Newborn Nap Tips for First Time Parents
New parents may think their baby will naturally get tired during the day, take naps and develop sleep patterns. While it might be true for a few parents, it’s not usually the case. Naptime is learning experience for babies and parents alike!
While having your baby sleeping through the night with a perfectly scheduled bedtime routine is not realistic, there are ways to make things easier. These newborn nap tips for new parents will help you both get some much needed sleep.
1 Consistent Sleep Schedule
One of the biggest baby sleep tips is being consistent with your routine. Consistency helps to sleep train your little one, so try to develop and stick to your nap schedule including your winding down routine.
At nap time, it helps to put them in the same spot, such as a crib or bassinet and try to keep it in the same room so the amount of light doesn't change. Laying them down to sleep at the same times each day helps newborn babies to learn from the repetition and adapt to the nap routine.
Winding Down Routine and Sleep Cues
Babies learn through repetition and sleep cues can help them to associate winding down time with sleeping. Sitting in the same chair to nurse or for feeding your baby, reading them a story or singing the same song to them will help baby to associate this routine with winding down and sleep.
2 Common Newborn Napping Mistakes To Avoid
When it comes to learning about newborns and how to get baby to nap, there is so much information on the web that it can overwhelm new parents. Here are 3 main mistakes you’ll want to avoid if your little one has trouble falling asleep.
1 Skipping daytime naps altogether.
2 Letting your baby nap for only a few minutes.
3 Skipping your nap routine when you're not at home.
4 Laying baby to sleep in different rooms
It can be tempting to let your little one guide the way and develop their own sleep habits, or skip the routine here and there. This will ultimately cause more sleep issues in the long run as your baby grows up.
3 Getting The Timing Right With Naps
One of the biggest mistakes is letting your baby get overtired. Waiting until they are exhausted often means they don't sleep at naptime at all. They become irritable and cry a lot when they don’t get their rest.
The aim is to put your baby down to sleep when they are drowsy rather than sleepy. Your activities in your naptime routine will help to give them sleep cues. This could be reading stories, dimming the lights or singing a soft lullaby will signal that it is naptime.
4 Create a Peaceful Mood
Speaking of lullabies, setting the mood is a great way to ensure your little one gets their nap in. Let them nap in the same place they sleep at night. Whether that is in a crib, cot, cot bed or moses basket. You could try a noise machine or other sleep accessory. Where possible, keep the room dark, cool and quiet, just as you would for their bedtime routine at night time. Getting baby to sleep on its back
Remember, there times will be times when baby doesn’t want to nap, and other times when they fall asleep easily. Just be consistent and don’t give up. You can do it!