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I want to share with you 5 steps you can start to take to prepare for your baby’s arrival at home and for creating a health, safe sleep environment.
Nothing can truly ever prepare you for how much a baby will change your whole life, life as you knew it completely changes and to be honest, while you are pregnant, the one thing we just can’t visualise is how a baby won’t sleep! If you are reading this and pregnant then you are just like I was, researching and reading all I could to prepare for my baby’s first day at home! Well, 11 years later I can honestly say nothing prepared me enough for all my little girl had in store for me!
I want to share with you 5 steps you can start to take to prepare for your baby’s arrival at home and for creating a health, safe sleep environment.
Feeding - Now that the Placenta is no longer there to nourish your baby, it is your responsibility to take over the feeding and nourishment. Food and sleep are basic human needs therefore none outweighs the other and it is crucial that you follow the medical practitioners’ advice with regards to how often you feed your baby. The first month or so a 2-3 hourly feeding pattern is established. With this in mind, I do always recommend that my clients teach their baby to be flexible, therefore introducing a bottle early on to give mum a chance to have dad or other family members help at times when your body simply needs a break! For instance, you could have help with some of the night feeds or early morning feeds.
Sleep – Another basic human need that will 100% be flipped 180 degrees from how you once knew it to be! Trust me when I say sleep is s basic human need and must always be a top priority in your family’s health and well being. The best preparation you can do is knowing the value of sleep and how much baby will need!
A newborn baby needs 15-18 hours total sleep which is distributed across the day and night, with nighttime being the longest stretch.
Birth – At 6 weeks old a baby will need 4-6 naps a day, the naps can last 30 minutes to 3 hours total, they will have an awake window of 45 minutes to an hour with total night sleep being 10-12 hours.
Follow this to help get your baby into a healthy sleep routine that is in line with their natural internal body clock. One thing I can assure you is you can’t fight against the internal clock and the key is to work with it and not against it!
Create a healthy sleep environment
One of the biggest mistake parents make is creating what I call a “funfair atmosphere” in their baby’s room. I know, I know… It’s tempting to cover the walls with all those adorable 3d murals, hang a cute musical mobile over the cot and even fill the shelves and cot with stuffed animals. But trust me when I tell you that -- when it comes to baby’s rooms -- less is always more. The simple reason is that all of this extra “stuff” can be distracting (or downright overstimulating) for a baby. And the last thing you want to deal with at bedtime is an overstimulated baby! So, my advice here is to declutter your baby’s room. Or, at the very least, declutter the cot.
When it comes to your baby’s cot, remember that “Bare is Best.” Not only does this create a much more calming sleep space, it’s actually much safer, too!
SIDS guidelines recommends a bare cot until 12 months old, always place baby on their back and use a sleep sac, no bumpers, pillows or rolled blankest/padding.
The mattress needs to be firm, flat and waterproof.
Create a healthy routine:
A baby thrives on routine and believe me when I say I am no way trying to make your life difficult, if anything my passion is to help you and make it more stress free and actually help how you baby will communicate with you those early days, months or even years before they learn spoken language! Cues and body language are the only way baby will know what is coming next. Those early weeks are a big transitional period for both you and baby and you are all getting to know each other. The first key step in a healthy routine is having a set start of day, baby’s circadian rhythm will start to shift and evolve to mirror yours from the moment they arrive therefore, you starting a routine will help this shift.
Have a set start of day time, a great time I recommend to my clients that is in line with the internal clock is between 6-7am, any earlier is a no as far as I’m concerned and all feeds prior to that time need to be treated as night feeds. From that point all feeds, play and sleeps will be treated as “day activity” so plenty of light, living area environment and great household noises and activities going! Enjoy your baby!
You will then need to have a set end of day time, and I always recommend you have a time that you will follow as bedtime and end of day.
Make sure that this routine is the same every single time. Remember, you want bedtime to be as predictable as possible for your child! A newborn baby will thrive on early bedtime therefore between 6-7pm is a good time to aim for. From that point all feeds, awake time and back to sleep will be treated as middle of the night sleep activities. Keep things calm and very low key when baby wakes for the feeds and nappy changes required through the night.
It is never too early to teach your baby healthy sleep habits! Baby’s come here a blank canvas and open to learning what we are here to teach them and vice versa they are here too to teach us! When the time comes choose what “sleep vehicles” you want you baby to use for their sleep journey. I always recommend teaching Independent sleep skills as that is the only way baby will learn to experience consolidated quality sleep experience that they truly deserve for their health and well being.
“Judy Clark Owner and Founder of BabyWinkz Consultancy is UK’s First Leading Sleep Sense Certified Sleep Consultant. Judy works with newborns, children and adults helping them establish healthy sleep habits. Customised to each individual family, Judy works alongside parents to devise a plan they are comfortable with and understand. The follow up support she offers is key to success and is in contact with them daily giving guidance and support."
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