Newborn Settling and Sleep Guide (0-3 months)

Categories: Guides, Newborn Sleep
Wishlist Share
Share Course
Page Link
Share On Social Media

About Course

In this comprehensive newborn sleep guide you will learn all you need to know to peacefully and successfully settle your little one off to sleep. No more overwhelm or second-guessing yourself Mama, follow this guide and you will set your little one up for great sleep!

What Will You Learn?

  • Safe sleep practices
  • Optimal Sleep Environment
  • Newborn Sleep Cycle
  • Wake Windows
  • Day Sleep Needs
  • Routines
  • Early Morning Wakes
  • Overnight Sleep
  • Feeding
  • Optimal Winding
  • How to Calm a Fussy Baby
  • Gentle Settling
  • Common Issues
  • Beyond 12 Weeks

Course Content

Hello and Welcome

  • Hello and Welcome

Sleep Environment and Safe Sleep
It is so important that we know about safe sleep first and foremost. The risk for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is drastically decreased if the following recommendations are followed.

Newborn Sleep Cycle

Understand Your Baby’s Cues

Wake Windows
What is a wake window? A wake window is the period of time when your baby wakes from a sleep, to when they go down for their next period of sleep. A wake time is important to get right, as it makes settling your baby easier, they feed better, take better naps, thereby having a more restful night sleep.

Day Sleep Needs

Routines
Following the suggested awake windows will help ensure that your little one does not enter the overtired zone and keeps them on track to sleep the ideal duration for each nap or overnight sleep. This is especially helpful if your baby has trouble falling or staying asleep. Routines are ideal if you want your day to be more predictable, whereas following awake windows can be helpful if you appreciate more flexibility in your schedule.

Early Morning Wakes

Overnight
You're not alone if you haven't gotten a full night's rest since giving birth to your baby or even more than a few hours at a time. This is a normal part of newborn sleep but there are things you can do to get longer stretches of sleep overnight.

Feeding
Feeding and sleeping go hand in hand - a hungry baby will not sleep well.

Optimal Winding
A baby who is well-winded is more settled, falls asleep more easily and sleeps for longer. They also tend to have less disturbed sleep in the early morning which is when their digestion kicks in.

How to Calm a Fussy Baby
As I discussed in an earlier topic, babies cry as a way to communicate. They cry to be fed, they cry because they are uncomfortable, they cry because they are tired and need to go down for a nap and they cry because they just want to be held.

Gentle Settling
Now that you know how to calm a fussy baby, the same strategies can be used to settle your little one to sleep. Until closer to 4 months, your baby doesn’t have the neurological ability to self-settle and cry-based methods are futile and inappropriate but by using some of the aforementioned methods, you can get your little one used to falling asleep in their cot with your help. This gentle settling method is called the “shush-pat” method.

Common Issues

Beyond 12 Weeks

Frequently Asked Questions