5 Case study: baby Max, 4 weeks. 7 Setting up the sleep environment. 9 Case study: baby Holly, 7 weeks. 12 Your baby will not settle or sleep if

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2 CONTENTS 3 Introduction 4 Sleep vs awake time 5 Case study: baby Max, 4 weeks 6 Good sleep habits 7 Setting up the sleep environment 9 Case study: baby Holly, 7 weeks 10 Settling techniques 12 Your baby will not settle or sleep if 1

3 INTRODUCTION Congratulations you are an expectant or new mother! Welcome to the complex world of baby sleep This is something that will govern your life for the next few years, so it is important you re off to a good start. This guide will direct you towards how to set up the perfect sleep environment and habits with your newborn baby. It contains advice around settling techniques, general baby sleep information and case studies to ensure your fist few months with your little one are as smooth as they can be. PLEASE NOTE: *at all times we recommend using safe sleeping practices with your baby. *the information contained in this document is not a substitute for medical advice or care and you should always seek the advice of your healthcare professional if you suspect your baby is unwell. *this Guide is a product in itself and does not come with additional support or consultancy services of any kind. * If you choose to not follow part or all of the information/pattern/guide, that is entirely your choice, however Little Ones is not accountable for the products not working for you in this case. 2

4 SLEEP vs AWAKE TIMES Newborn babies can t stay awake for very long, especially when they re brand new. They get overtired and over stimulated easily and this makes it hard for them to wind down, settle and sleep. This is the reason many newborn babies cry and it often gets mistaken for hunger, colic, reflux or wind. Awake times do lengthen very quickly though and an awake time for a 1-week old baby will be vastly different to the awake time for a 5-week old baby. It can be tricky to get this balance right or to know what to look out for as signs your baby needs to be awake for longer. The best place to start is for your baby to naturally follow our Sleeping and Feeding Guides; this takes the guesswork out and ensures they are having the right amount of awake time, daytime sleep and they are getting enough milk and/or food during the day. This will make also settling a lot easier because your baby will have a full tummy and be ready for sleep, so you avoid putting them down when they re not quite tired enough or still hungry and then wonder why they won t go to sleep! 3

5 Case Study Baby Max, 4 weeks old Max s mum contacted us because, despite Max being her second baby, she was really struggling with his sleep. She had learnt from her first baby that newborns get overtired really easily and this affects their ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, so she was trying to put Max down for his naps after only an hour of awake time. He wasn t settling well, lying in his bassinet wide awake, happy and not going to sleep no matter what poor mum did. Needless to say his mum was getting incredibly frustrated, especially with an energetic toddler to also chase around. We quickly ascertained that Max was being put to bed too early, after not having had enough awake time to make him ready for sleep. We told mum to follow our Sleeping and Feeding Guide closely and stretch out Max s awake time as per the Guide, which meant moving from 1 hour of being awake between naps to 1 hour 45 minutes. It only took two days before mum was able to put Max in his bed, awake but definitely ready for sleep and he happily drifted off by himself in record timing! Being ready for sleep at the right times meant Max was far easier to settle, able to go to sleep on his own without mum rocking or feeding him and he then slept for longer periods, getting good quality naps. Mum contacted us a few weeks later to say how much Max s day sleep had improved and he was now also sleeping through the night! 4

6 GOOD SLEEP HABITS Babies are born knowing nothing about sleep; they rely on us to teach them good sleep habits. Babies under the age of 4 months are actually incapable of any form of sleep training and so at this age, teaching good sleep habits is the most important thing: ü Aim to let your baby sleep in their own bed for at least one nap a day. They will start to learn this is a safe place where they sleep. ü Have a wind-down period before each nap. This will become a strong cue to your baby as they get older that sleep is approaching. ü Start as you mean to continue! Be consistent with your approach to your baby s sleep, have high expectations, stay calm and your baby will respond well. ü Have a bedtime routine this might consist of a bath, PJs, milk feed, story or song, cuddle then into bed. ü Separate feeding from sleeping feed your baby when they wake rather than when they re due to sleep. This will avoid creating a feed-to-sleep association which is hard to break further down the track. 5

7 SETTING UP THE SLEEP ENVIRONMENT Along with following our Sleeping and Feeding Guide, the next important step towards better sleep is to create the perfect sleep environment for your little one; the ideal conditions to encourage sleep. Here is our essential list to achieve this: A completely dark room Babies sleep better in a completely dark room; they find the dark very comforting. White noise Hearing loud white noise is very calming for babies and helps block out other household noises. Swaddling Swaddling replicates the tight, confined feeling of being in the womb and ensures babies can t wake themselves up with their startle reflex. Room temperature 6

8 Babies sleep best in a room that is between degrees. We advise always dressing and swaddling your baby with natural fibres only cotton, wool, merino and bamboo. These fabrics will allow your baby s skin to breathe and reduce the risk of them overheating. Never use polyester, fleece, polar fleece or other synthetic or man-made fabrics in your baby s bed. Make the room boring! Remove anything from your baby s sleep environment that is not completely conducive to sleep - excessive toys and musical mobiles are often a hindrance to a baby s ability to settle and sleep well. Use a monitor Using a baby monitor is a really good way to know what your baby is doing! A video monitor is a great option, if you can afford it. 7

9 Case Study Baby Holly, 10 weeks old Little Holly was not sleeping well for her poor mum! She had started on one of our Sleeping and Feeding Guides, so we knew her nap times and milk feeds were spot on. Holly just wouldn t settle well and, once asleep, would often wake part way into her nap. Holly s mum had been told that her baby likely had infant reflux and should be medicated, but. After some Q & A with her mum, we worked out that Holly s sleep environment needed some tweaking. She was sleeping in a bright room and had a musical toy her mum switched on for her naps and at night. Holly was also in a baby sleeping bag. We recommended blacking out the room completely, which Holly s mum achieved by hanging a dark sheet under her curtains. We advised her mum to remove the musical toy for sleep (as that was overstimulating little Holly) and use our Baby Sleep Shhh track instead. We suggested she also go back to tightly swaddling Holly for all sleeps and save the sleeping bag for when Holly was closer to 5 months and ready to be weaned off the swaddle. Within a matter of days Holly was settling easily and sleeping for the right amount of time at each nap and, consequently, much better overnight. Needless to say, the reflux prescription was never filled! 8

10 SETTLING TECHNIQUES Newborn babies often need help to settle to sleep. Prior to 3 months, it is fine to assist your baby to sleep if they need it. Remember to aim for your baby to have at least one nap a day in their bed. Settling your baby in their bed helps teach them that this is the place they go to sleep, rather than in your arms or while feeding. Movement: Movement is a really effective tool, especially if your baby is overtired or unsettled. Patting/Tapping: This is mimicking the heartbeat sensation they would have been exposed to constantly in the womb. Shushing: Shushing triggers the calming reflex in babies brains. We recommend our Baby Sleep Shhh track available on Spotify, itunes or Google Play Store. Sucking: Dummies can be really effective tools to help babies settle and sleep the desire to suck is very strong in babies and they find sucking incredibly calming 9

11 The winning combination The most successful settling technique for younger babies is combining the above methods. We call this the side settling method. This is especially effective for an overtired or overstimulated baby. Here is what you d do: 1. Swaddle baby tightly 2. Put her in a dark room 3. Play loud white noise, or use our Baby Sleep Shhh track 4. Put baby in her bassinet and roll her onto her side, supporting her tummy/side with one hand 5. With the other hand, rhythmically pat (quite forcefully) her bottom in an upwards motion 6. At the same time, if possible, rock the bassinet in a rhythmic motion 7. If you don t have the Shhh audio track, you can replicate this by shhh-ing loudly in baby s ear while doing the patting and rocking 8. Once asleep, roll baby onto her back. We have an instructional video of this method here 10

12 YOUR BABY WILL NOT SETTLE OR SLEEP IF: They re not tired enough For the perfect awake times per age, we recommend using our Sleeping and Feeding Patterns. They re too tired We advise using the correct awake time window for your baby s age to avoid overtiredness in the first place! They ve had too much sleep If your baby has too much sleep in the day they won t settle easily or sleep for longer periods overnight. They are hungry Hungry babies will not sleep! 11

13 They have wind Make sure your baby is well winded/burped after each feed, especially if feeding overnight. Temperature Babies can easily become too hot or too cold. They are sick If you notice a sudden change to your baby s sleep habits, such as sudden early waking, not settling well or suddenly waking between sleep cycles when they have previously been able to self-settle, they are likely unwell. Take them to the doctor and get them checked out before you start looking at other reasons for their waking. 12

14 Thank you for choosing Little Ones! To get your baby sleeping better, instantly download our Newborn Program Now! 13