Newborn

Sleep Guide
YOUR FREE E-BOOK
In this e-book...
The importance of awake times

Case study: baby Max, 4 weeks

Good sleep habits

Setting up the sleep environment

Case study: baby Holly, 10 weeks

Napping

Settling techniques
Introduction
Congratulations you are an
the perfect sleep

expectant or new mother!

environment and habits

Welcome to the complex

with your newborn baby. It

world of baby sleep… This

contains advice around

is something that will

settling techniques, general

govern your life for the

baby sleep information and

next few years, so it is

case studies to ensure your

important you’re off to a

fist few months with your

good start. little one are as smooth as

they can be.

This guide will direct you

towards how to set up

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The Importance of
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.

If an awake time is too long for your baby's age,

they will become overtired and hard to settle. If an

awake time is too short, the same thing will

happen!
Babies who do not have enough awake time

across the whole day will not settle to sleep

easily at night-time (this is called the witching

hour) and can wake more overnight or stay

awake for long periods in the night.

Awake times are the key to sleep success for

naps and night sleep.

It is important to remember that as your baby

grows, so too will their awake windows. For

very young babies these will need to be

extended every couple of weeks to match

their physical development.

Our Newborn Sleep Program helps you get

the awake times right for your baby's age.

 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 Sleep Program

closely and stretch out Max’s awake time as per the Program,

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!
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:

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.

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.

Have a bedtime routine – this might consist of a bath,

PJs, milk feed, story or song, cuddle then into bed.

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.
Sleep Environment
A baby's sleep environment can have a big impact on their

ability to settle easily and sleep well. Whether your baby

is sleeping in your room or they're in their own room, here are

some ways to make their sleeping space sleep-inducing:

A Dark Room
Avoid the use of nightlights or stimulating toys

and mobiles. The dark promotes the release of

sleep hormones and will help your baby settle

well and sleep for longer periods.

White Noise
Use continuous white noise for the duration of
your baby's naps and night time sleep. We have
an excellent selection on iTunes and Spotify.
Swaddle
Use a swaddle for all sleeps as this helps your
baby settle easier and sleep better.

Safety
At all times we recommend safe sleep
practices: sleep baby on their back with
their face clear of loose blankets or toys.

Room Temperature
Experts recommend your baby's room
be around 20 degrees C (68 F).
Case Study
Baby Holly, 10 weeks old

Little Holly was not sleeping well for her poor mum! She had
started on our Sleep Program, 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!

Refusing to Nap?
Babies who refuse to nap can end up very overtired and

make settling even more difficult! Here are the main

reasons for nap refusal:

Your baby is already overtired. Reduce their awake

times and get them to sleep however you can!

Your baby is undertired and not ready for sleep. Extend

their awake times gradually.

Your baby's sleep environment is too stimulating. Make

it darker and turn on the white noise!

Your baby is still hungry or has trapped wind.

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 Baby Not
Napping Well?
It could be a few things...
For more comprehensive information
about age-appropriate napping,
awake times and settling techniques,
our Sleep Programs will get naps on
track for you in no time!

For more detailed sleep and feed

schedules and sleep consultant

support, try our Baby Sleep App

FREE for 7 days!

We'll guide you through all the sleep

stages to come, including:

sleep regressions
nap transitions
self-settling methods
establishing nap routines
night weaning
early waking

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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.

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

 Shushing
Shushing triggers the calming reflex in babies’

brains. We recommend our Baby Sleep Shhh track

available on Spotify, iTunes or Google Play Store.

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. At the

same time, if possible, rock the bassinet in a rhythmic

motion
6. Once asleep roll baby onto her back for the rest of

her sleep.
We would love to help you create lasting, healthy sleep habits
that will see everyone in your family sleeping better.

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