Sleep Issues After a New Sibling Arrives
Expecting a new baby is an exciting time for everyone in the family! For your other child[ren], it is a chance for them to be the big sibling and help take care of the baby. It also means that their routines and daily lives may get temporarily or even permanently disrupted. Happy changes to the family are still changes nonetheless, and with change comes a period of adjustment. Even if your older child is over the moon about having a new sibling, they may still experience some type of sleep regression following the baby’s arrival. This is very common, and it doesn’t mean that you’re doing anything wrong! There are several ways that you can help support them through this transition.
Regression after bringing home baby
Following your new baby’s arrival, your older child may not regress immediately. It could be weeks, a month, or longer before you start to see an impact. Some kid’s sleep is never impacted at all, but they may regress in their daytime behavior. If you don’t notice any change at all in your child’s behavior, consider yourself lucky! But if you do, these are some ways that the regression may present itself.
These sleep issues could be:
Fighting the bedtime routine
Stalling the bedtime routine/extra requests
Calling out to you after lights out
Getting out of bed after bedtime
Wanting to sleep in the bed with you
One on One Time
The early days of having a newborn at home can feel like a blur. Sometimes the whole day would go by and I would realize I never even looked in a mirror. 😅It’s important to dedicate some uninterrupted one on one time with your older child. Even if it’s 10 minutes a day, during a time when someone else is holding the newborn, or if your significant other is taking over after the baby is done feeding. You can read books together if that’s all you have the energy for, or invite them to curl up on the couch with you and chat. That special time when you only have eyes for the new big brother or sister can make a world of difference in their behavior. They know they are loved and taken care of, but sometimes in times of change little ones just need that extra attention to know that everything is okay.
Bedtime Routine
If your child is stalling bedtime or protesting it big time, try to start their bedtime routine 10-15 minutes earlier than usual. Spend some extra time winding down with them, playing quietly, just talking about their day, or getting lots of snuggles. I highly recommend using a visual checklist for toddlers and above so they can see what is happening next, and can take charge of telling you what is the next step. Toddlers seek to control their environment and that is one way that they can do just that.
Bedtime Pass
A bedtime pass is a great tool for a child that keeps getting out of bed wanting water, the potty, or their most favoritest stuffy in the whole wide world! You can make your own pass, or use some cute laminated print-out from the internet, but it’s important to stick to a “one time use” of the pass. If they want to use it for the potty or for some water, they can present the pass to you and once they use it, it’s time to stay in bed.
Moving older sibling to toddler bed before new baby: Yes or no?
Many people think they need to move their older child out of their crib and into a toddler bed before a new baby arrives. Unless your child is climbing out of their crib, and you’ve tried everything to deter them, or if they are 3+ years old, this is not something I would do. I’m “team crib ‘til college”, lol! Seriously though, when you have a new baby in the home, the last thing you need is to worry about the toddler roaming the house. If you need a place for the new baby to sleep, you can use a bassinet, a pack n’ play, or look on resale sites for an inexpensive crib. If you do choose to make the transition, try to avoid doing so in the 3 months surrounding the birth of a new sibling. This also applies to other major changes like potty training, if you can help it.
If you’re still struggling with sleep after a new sibling has arrived, check out the sleep tune up support options!
