A Free Guide to Newborn Sleep

Helping your baby become a confident sleeper, is a gift that will last them a lifetime. But, with all the contradictory information out there, it can be difficult to know where to start.

Strong sleep foundations

By simply responding to our babies when they need us, we help them feel safe and secure, the two most important conditions for sleep.

For now, focus on getting to know your baby and enjoy those sweet cuddles!

If you want to help your baby build strong sleep foundations here’s what you can do

• Help your baby sleep before they are overtired. Look out for early sleep cues, such as staring or glazed eyes

• Create a predictable sleep routine that you enjoy

• Encourage regular naps. Day time sleep encourages night time sleep!

• Once a day, pop your baby in the cot and stay next to her, show her you are calm. This will help her build positive associations with the cot

• Help your baby sleep indoors and out

• Become familiar with baby’s sleep needs from evidence-based sources such as Basis

Myth-busting

As if parenting isn’t hard enough and we don’t constantly doubt ourselves, the world is ready with old fashioned, disproven advice. Here are some gems…

• You’re giving your baby bad habits

This is normally dished out to parents who rock, feed, shush their baby to sleep.

Fact:

In the uterus, your baby was constantly being rocked, feeding and hearing whooshing sounds. You are helping your baby have a gradual transition from womb

to world

• You are spoiling your baby

The suggestion here is that your newborn baby knows how to manipulate you to get what he wants. I despair…

Fact:

Babies cannot be spoilt. Their brain is too immature for calculated, spoilt behaviour. Being spoilt would mean your baby understands how their behaviour affects your actions, and pretend cries. Your baby will stop crying when picked up because she has evolved to be close to you where, back in the good old cave

days, she was far more likely to survive. You cannot undo what humans have evolved to do, not matter what Aunty Janet says…

• You must teach your baby to self soothe. Parents are often told that babies learn to sleep by self-soothing. However, this is based on outdated, harsh, sleep training methods.

Fact:

The evidence is clear for babies, the area of the brain responsible for self-soothing is not fully developed.

Therefore, allowing babies to cry unattended, in the hope they self-soothe is pointless.

In fact, it can be damaging as they fall asleep feeling unsafe and unheard, which will increase their cortisol levels.

So, when someone asks how your baby is sleeping, simply smile and say

“She sleeps like a baby”

Self-care

Have you heard friends saying ‘my baby comes first’? I worry when I hear parents, in particular mums, say this. I would suggest ‘My baby and I come first’ as Mum and baby function as one. Always putting your baby first can leave you depleted and anxious. And guess who will still need you when you’re overwhelmed from lack of sleep and putting yourself at the bottom of the list? Yep, your baby.

Your baby will interpret their world through you (no pressure, right?). If you are feeling anxious your baby might become grouchy, which in turn, will make you more anxious. Without realising you might enter a downward spiral. You and your baby have evolved to function as one. Take care of yourself as you do your baby.

If you are feeling low, consider accessing NHS Talking Therapies and please visit the Lullaby Trust for evidence-based information on safe sleep.

You can download a FREE shareable PDF of this and many other resources here and listen to Marta offering her top tips for sleep HERE.

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Marta Gardner is a leading Sleep Consultant and mum of three. For over ten years Marta has relished being able to help hundreds of parents just like you, to support their children to become independent sleepers, without tears. The no tears methods Marta uses are age-appropriate, tailored to your child, evidence-based and compatible with responsive parenting.

With Marta’s support, you will become confident identifying when your baby needs to sleep. This will result in a predictable routine that you are both happy with and your baby will be able to sleep soundly in their cot.

https://www.martagardnersleepconsultant.com

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