Nap Necessities
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First things first, don't try and rush your baby into a sleep routine. You may be craving some sort of structure to your day, but she's too tiny to be ready. So you should let your newborn nod off, and feed, as and when she likes - she's likely to doze off during feeds and for the first few weeks you need to just go with the flow. You can start to introduce some sort of routine when she's about six weeks old, which is when her sleep patterns will start to emerge. We're not talking a strict military-style routine though - just start taking note of her naps, feeds and alert times. Now you've got this far, all you need to do is follow these top tips for niggle-free naps...
- Eagle Eyed Mummy
Watch your baby for signs of sleepiness and put her down for her nap before she becomes over tired. Pay close attention to her body language and look for yawning, becoming fractious and crying, and the classic rubbing of the eyes. Unlike grown ups, babies actually get more wired when they're tired, so if she's thrashing around and grizzling she doesn't want to play, it's bedtime please! - Avoid Being Tied to the House
Allow your baby to be flexible about where she sleeps; it's not the end of the world if she takes her nap in her car seat, pram or even in a sling. These naps can be just as valuable as naps taken in her cot or Moses basket. And if she is in her cot or Moses basket, don't tiptoe around her or darken the room as she'll get so used to the quiet that she'll wake up the second the neighbour's dog barks or your friend pops round for a coffee. - But I'm Still Awake Mum!
The best thing you can do as a mum is encourage your baby to self-settle. This means putting her down to sleep while she's still awake and not rocking her or cuddling her to sleep. You don't have to leave her alone to cry, its fine to stay close and reassure her. Just make sure when she goes off to sleep she's not in your arms: that way, when she wakes up alone in her cot, she won't panic. - In it for the long haul
It's usual for young babies to nap for short periods but when she reaches three months old she should be able to settle for at least 45 minutes. The key to lengthy naps is that she self-settles, so that if she stirs she'll know how to settle herself again. If she does wake up soon after going down, try settling her again using the process you followed in step three.
