How To Get A Newborn To Sleep On Her Own
There are a few different ways to get your newborn to sleep on her own. The best way is to lay her down after a feeding with or without a pacifier while she is still awake. Making sure she is still awake will teach her how to fall asleep on her own. The more you rock, bounce or sway her to sleep the less likely she will be go to sleep alone.
It may be difficult at first to let your baby go to sleep on her own. Many parents like to hold newborns so much that they often fall asleep and wake up in the arms of their parents or another loved one. While it is nice to hold a newborn very often to get her to sleep by herself you really should lay her down tired, full and awake. She may cry a little bit, but the newest she is the less likely she will cry when laid down.
Another way for your baby to get on a pattern of sleep is to get them on a schedule. A regular schedule of naps, feedings, baths and bed time will teach your baby early what to expect and when. This will help them to be tired at the right times for them to go to sleep easily. You can also do a special night time bed time routine. You can include a feeding, a bath, a story time, and then putting the baby down to sleep. It is also good to brush their teeth, starting at a couple of months, and then playing music can be calming.
To get your baby on a schedule it is good to know how much sleep they need so you can schedule enough time in for them. At birth they will sleep from 14-18 hours a day, by the time they are a month old they will be sleeping about 12-16 hours a day. Usually though they only sleep a few hours at a time. It can be more difficult to get them on a schedule at this age. Once they are 3 months old up to 6 months old they should be able to sleep 5 to 6 hours at a time, this is known as sleeping through the night by many experts.
Around 6 months of age your baby will be ready to start weaning the nightly feedings.
