Newborn Sleep Shaping

You know it is important for your newborn baby to start forming some early sleep habits early, but you also know that it is much too early for formal sleep training. The answer is Sleep Shaping! “Sleep Shaping” is not sleep training! Sleep Shaping refers to the foundational routines, rhythms, and skills that babies can be exposed to from birth-3 months of age to shape and mold their sleeping habits. Often, with good sleep shaping techniques, babies will not need sleep training when they are older, or sleep training will be a breeze because of the solid foundation set from the beginning! Sleep Shaping is comprised of many very small actions to encourage healthy sleep that when put together, make a big difference over time in setting up a foundation for independent sleep.

Well-rounded sleep shaping will do the following:

• Utilize effective, developmentally appropriate soothing techniques

• Create simple, consistent bedtime and naptime routines

• Recognize and respond to baby’s sleepy cues

• Form positive sleep associations

• Ensure that your baby is well rested and not overtired so that falling asleep is easy

Feeding Your Newborn

I would like to start out by saying that newborns eat a lot due to their tiny stomachs, so at first it may seem like you are constantly feeding them, but overtime they will be able to take larger feedings and space feedings further apart. I mention this first, because occasionally I meet a parent who is bewildered as to why their newborn baby is not sleeping at all during the night. It turns out some of these babies are hungry, and a hungry baby will just not settle. Follow these feeding recommendations, and if you notice hunger signs or your baby is just not settling and you suspect hunger, do not withhold a feeding! The goal is to try to balance feeding frequently enough so that your baby isn’t hungry with spacing feedings far enough apart so that your baby takes a full feeding and isn’t snacking.

Soothing Techniques

I am a big believer in using Dr. Harvey Karp’s “5 S’s” to soothe your newborn to sleep or when he is upset. Dr. Karp’s theory is that human babies are born 3-4 months (one trimester) too early, and during the fourth trimester, it is imperative to recreate the environment of the womb for ideal soothing. When you soothe your newborn using these techniques, you are actually developing a “soothing reflex” and helping him learn how it feels to be calmed and soothed.

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The Soothing Ladder

This is a visual that I developed to help you know how to encourage your newborn to fall asleep on her own at bedtime or for a nap and to respond to your newborn when they wake during the night. Remember, this is not the time for formal sleep training or any controlled crying! *Newborns do need to feed frequently, so if it is time for a feeding (it has been 2-3 hours since your baby last fed, depending on age), or you suspect hunger, do feed immediately. It is okay to let your baby fuss for a couple of minutes before beginning the soothing ladder. While trying to get comfortable, he may grunt, squirm, and kick his legs, or even cry at a low level. Once a newborn gets into a state of frantic crying it can be difficult to get him back to square one, so be sure to intervene before he gets too upset

Stay at each step of support until baby is calm or asleep. Go on to the next step if baby is not calming after 30-60 seconds or is becoming more upset.

Prevent Overtiredness by Following Wake Window Recommendations

One of the most important things for newborn babies to be able to sleep well is to make sure that they are not getting overtired. Start soothing your baby to sleep when you notice sleepy cues or when the maximum wake window recommendation expires, whichever comes first. Once your baby exceeds their max wake window, they may enter a state of overtiredness which makes them feel very uncomfortable and makes falling asleep difficult.

Newborn Wake Windows By Age

Newborn Sleepy Cues

Develop Positive Sleep Associations with a Bedtime Routine

I recommend starting a bedtime routine when your newborn is somewhere between 6-8 weeks of age. A bedtime routine is a simple, predictable set of steps that cue your baby’s brain that sleep is near. The steps in the bedtime routine become “positive sleep associations”--sleep cues that can be easily replicated and help the brain become calm and prepared for sleep. The bedtime routine is done in the baby’s sleep space in a calm, dimly lit environment. The bedtime feeding is included at the beginning of this routine, but if baby falls asleep while nursing, that’s ok right now too.

Sample Bedtime Routine for a Newborn:

Eat, Play, Sleep Routine

As they need to sleep and eat on demand, it is not developmentally appropriate for a 0-3 month old baby to be on a “schedule” yet. Rather, you can start to create some routines and rhythms to your day. During the first few weeks, your baby will seem to do little but eat and sleep. This is okay, and you just want to be sure your baby gets plenty of both rest and nutrition. An “Eat, Play, Sleep” routine can help you be successful with a daytime rhythm in these early months. This routine also helps to separate feeding and sleep, avoiding a feeding-to-sleep association.

Looking Ahead

Following these Sleep Shaping techniques when your baby is young will put you on the right path to healthy sleep for life! But remember to be patient with your newborn; it is about forming good habits with each small step, and change certainly doesn’t happen overnight. Once your baby is over 4 months of age, it is usually okay to start implementing more formal sleep training techniques to teach independent sleep, although many babies will continue to be fed at least once overnight until 5-6 months of age.

If you would benefit from more expert guidance with healthy sleep for your newborn, you can check out either a Sleep Shaping Consultation Package or my comprehensive Newborn Sleep Shaping Guide!

Once your baby is past the fourth trimester (over 4 months of age), and you need guidance with teaching independent sleep, please visit my website and reach out for support with a “Two Weeks to Sleep” Package!