Guide to baby's sleep

A comprehensive guide on how to offer a baby good sleep, by Jasmine Holden

Mums with newborns, this is for YOU!

Newborns (0-12 weeks) can get over tired super quick!

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Overtired babies are often automatically given the title of “colicky”

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During the newborn stage it is perfectly ok to settle your little one whichever way you choose

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aVOIDING the feed-to-sleep association

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Just enjoy all the gorgeous cuddles!

Their wake windows are only around 45 minutes long! And with lots of stimulation & excitement (new faces, smells, etc.) that wake window can be even shorter! .. So when a newborn becomes overtired they then need a LOT of help to switch off & settle down. The reason knowing your baby’s wake windows & recognising their sleep cues is so important, is because (annoyingly) being overtired for a baby often presents itself as under tired ..So you have this little one that’s wired & tired & seemingly full of energy. But it’s actually a ton of cortisol (our stress hormone) that’s running through them & keeping them in PING mode.

Overtired babies are often automatically given the title of “colicky” when a lot of the time, (not always) the actual presentation of colic is in fact sheer over tired exhaustion! The fact is colic presents itself at the same time each day, usually around evening time, if you manage to put your little one to sleep before the scheduled colic episode you may find your little one sleeps & the episode doesn’t happen! Almost like your baby slept the colic hours away! Well they kind of did! Because it wasn’t colic if they slept through it. It was exhaustion! ... (colic & an overtired baby have the same symptoms).

During the newborn stage it is perfectly ok to settle your little one to sleep, rocking, singing and any other way you choose. You can begin to gently set up good sleep habits to help transition smoothly, when your little one's sleep cycles change (around 4 months) by:️Promoting positive sleep associations (black out blinds, swaddle & white noise).️ When your baby’s drowsy give them the opportunity to fall asleep on their own.️Let your little one sleep in their own bed for at least one nap a day. ️Settle your little one to sleep in their crib rather than in your arms. So they learn this is where they fall to sleep.

Just enjoy all the gorgeous cuddles! ..It’s a total myth that cuddling a baby will spoil them! Cuddle them tons & tons! It’s how you both bond. You're in the fourth trimester & so is your little one... You're adapting to your new life as a mum & they’re adapting to life out of the womb!!It’s overwhelming, exciting & very exhausting for you both! .. so sleep as often as you can .. you need the sleep as much as they do, mumma!

To break the feed-to-sleep association, or better still prevent one developing at allSwitch up your routine : So, if it’s usually bath, and then boob/bottle & then bed, switch the boob/bottle and the bath around!So it’s:1.boob/bottle 2.bath 3.bed It’s beneficial to your baby to have the final feed before bath time too as it allows for the milk to digest easily (as they sit up in the bath). The warm water in the bath also aids the digestion and encourages any trapped wind that may be in their little tummy to come up & out! So they’re in no discomfort before sleep(this is especially important with reflux babies who shouldn’t be laid flat after a feed).