With a newborn, sleeping through the night is only a sweet dream. In fact, newborn infants will dictate their own schedule as they acclimate to life outside the womb. We know right now it is hard and with each sleepless night it might seem like you will never sleep again, but we promise you will! Around three to five months is when you should start seeing sleep patterns developing. At this point, you can use some of these tips to help create the best sleep routine for your infant.
Sleep Routine Tips
- A bath – A warm bath helps calm the baby and signals that the nighttime routine has started. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends only bathing infants three times a week during their first year.
- Read a book or sing – Two books we recommend are Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Herd and Sweet Dreams, Maisy by Lucy Cousins.
- Feeding – Feed your child in a dimly lit room to not overstimulate your little one. However, do not put your infant to bed with the bottle. This can become a choking hazard, lead to tooth decay, and even ear infections.
- Nurturing time – Spend time holding and cuddling your child. Create that special one on one time that will relax them and you.
- At about 4 months, experts say you can try leaving your baby in their crib if they wake up in the middle of the night – simply come in and reassuringly pat their back and hum or sing to them.
- No screentime while you are prepping them for bed.
- Change to warm and dim lighting.
- Play soft music or a white noise machine.
In addition to these tips also follow the safe sleep guidelines provided here by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
By implementing some of these sleep routine tips, you can help your infant establish a healthy sleep schedule. Remember, consistency and patience are key when it comes to fostering good sleep habits for your little one.
