Welcoming your newborn baby can be very exciting, but some parents and caregivers get anxious about sleep deprivation in the early months of their child’s life, and they are correct to be concerned: in the first few weeks of an infant’s life, many sleep for very short stretches overnight and need a lot of support with their sleep. You need all the newborn sleep tips you can get your hands on!

Despite many babies not being born great sleepers, there is so much that we can do as parents and caregivers to establish long-term, healthy sleep habits right from birth.

Newborn Sleep Tips

Tip 1: Ensure a full tummy

It’s no secret that a hungry child will not sleep well. In turn, sleepy babies don’t feed well either. In the first couple of weeks of life, focus on full feedings. Ensure that your baby feeds regularly, on-demand (based on their hunger cues) and that their weight gain and overall health status is on track. If you are ever unsure about their hunger or the efficiency of their feeds, check-in with their doctor or a feeding specialist like a Lactation Consultant. I also recommend waking babies up from daytime naps that are exceeding two hours in any single stretch, even from the very beginning. This not only helps ensure they are getting regular feeds but also helps to correct day/night confusion by keeping homeostatic sleep pressure (your baby’s drive to sleep) high enough at night.

Read the full article here.

Happy sleeping, parents!

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