Sleep hygiene for a newborn are practices or habits that assist your child to sleep well on a regular basis. These practices can be implemented from birth. Suggestions include;
Maintain safe sleep recommendations to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by ensuring your baby sleeps in a safe cot in the parent’s room for the first 6-12 months of life. Other recommendations include:
- Placing your newborn to sleep on their back every time
- Position your baby’s feet at the bottom of the cot
- Placing your newborn on a firm mattress in their own bed
- Tucking blankets in firmly or use a safe baby sleeping bag
- Keep their head/face uncovered
- No pillows, toys, or cot bumpers in the cot
- Breastfeeding if possible
- Maintain a smoke free environment
NOTE: Refer to https://rednose.com.au/ for further advice on safe sleeping and before following any advice given by With A Midwives Help.
Swaddling your baby to sleep (up until approximately 16 weeks) is effective for comfort, eliminating the startle reflex and avoiding the baby from scratching themselves (Harp, 2002). Refer to https://rednose.com.au/section/safe-wrapping for further information on safe wrapping.
Your child does not have to sleep in silence. White noise is encouraged, particularly in the first 12 weeks. As the effects of white noise reminds the newborn of similar sounds heard in the uterus and furthermore, creating a calm and familiar environment for sleep. It too blocks out louder household noises. Start to wean from the monitor after three months as a way to gradually introduce your child to normal household sounds (West et al. 2010).
Bedtime routine and calming rituals assist in your baby falling asleep. These routines should be started before sleepy signs turn into overtired signs and ideally should commence 10 - 15mins prior to putting a baby into bed. We aim for a relaxed state prior to putting them down to bed and this will also create a good association for sleep.
- REDUCE extra stimulation i.e. toys, lots of people, television. This aims to create a relaxed environment prior to bed. The bedroom too, should be quiet (other than white noise playing). This eliminates any confusion that bedtime is for awake time/playtime.
- DARKNESS IN BEDROOM, as this promotes the hormone melatonin, which creates a state of drowsiness in the baby. We recommend 10/10 darkness for complete effectiveness. Try to have the bedroom at a nice comfortable temperature, between 18 - 23 degrees is ideal.
- BATHE your baby. This too creates a relaxed state and encourages a positive association with sleep. One bath a day is enough for babies and ideally at night time, as it is a very effective way to relax a baby for the night time. Massage is also suggested to soothe the baby after a bath. TIP: Try to use easily absorbable oil, so it doesn’t need to be washed off.
- SWADDLE your baby (or use age appropriate sleeping bag)
- READ a book
- SING a lullaby, favourite song or hum prior to bed.
- Using a PHRASE or word to initiate bedtime is also effective. For example; “Good night, I love you” or “See you in the morning” etc. Remember to be consistent with every bedtime.
- Try to put baby DOWN TO BED AWAKE. This encourages self-soothing.
Encourage napping during the day. Naps are beneficial to your baby’s overall health. The better rested they are, the more easily sleep comes. Newborn babies need 16-18 hours’ sleep over a 24 hour period. This amount of sleep is broken throughout the day and night. In the first 4 weeks of life, ‘awake time’ for a newborn is between 40-60 minutes (Prudue, 2018).
Newborns do not form a biological clock (also known as a circadian rhythm) until about 3-4 months of age (Prudue, 2018). Up until this time, it is normal for your baby to feed and sleep any hour of the day and night. Strict routine is not expected during this time. However, ways to commence a healthy and consistent sleep/wake routine from birth may include:
- Expose your baby to natural light as much as possible during the day. This produces the hormone cortisol which will later convert to melatonin for sleep time (Weissbluth, 2015).
- Entrain your baby with food, light, and socialisation during the day. This will promote awake time. During the night, encourage feeding when needed, minimal light (avoid stimulation) and minimise socialisation (this is a distraction for sleep).
- Create a soothing bedtime routine, over 10-15 minutes. (Suggestions listed above).
- In the first three weeks of life, have you newborn sleep in light during the day. For example, place a sleeping baby in the lounge room or in the bedroom with the curtains open (Purdue, 2018). Block out any light at night. This will entrain you baby to learn the difference between night and day.
- Start implementing a dark and boring room for every sleep (day or night) from 3 weeks of life. This is because maternal melatonin is no longer in the baby’s system and they tend to be very unsettled (Purdue, 2018). By having a dark room, you are eliminating any distractions for sleep.
Dummy use can be a ‘controversial’ topic. Do what feels right for your child and your family. Dummies are safe and are effective for settling a newborn, as it ignites the calming reflex. Sucking soothes a newborn. I suggest establishing good breast milk supply prior to dummy use; this may take 6 weeks to achieve. NOTE: Never substitute a dummy for a feed.
For further information and sleep support please contact 0434 602 016. All sleep plans are gentle and age appropriate.
Cara x
References
Karp, H (2003). The Happiest Baby on the Block. Random House.
Purdue, E (2018). Lecture 2: Newborn Sleep Part 1. Lecture Notes, Newborn Sleep. Baby Sleep Consultant Training, delivered 12 July, 2018.
Weissbluth, W (2015). Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Ballantine Books.
West, K & Kenen, J (2010). The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight. Da Capo Life Long.