Newborn Sleep Essentials

I am still in the weeds of newborn sleep over here so I wanted to share what *I* focus on with my newborns from day 1! This is not so that sleep is perfect and that you never have any sort of sleep issue (or that you don’t have a normal newborn), it’s just so that you feel like you can manage sleep in the newborn phase.

Here are my top 5 things for newborn sleep essentials:

• Establishing feeding

• Exposure to sunlight often and frequently during the day

• Bonding/skin to skin

• Rhythms for the day

• Sleeping in a variety of ways and places

Establishing feeding

If babies aren’t eating well, they’re typically not sleeping well. This is not meant for babies who may have jaundice and are extra sleepy. 

Making sure their latch is good with no oral motor dysfunction is one of my first priorities because it can create issues with gas, reflux, and future issues with sleep (ie sleep disordered breathing). 

Exposure to sunlight often and frequently during the day

This is a key priority for us to establish days and nights/circadian rhythm until baby establishes one of their own when sleep hormones are being produced (between 8-11 weeks).

For the first 3 weeks (the honeymoon phase), baby has stores of melatonin from the placenta. This is typically why your baby sleeps basically 24/7 it feels like. Though, sometimes they still want to party at night! From weeks 3-8, we typically see a fussier time as they have more difficulty with sleep and need more support. Week 6 is the peak fussy phase usually, you can read more about that here in the 6 week regression post.

I got off topic a bit, but sunlight/natural light is key to establishing a circadian rhythm. We use the environment to our advantage until baby’s body takes over! Morning sunlight and evening sunlight both have a purpose. Outside, blue/green light is most influential in the morning. Later in the day, natural light shifts toward a red/orange frequency, reducing cortisol and increasing melatonin.

Bonding/skin to skin

Get in those cuddles!! Hold that baby. There’s nothing wrong with it and it won’t set you up for sleep failure. It helps regulate their bodies, their mood, your mood, and helps you learn their cues. All important things to establish!

Rhythms for the day

Starting the day around the same time (this is easier if it’s your second+ kid because you already have those rhythms established), establishing some routines around sleep (it can be one thing or three things you do before sleep, it doesn’t matter, just pick something to do each time that’s consistent), and following their eating/sleeping cues will help give you some flow for the day.

Eat, play, sleep works super well for our family but may not work well for yours. We did a diaper change, fed upon waking, did a little tummy time (like 5 minutes), and then back to sleep.

I found this super helpful because I could rule out why they were fussing as well as it helped me stay on track for the day with knowing what was generally coming next. 

Sleeping in a variety of ways and places

The more ways you can introduce sleep to them (rocking, bouncing, wearing, etc) the better! That way, whenever you don’t have one of those options, they’re familiar with something else. We *want* a lot of tools in our tool kit so start building your tool box early.

Practice sleep in their bassinet, their crib, a pack n play, in the car, stroller, being worn, etc. Sleep doesn’t have to be in the same place from day one. 

Other things you can consider include avoiding overtiredness and being curious about their ability to fall asleep with little to no support. For us, we follow wake times with one eye on the baby and will always put them down earlier if they need it. We also attempt one “independent” nap a day where we allow them to try to put themselves to sleep. This is some low pressure practice (for both of you) and won’t always be successful. Success isn’t the goal, exposure and opportunity is.

If you want to try more opportunities, you certainly could! It’s just about doing what is most sustainable for you at the time. That can always change.

**I also consider any sleep outside of your arms as “independent” for a newborn because while we love to hold them, we also need some arms free time and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you’re really struggling with newborn sleep, I highly recommend our bestselling newborn guide!