9 Amazing Newborn Sleep Tips That Work

Hey girl, today let's chat about the best newborn sleep tips.

Bringing home a new baby is exciting and exhausting, and if you’re anything like me you are trying to do all the research you can about newborn sleep tips.  You want your baby to sleep so you can too!!

As a mom of 4 myself and a home daycare provider, I am giving you the top newborn sleep tips that I swear by.

You are going to learn about where your newborn should sleep, what to do when they wake in the middle of the night, how to set up a great bedtime routine for them, and so much more.

After you learn about all of these newborn sleep tips, you will be more prepared to help your baby get the best night sleep they can.

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1. Where to Sleep

If your bedroom is a little bit away from the nursery and you are worried about not hearing your baby, there are amazing baby monitors to choose from these days. 

One of the best decisions my husband and I made and stuck by hard was that our kids sleep in their own beds.  We all have gotten better sleep because of this.

Like I said, I have 4 kids and the oldest is 11.  I can count the number of times on 1 hand that one of our kids has slept in our bed with us.

2. Have a Bedtime Routine

Setting up a bedtime routine for your newborn is so important but it will take time for your baby to get the hang of it. 

You do not need to start this routine right away.  You are going to be exhausted and your newborn is going to want to eat and sleep whenever they want to.

Work on starting a routine after they are about 2 to 3 weeks old. 

Everything about this bedtime routine should be calm and relax.  You are getting them ready for bed.

A simple bedtime routine can go something like this:

• Bath
• Lotion and gentle massage
• Pajamas
• Swaddle (I talk about the best one below)
• Turn down the lights and turn on the noise machine (I talk about the best one below)
• Bedtime feeding
• Put your newborn into their bed

Go catch some sleep yourself, I know you want to!  And you earned it.  Being a mom is tough stuff.

3. Swaddle Blankets

4. Room Temperature

This is just from my personal experience.  Someone else may tell you something completely different.

If possible, set the temperature in your baby’s bedroom to be 68 - 73°F.  Remember, they can’t have blankets yet and they will let you know by wailing that they are cold.

5. Keep the Room Dark

Make sure your baby’s bedroom is fairly dark when they are sleeping, even for naps.  This may mean you need to get blackout curtains.

When your baby needs you in the middle of the night, you don’t want to turn the top light or even a lamp on.  This will cue to your baby that it is time to get up.

You can have a nightlight that plugs into an outlet.  I recommend this actually! 

These are great nightlights and I have them in multiple areas of my home.  They give off enough light that you can see what you are doing.

6. Sound Machine

I can not stress this enough, get a noise machine or have soft music playing. 

If you leave it dead quite while your baby is sleeping, that is what they will expect all the time.  Even during nap time.

Do you really want to be tip toeing around your house whenever they are sleeping?  I sure didn’t.

This sound machine is amazing!

7. Put Your Baby Into Bed Before He Falls Asleep

I can not stress this enough, get a noise machine or have soft music playing. 

If you leave it dead quite while your baby is sleeping, that is what they will expect all the time.  Even during nap time.

Do you really want to be tip toeing around your house whenever they are sleeping?  I sure didn’t.

This sound machine is amazing!

8. Don't Rock Your Newborn To Sleep

While you are getting in the last snuggles of the day with your newborn, don’t rock them.  I know it is calming for both of you but try hard.

I can’t remember where I heard this but I tried it with my 4^th and it works!  And then I was like, I wish I would have know this with my 1^st baby.

Think about this for a second: if you were used to being rocked to sleep every night, wouldn’t you want to continue to be rocked to sleep every night?  Your baby will too, and expect it – even in the middle of the night.

You want to make it so eventually they can get to sleep on their own!

9. If Your Newborn Wakes Up In The Night

Sorry to break it to you but your newborn won’t sleep through the night for at least the first 6 weeks, and that is being generous. 

So, when they do wake up in the night, there are some things you can do to help them go back to sleep pretty quick.

First thing first - Keep it dark.  Do NOT turn on a lamp or top light.  Once you do, your newborn is going to think it is day and want to get up.

Second, your newborn is awake to tell you something.  Either they need a fresh diaper, or they are hungry, or more often they are both. 

So, change them and feed them then try to put them back down before they are fully asleep so they can learn to go to sleep on their own.

When to Consult Your Doctor

There may be a time where none of the above will work because something is going on with your newborn.  At this point you should contact your doctor.  They are there to help you.

The following are a few examples. 

If your baby is hungry all the time, like day and night.  And I mean all the time for more than a week.  If it is less than a week, your baby is probably going through a growth spurt.

My second baby ate every 2 hours around the clock for 4 months.  Yes, you read that right!  I was nursing him so I was exhausted. 

At his 4 month checkup, we found out he wasn’t gaining weight – breastfeeding was not what he needed.  I was disappointed but knew we needed to make a change for him.

So, I stopped and picked up this formula on my way home.  Guess what, he gained over 6 pounds in 6 weeks.  And he was sleeping through the night!

If your baby is fussy all night.  A good friend of mine had this happen to her son. 

Turned out he had acid reflux any time he way laying completely flat.  She worked with her doctor to figure out a better but still safe position for him to sleep, along with some medicine.

A Little Gift For Yourself

I spent a ton of time being stationary with nursing and bottle feeding my 4 kids  and was looking for something to do.  Cruising the web and watching movies got pretty old for me fast.  And the screen time would distract my babies from eating.

Finally, I caved and bought a Kindle.  Let me tell you Mama, I didn’t know why I waited so long.  This is the most used item I have owned!