Health and wellness, parenting, nutrition, fitness
Health and wellness, parenting, nutrition, fitness
In the early days of parenthood, sleep can feel like the ultimate mystery—especially when it comes to helping your newborn find a rhythm. At Life.Postpartum, we know that creating a healthy sleep routine doesn’t mean following a rigid schedule. Instead, it’s about understanding your baby’s natural sleep needs and gently guiding them with consistency and care.
The foundation of a newborn sleep routine starts with a simple cycle: wake – feed – play – sleep. This structure helps babies begin to understand what comes next, providing a sense of comfort and predictability. One of the most important tools you can use during this phase is honouring wake windows—the short stretches your baby can comfortably stay awake before needing to rest again. Keeping an eye on these windows helps prevent overtiredness, which can make it even harder for your little one to settle.
As early as the first few weeks, you can begin to introduce a bedtime routine—a calming sequence of activities like a warm bath, gentle massage, or soft lullaby. This small but powerful ritual sends clear signals to your baby that it’s time to wind down and rest.
Remember, these routines won’t transform sleep overnight. Babies take time to adjust, and it’s perfectly normal for progress to feel slow at times. The key is patience and consistency. With gentle repetition and attentiveness, your baby will begin to develop healthy sleep habits that grow with them.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the stages of establishing sleep routines from the newborn phase through the first year—offering age-appropriate tips, wake window guidelines, and ways to support good sleep hygiene every step of the way.
Below you will find our customised wake windows. Remember to follow these as a guideline and that every baby is different. If your baby is constantly fighting naps or waking up early, try adjusting the window slightly up or down.
One of the most common—and exhausting—challenges new parents face is frequent night wakings. While it’s completely normal for babies to wake during the night, especially in the early months, understanding why these wakings happen can empower you to respond in a way that supports your baby’s development and your own rest.
We’re here to reassure you that night wakings are not a sign that something is wrong, nor are they always preventable, they’re very normal. Babies wake for a variety of reasons, many of which are tied to natural biological and emotional needs.
Hunger: Especially in the first six months, babies often wake simply because they’re hungry. Their tiny tummies can’t hold much, and they need regular feeds to support their rapid growth. Even after six months, some babies may still need one or more feeds overnight, depending on their development and daily calorie intake.
Light sleep cycles: Babies spend a significant portion of their sleep in lighter stages, which makes them more likely to wake frequently. Often, they just need a little help settling back into sleep—whether it’s a quick cuddle, a pacifier, or the familiar rhythm of your voice.
Discomfort: From a wet or dirty nappy to tummy pains, teething, or being too hot or cold, discomfort can easily disrupt a baby’s sleep. Ensure the sleep environment is calm and consistent—ideally between 16–20°C—and check for any physical needs when your baby wakes.
Developmental leaps: Babies are constantly learning, and sleep is often disrupted during periods of rapid development. Around milestones like rolling, crawling, or babbling, it’s common for your baby to wake more often. It may feel like a setback, but it’s actually a sign of growth—many babies even “practise” their new skills in the middle of the night!
Separation anxiety: While it typically peaks around 15 months, separation anxiety can begin earlier and cause your baby to wake looking for reassurance. If your little one suddenly needs more nighttime closeness, it’s a normal part of emotional development.
Overtiredness: Ironically, the more overtired your baby is, the harder it can be for them to settle and stay asleep. Skipping naps or missing wake window cues can lead to fragmented night sleep.
Habitual waking: Over time, some night wakings become habit rather than need. If your baby wakes at the same time each night and doesn’t appear to be hungry or uncomfortable, it may be out of routine.
Reducing night wakings is a gradual process—and should always be approached with patience and sensitivity. Here are expert-backed strategies that can help support better nighttime sleep for your baby:
Establish a consistent bedtime routine: A quiet, predictable sequence of steps (like bath, story, feed, cuddle) signals to your baby that it’s time for sleep. Repetition helps them feel safe and calm, which makes it easier to drift off and stay asleep.
Create an ideal sleep environment: Keep the room dark, cool (between 16–20°C), and calm. A white noise machine can help block out background noise, and blackout curtains can prevent early morning light from causing premature waking.
Offer more calories during the day: Especially after 6 months, focus on balanced daytime feeds to reduce the need for night feeding. Adding an extra feed before bed (often called a “top-up” or “dream feed”) may help some babies sleep longer stretches.
Encourage self-soothing gradually: If your baby is developmentally ready, try giving them a few minutes to resettle before intervening. This supports their ability to fall back to sleep independently, though it’s important to always respond if they are distressed.
Night wean gently (when appropriate): If your baby is between 6–12 months and no longer needs to feed at night for nutritional reasons, you can start gradually reducing night feeds—either by shortening the duration or increasing time between feeds.
Be patient and consistent: There will be progress, and there will be setbacks. Sleep is not linear, and developmental stages can bring temporary disruptions. But with a consistent routine, a nurturing environment, and a responsive approach, your baby will continue building healthy sleep habits.
Shorter naps—often 20 to 45 minutes—are extremely common in babies, especially under 6 months. They’re usually part of normal development, but can also reflect challenges with sleep rhythms or environment.
Your presence, comfort, and calm guidance during night wakings play a vital role in your baby’s emotional security and sleep development. You’re doing important work—even in the middle of the night.
Remember, you’re not alone on this journey. Sleep will evolve, and so will your baby. Trust the process, trust your instincts, and take care of yourself, too.
We know how important sleep is to the whole family so we’re here to support you on this journey. If you need 1:1 support our sleep consultant Fiona is here to help you. Reach out to her via the ‘contact an experts’ tab on your membership dashboard.
Babies’ sleep cycles are much shorter than adults—typically around 30 to 50 minutes. Early on, many babies haven’t yet developed the ability to link these cycles together. So when they transition into lighter sleep, they wake. This is completely developmentally appropriate. With gentle sleep shaping strategies, like a consistent nap routine and age-appropriate sleep cues, most babies begin to consolidate naps over time.
While it might seem counterintuitive, keeping your baby awake longer in the hopes of a longer nap often backfires. An overtired baby produces stress hormones like cortisol, making it much harder to fall and stay asleep. Monitoring wake windows (the amount of time your baby is awake between naps) is key. These change as your baby grows, so staying responsive to their cues is essential.
On the flip side, putting your baby down too early—before they’ve had enough awake time—can also result in a short nap. If your baby wakes after a brief rest and seems bright-eyed and alert, they may not have been quite ready for sleep. Finding that “just right” window can take a bit of trial and error, but it’s worth it.
Between 3–5 months, many babies experience changes in how they sleep. Their brains are starting to consolidate sleep more like adults, which can result in shorter, more fragmented naps for a while. This is a natural part of neurological development and not a sign that something is wrong.
If your baby relies on certain conditions to fall asleep—like rocking, feeding, or being held—they may come to expect those same conditions every time they stir. When they reach a lighter stage of sleep and those associations are gone, they wake fully. Gentle sleep shaping can help your baby learn to settle with more sustainable sleep cues.
Make sure your baby’s nap space is conducive to sleep: dark, quiet, and free from overstimulation. Blackout blinds can work wonders, and white noise machines are great for masking household or outdoor sounds that might otherwise interrupt your baby’s rest.
We know how important sleep is to the whole family so we’re here to support you on this journey. If you need 1:1 support our sleep consultant Fiona is here to help you. Reach out to her via the ‘contact an experts’ tab on your membership dashboard.
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