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Although I am a healthcare provider, I am not your provider. The information provided here is strictly informational and for reference and should never be used in place of you or your child’s health care providers’ diagnoses or personalized advice.

Now that your sweet bundle of joy is home, you may be wondering “What Now?” There is so much info and opinions out there on newborn “Need to Knows” that it is easy to become overwhelmed. I am going to give you some of the most up to date, important information over several posts on specific topics. This post will cover the Sleeping Baby!

You may have heard the sayings “Let a sleeping baby lie” or “Back to Sleep”. Both are important slogans used to educate parents over the years but some things become out of date as more research is done.

Remember, when looking things up and doing your research, sites likely say something different on what you “Need to Know”. However, knowing the trustworthy information sources is so very important. Companies will tell you info to promote their brand and personal posts will tell you their personal opinions so choose wisely on the information you choose to follow. Resources I trust are the American Academy of Pediatric when it comes to my baby information.

Over the years, experts have changed recommendations on how babies should best and most safely sleep. In the 90’s the campaign titled “Back to Sleep” became well known and still exists to this day, however has been re-branded to “Safe to Sleep”. Why do babies need to sleep on their back?

As you may have noticed, babies do not have much of a neck. This means that their airways are pretty short. When they sleep on their back, their airways are extended. This allows easy passage of air in and out. Babies sleeping on their backs has had significant impact on the number of cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the sudden and unexplainable death of a baby who has no known medical conditions or physical attributes that may have contributed to the death.

You may be thinking “Well what if my baby spits up when they are sleeping? Won’t then choke on the spit-up?”

This is most likely not going to happen as babies are born with reflexes that cause them to either cough when spit-up or vomit comes to the back of the throat or they re-swallow it. If your baby tends to spit up frequently while sleeping, you can raise the head of the mattress slightly by putting a pillow UNDER the mattress. DO NOT put your baby on a pillow as it is too soft and can increase the risk of suffocation.

My baby will not sleep on their back!

This may take training on both the parent and the baby’s part. Babies will fall asleep on their back, however it may not be their preference and they may be very vocal about this. If this is your baby, be consistent. ALWAYS place them to sleep on their back. If they fall asleep doing “Tummy Time” (more on that later), immediately roll them to their back. If you plan to rock them to sleep, always place them on their back when putting them in their bed.

Try to swaddle your baby to keep them comfortable. Sometimes a white noise machine will help them relax or patting their chest while they dose off will help them fall asleep faster. If you change the baby’s position to their stomach, not only are you putting them at risk, but you are also teaching them to fuss to get what they want. This will make it harder for you as the caregiver later on.

How to get baby to fall asleep

Parents have different routines and schedules. Each household will have different times and methods they choose to get their baby to sleep. These routines will change throughout the year as well, as your baby grows.

Decide how you prefer to put your baby to sleep and try to be consistent with this at all times. For instance, you may want to rock your baby to sleep. Some parents choose to get the baby ready and lay them in their crib and allow them to soothe themselves. This is up to you.

We chose to rock and sing to our babies for the first few months. They slept in their rooms in the crib. We would rock until they were asleep initially. After a few months we would rock until they were relaxing and then put them to bed so they could learn to self soothe. This did take a while and we had a few evenings when it seemed they would never fall asleep, but eventually they got used to it.

One of the absolute most important things is to have routines. At a very early age, your baby will recognize a routine. For instance, if you bathe at night, they will associate bathing with going to bed and this will help them start to relax during the bath.

Crib safety tips

We have touched on not having things in the crib with the baby. A crib should have a firm mattress, NO PILLOWS or stuffed animals and no thick bedding. Bumper pads are no longer recommended as they have a choking and strangulation hazard with the attachment strings.

If your crib is older, check safety standards. After marketing (when they are already being sold) some cribs and other baby items are found to have unsafe pieces and parts. They can then be recalled. Always check the Food and Drug Administration website for any recalls or safety issues on your crib or any other baby items you may have been given.

Let a sleeping baby Lie

This is a quote often quoted by veteran parents. They have learned from experience to not disturb a sleeping baby. Babies can often be quite irritable when they are woken from sleep. However, there are instances when you SHOULD wake your baby or at least reposition them.

Some research shows that after the first few months, a baby needs to keep a pretty normal routine. They will need more sleep during periods of growth but you certainly do not want them sleeping most of the day and then being up all night.

You also do not want to let a baby sleep in a position that could be harmful to them, such as neck compression or causing difficulty breathing. If your baby is making abnormal breathing sounds when sleeping, definitely reposition them immediately.

Finally, if your baby has a soiled diaper early in their sleep time (especially with poop), go ahead and change them. Leaving a soiled diaper on for long periods of time can cause breakdown of skin and lead to pain or infections.

Swaddling

Swaddling is the act of wrapping a baby up from the shoulders down in a thin blanket. When applied appropriately, this can keep the baby warm, provide a sense of security, decrease startling (a natural reflex) which may wake the baby and provide a generalized sense of comfort.

There are also some risks to swaddling, however. You must use only a very thin blanket. Also, if not done securely, the baby can wiggle out of the swaddle and then you have a blanket in the bed with them that can increase the risk of suffocation. Finally, swaddling can also increase risk of overheating if the environment is too hot.

Room Temperature

This is a common question from parents. What should the temperature be in the house. The consensus is 68F-72F (20-22C). This allows minimal need for bulky blankets and provides a comfortable stable environment. I understand that this can not be maintained in all homes. Not everyone has adequate heating and cooling. So, shoot for this range. You can always layer as needed but do your best to ensure safety when sleeping by keeping it warm enough to not have blankets in the bed with the baby.

Car seat

The vibration that occurs when a car seat is securely installed in a car is often very soothing to a baby. This in turn can make them easily fall asleep. However, if you are going on a long ride, take breaks about every 2 hours to let the baby stretch. Laying in the more upright position of a car seat can cause the neck to relax and compress making breathing a little harder.

You should not get in the habit of allowing the baby to sleep in the carseat unless they are in the car. Also, remember to strap them in at all times when they are in the seat. Not strapping them in and then picking up the carseat (because you forgot that you didn’t strap them in) can cause them to fall out.

Check out more on carseats in the link below.

Newborns are Scary! Carseat Need-to-Knows

One final word of warning:

As a mom of a newborn, I absolutely loved snuggling with my baby on the couch or in bed watching TV. However, if you feel yourself starting to doze off, please get in the habit of putting the baby back in their own bed. DO NOT LET YOURSELF FALL ASLEEP WITH THE BABY IN YOUR ARMS. Very loving parent have shifted their weight or did a slight roll and the baby falls off or the baby snuggles up to them and can’t breath. I have heard horror stories of this in the hospital so PLEASE make this a habit.

What are some of your tricks to getting your baby to fall asleep on their back or sleep in their own room. Please share in the comments

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