Sleep is a need to be the best and most sane parent you can be.
Once you leave the hospital, unless you have a ‘village’ to aid you, lack of sleep will hit quickly. And it is not the new addition’s intention not to sleep well, please keep that in mind. Though this only goes on for a short time before they are sleeping through the night, it can feel like an eternity.
So, how much sleep should they get?
- Newborns (0 to 3 months): 11 to 17 hours per day. They should not sleep for more than 3 hours at a time because they need food and frequent changings.
- Babies (4 to 12 months): 12 to 16 hours, including naps. By this time, they should be sleeping through the night or at least giving you some 6 hour stretches when they are put to bed.
What simple changes can increase sleep and decrease anxiety for bedtime?
The easiest first step we have found to insure the little one goes down when he is tired and as often as he needs is with the Huckleberry App. We knew about this app before we gave birth and started to use it right away. Even though he was still waking up at night, I had less anxiety about it because I knew roughly when he would. It made it possible to nap when he did as well, which people always like to tell new parents.
The app is free to use as a tracker for feeding (bottle, breast feeding and solids), diapering/potty, medicine, growth tracking, baby’s activities and pumping. In order to get the expert sleep help, you have to subscribe to the sleep plan with ‘SweetSpot’. How much is more sleep worth? $9.99 a month, or they discount it if you pay the annual.
We tried creating a routine based on just a pattern of activities such as food, bath time, story and then bed. But some nights, bath time would wake him up more. Other nights he would have acid reflux and get sick from the activity of bath time (often in the bath). Find the patterns that work for your unique kiddo and log it so the app can help you see what is actually working.
F.O.M.O (Fear of missing out) Babies
The F.O.M.O baby is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to sleep because they need to be over stimulated to go down but not too much that they become overly tired. Taping into all their senses is the best way to do this. Sounds, making the room as dark as you can while still being able to see, motion and even scents can achieve this. Aside from a fully belly, comfy bed and clean diaper, my best suggestions that we still use are below.
Sound is another thing that helps little one to go to sleep. We have found a portable and adorable solution for this. The ears adjust the volume. The paws have different sounds. The right foot paw (we use the most) has the hushing and heartbeat sound. The left foot paw lights up the tummy with a warm red light. This takes 3 AA batteries which come with the toy and it has a Velcro strap on the back to attach it to the crib.
Scents and the environment’s air quality is one of the least considered parts of this equation. If it is too dry, the baby can get a sore throat, stuffy nose and genuinely fuss because they are not comfortable. Consider a humidifier perhaps with lavender scent to sooth them to sleep. We have the flame one below because we can set it to a red light for being able to change our son at night without waking him and it doesn’t bother our sleep.
Our Owlet camera system tells us the temperature near the crib and the humidity. This also provides us the information we need to properly dress our baby for bed. Just because the thermostat says a temperature, doesn’t mean that is what it is in the nursery. It has many other features such as the ability to see if your baby is moving or crying in the dark. If you are like me, you sometimes think you hear your little one when they are not even crying. Saving me from needlessly getting out of bed so I can fall back to sleep faster is a thankful bonus.
Function over fashion, though these are cute
What to wear to dreamland is just as important to their ability to self-sooth once they are in their crib or bassinet. Newborns should not have anything in their cribs with them for safety against S.I.D.S. so using a swaddle is the best way to keep them warm and sooth them. This is usually taught in birthing classes or at the hospital by the nurses, but there are simple options that take less time and make it easier to access for changing diapers in the middle of the night.
We have used and still use 2 different swaddles. Our baby is not rolling over yet, so we have his arms secured at night. Swaddelini (we saw the brand in TikTok) was our first choice because it is stretchy for movement but also stops him from knocking his pacifier out at night which normally would wake him up. My mother in law mananged to put our son’s arms up through the sleeves instead of down as it will show on the site, so it can be done if you like it that way.
Second choice was a TikTok viral purchase because the moms I follow use it, Love to Dream swaddle. We have 4 of these, no lie, they are amazing. This is what I put him in for nap times because it is convenient with the double zippers to change him. You can shop their Amazon store by stage or by TOG (which is the temperature rating) so finding a light weight one for our newborn to sleep in the summer was easy. Then we got central air and had to get heavier ones.
A new way to rock them to sleep
Motion is another item to discuss because many babies prefer some form of movement to settle themselves. This could be rocking or the vibration of a car engine, but let’s face it, we cannot do that 100% of the time. At first we used a back massage turtle that vibrates and lights up, but it is loud and doesn’t have adjustable settings. Then we got a playpen that included a clip on device that I cannot seem to find sold separately. (I need one for the other playpen) So this was the next best thing. You put it under the mattress cover and it gives them the same sensation as a car engine vibrating to lull them to sleep.
Lastly, is a preference because our baby had acid reflux and trouble with gas. We still give him the Mommy Bliss Night Time Gripe Water. It does not have melatonin in it so it will not change their sleep pattern. We use the daytime version as well because he gets very angry at hiccups to the point he will throw a temper tantrum. It is not a laxative either but helps to move the gas along. We noticed he had stopped bringing his legs up when he slept the first night we started using this and I heard him make less active noises. (which would normally wake me up to check on him before it became a full on cry)
I know you will find one or more of these items help your little one sleep better. If it helped you, it will help others, so please share it. I have hosted many LIVE TikToks to share these tips to help parents get more sleep. #selfcare and #mentalhealth
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