Great Green Idea: Green Parenting: **Newborn Sleep - Helpful Hints

**Newborn Sleep - Helpful Hints

The joy of bringing a new baby home from the hospital cannot be replicated. The new addition to the family, getting the nursery ready, and of course, "sleeping like a baby!" Why didn't anyone tell you in the hospital that this sleepy baby stage is short lived?

Below are some helpful hints that can help your newborn sleep better, both in quality and quantity. Please realize, however, that it can sometimes be dangerous for a newborn to sleep too long at night as they have tiny tummies and still need to eat frequently in their early days.

Also keep in mind the "back to sleep - tummy to play" phrase as it is always safest to put your newborn to sleep on her back.

Swaddle to Sleep

While in the womb babies are held tightly, snug and warm. Swaddling helps mimic the womb and gives them that familiar, secure feeling they had in utero. Doing this also promotes healthy development by enabling them to sleep longer stretches. Additionally, swaddling helps prevent a newborn's moro reflex (also known as the startle reflex) which can last until around 3-4 months of age. This reflex can often make an infant feel as if he is falling and startle him to the point where he wakes up and become difficult to settle back to sleep. There are many ways to swaddle using a regular receiving blanket, but I highly recommend purchasing something similar to the Miracle Blanket or Swaddlers to ensure you are doing it correctly, and also that your baby can't squiggle his way out!

It is also important to always consult with a health professional to ensure your baby is being swaddled safely.

Prevent Day/Night Confusion

More often than not, newborns home from the hospital have their days and nights mixed up. In utero your baby slept most of her days away, with the constant rocking motion of mom's belly walking, moving about, driving in a car, etc. At night, however, when mom was asleep, there was less movement to put the baby to sleep and she was therefore awake more of the time. After birth, your baby still has the same day/night association she had in utero and can very often still have her night and day mixed up. Don't worry, though, this is an easy problem to fix. Simply start by waking your newborn every few hours during the day to eat. As the days progress she will gradually become more alert between sleeping and if you've been consistent at waking her up during the day to eat more often than the night, she will automatically have her longer sleep spells at night and her alert time will be during the day.

Light Association

To further help prevent day/night confusion it's important to help newborns' brains have certain light associations. Around 3 months of age babies start producing a chemical in their brains called melatonin. This chemical is one of the many ways that our bodies naturally help wind down for sleep. The production of this has a direct correlation with the amount of light we see (brightness, timing, etc). Therefore, it's helpful with babies to keep the nights dark, boring, calm and non-stimulating while the days should have bright lights, activity and noise.

Keep Wake-Time Short

I once heard a father jokingly remark that his newborn could stay asleep being hung upside down by his left foot! I hope he wasn't serious, but his statement definitely holds some truth. Newborns are difficult to keep awake and do spend most of their days sleeping.

When babies are kept awake for too long they become irritable and overtired, often making it difficult to resettle and have good quality sleep. After your newborn's initial first few weeks of life, the most important piece of advice I can give you is to keep the time he is awake short. Depending on each baby, the range should be somewhere from 1-2 hours of awake time…and no more. If you wait until your baby is cranky and fussy you may have actually missed the opportune time to get him down, so keep your eyes peeled for tired signs to soothe him to sleep sooner than later.

Wake time includes everything: Diaper changing, eating, playing, etc. Don't pay attention to how long each nap is, but focus more on the time that elapses in between…when your baby shows the initial signs of being tired, don't keep her awake longer. These little ones can't stay awake too long and get over stimulated very easily so it's important to help them wind down and sleep.

White Noise

White noise is simply a constant noise like a vacuum cleaner, fan whirring, or a mild, light vibration. This helps newborns sleep because it is similar to the noise they heard in a mother's womb of her heart beat and blood flow. You're obviously not going to run a large machine like that all day, so there are various products on the market called white noise machines that can help simulate a similar sound.

Keep Baby Close

One of the keys to ensuring that you're not an exhausted mess in these early weeks is to keep your baby close by at night. Whether or not you choose to co-sleep, it is always a good idea to have your baby close by in case she needs something. This way when she wakes frequently at night to be fed, you wont' need to walk from room to room disoriented and can simply pick her up, feed her, and go back to sleep!

It all comes down to you and your baby being happy and well rested so in the early days do whatever is necessary to ensure you get the rest you need to take care of your little one.

Batya Sherizen, AKA “Batya the Baby Coach” offers a professional baby sleep consulting service, advising parents on how to train their babies and toddlers to sleep better during the night and day. She has helped countless mothers and babies regain their sleep through her holistic and gentle sleep programs. In addition to being Batya the Baby Coach, she is also a wife and mother, living in Jerusalem, Israel. She loves nothing more than helping fellow parents empower themselves by unlocking the many benefits of a well-rested Mommy and baby. For more information please visit her website: www.batyathebabycoach.com