the end, you can really only do what works for you. Congratulations on the birth of your new son!

Tamara - posted on 03/24/2009

At 2 weeks, you don't really get to establish sleeping habits. Their circadian rhythms start to appear at 4 months. Before than, you just kind of roll with it.

Melissa - posted on 03/24/2009

I have a 6 month old... and I was having problems with her sleeping - so I picked up this book: "The SleepEasy Solution - The Exhausted Parents Guide to getting your child to sleep - from birth to age 5." It's been 3 days that I've followed their advice and already she is sleeping the night through (with only 1 feeding, for which I wake her) and her naps have been a breeze!! She cried for only 25 mins the first time and was only crying for 5 - 10 mins before naps and bedtime on the second day. I wish I had started reading it when she was first born just so I was prepared and didn't fall in to bad habits, like nursing her to sleep. It's very simple and direct about giving you a sleep plan. Good luck!