Baby Sleep Tips and Ideas

Baby Sleep Log

It’s time to sleep train your little one, but you want to do it as smoothly as possible. A sleep log is KEY!

Here’s how to use it.

• Grab some colored pencils, your sleep log and start paying way more attention to the clock!
• I recommend filling out the sleep log for a week before you start really sleep training. This can give you an idea of your current patterns so you’ll be able to have a rough idea of your baby’s ideal schedule.
• Use the key listed to color code the hours of the day based on baby’s activity. The biggest benefit of this comes from
  • 1) quickly identifying an optimal schedule for baby and
  • 2) recognizing progress and patterns when crying it out.

Baby Sleep Log

Here’s my sleep log from when I sleep-trained Maddie, my oldest. Keep in mind, this was my first child and my first experience ever sleep training so I was a total rookie. I share this with you simply so you can see what a filled out sleep log actually looks like. I definitely made mistakes.

A couple things you can see: the crying it out got SO much better almost immediately. Really it was just the first 2-3 days that she had to cry it out before bed, and it wasn’t even for that long. You can also see how over those first 2 weeks her nap times started to solidify. After using this data, I created a pretty set schedule that worked very well for her. The last major thing to note is that day 13 saw a MAJOR hiccup. If it hadn’t been for this log, we would have thrown in the towel and sworn that crying it out sucks and doesn’t work. Except it totally had been working, we just forgot because we had a crappy night. BUT look at how long she’d been awake before that… homegirl was totally over-tired and that’s why she was having such a hard time falling asleep!

I definitely made mistakes here that I can only see now that I have more experience and expertise.

1. The time between initial wake up and her first nap of the day was too long. Most babies are happier with about 90 minutes of wake time first thing in the morning.
2. It looks like she was waking up fairly regularly at around 10pm, which I had her cry though. In hindsight, I could have used that as a dream feed. I general, don’t recommend crying it out in the middle of the night. When their sleep needs are met during the day they’ll drop night feedings on their own. I just didn’t know that then.
3. Most of those days, she didn’t have as many naps as she needed. Again, I just didn’t know what the ideal schedule was. Until 9 months, babies usually do best with 3 naps per day
4. Bedtime was way too late on day 1 and I shouldn’t have done any CIO for naps. On day 1, I recommend doing everything you can to get them to nap well so that when bedtime rolls around (6:30pm) they’re not over-tired. This will set you up to be successful for night 1, and then you can CIO for naps on day 2.

I love looking back at this chart and remembering myself then. It’s crazy how much we learn and grow when we have kids. We’re all kind of winging it, and especially with our first kids, we just don’t know what we don’t know! Hopefully this breakdown helps YOU in your journey of sleep training so it’s as smooth and painless as possible!

Happy Sleeping!

xoxo

Chrissy

Week 5

This week saw a major backslide. Okay, it might not actually be that major but I was feeling SOOOO excited after ending last week with 7.5 hour stretches. At the end of this week we’re seeing 2-4 hours at a time at night. What. The. Heck?!

This is precisely the reason I’m doing a blog week-to-week. Sometimes, for no good reason, things fall apart. It’s hard not to lose hope when you have 2 or 3 bad nights, but I know this is just a temporary phase.

6-week Sleep Regression

A 6-week sleep regression is VERY common. My guess is that we’re hitting it a week early. Two major things happened this week that were worth noting.

• Incomplete feedings

  Eating became way more of a battle. At first, I thought her new reflux medicine wasn’t working, but she didn’t have all the classic signs of reflux like she did initially. The biggest thing I noticed was fussing during feeding and pulling off the breast several times or only eating quick meals. At the beginning of the week I thought she was just eating faster, but I’m not sure she could be getting all the milk she needs in 5-10 minutes per breast. As a result, she going to bed at night after a day of skim milk rather than a day of cream. So, she needed to eat more often through the night. Sob. Her poor eating was a combination of gas and…

• Over-stimulation

  At around 6 weeks, it’s common for babies to be more awake and alert and have a little tougher time drifting into sleep as effortlessly as they did before. As a result, it’s REALLY easy to over-stimulate them. My life is pretty active, my days are jam-packed, and I’ve got 3 and 5 year olds at home so it’s no surprise to me that she’s getting over-stimulated. Plus, as I’m writing this, I’m realizing that I wasn’t using her car-seat cover when we were out and about this week. I’ll put that back on next week so at least when we’re out she can be in her own quiet little bubble. I always forget that over-stimulating babies is soooo easy to do. (I tend to project my own feelings on to my baby and think, “I don’t want her to get bored in there or feel neglected if she can’t see everything that’s going on! She’s going to want to be a part of the action!” It sounds silly as I write it, but as parents we’re ALWAYS projecting our own thoughts and feelings onto our kids. In this case, I’m wrong. What I would want is different than what she needs, and her over-stimulation this week has made that clear.

Remember, you can’t spoil a newborn. I’ve needed to use sleeping aids like pacifiers, swings and rocking her to sleep WAY more this week. One part of me is afraid of starting a bad habit, but the better part of me knows she can’t self-soothe yet and she won’t get into bad habits this early in life. Objective #1 for good sleep throughout LIFE is preventing over-tiredness. So do what you have to do to keep that baby calm and getting all the sleep she needs.

Have you heard of Dr. Harvey Karp’s 5 S’s for soothing a fussy baby? If not, check them out here. You’ll need all the tricks you can find to soothe madame fussy-pants when you hit this week too.

Week 4

I can’t believe another week has come and gone! This last week was an absolute whirlwind! I went back to work and saw 22 clients and was on the news 4 times to promote an event. It was so nice to be back in the swing of things and, honestly, I thrive when I’m busy. But that was probably a little too busy! I’m looking forward to a slower pace next week.

Alright, let’s talk about sleep. Things are definitely getting into a rhythm. If you have a 4-week old hopefully you’re having the same experience. Her routine is predictable, she has the same-ish pattern every 2 ½ to 3 hours between feedings, and the nights are consistently longer than daytime stretches. We hold steady at 5 hour stretches at night but every few days she’ll surprise me with a longer one. Hallelujah! Last night she slept 7.5 hours!

My milk supply is regulated, finally, and she’s getting pretty efficient at nursing. Night time feedings usually last 30-40 min and daytime feedings are closer to 20 minutes. Around 4 weeks a lot of mamas start to feel like they’re finding a groove. If you’re not in a groove yet, don’t fret. You’ll get there. If you’re still feeling super duper overwhelmed take a gander over here and read about my experiences with post-partum depression and self-care. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Motherhood is hard and hormones are crazy.

Lots of moms also start to get impatient that their post-partum body isn’t bouncing back as quickly as they’d like. DON’T diet. Your baby needs all those nutrients. Eat cleaner if you want to, sure, but don’t restrict your caloric intake. You will be eating way more than you did when you were pregnant—you’re still nourishing a full human entirely from your body, and now she’s not on the inside anymore squishing your stomach capacity. Be patient with yourself. It took 9 months to make a baby and may take just as long to bounce back.

You may find yourself with a discontented newborn. There are several reasons for this:

• Reflux- read more about that here
• Gas
• Milk intolerances
• Over-tiredness
• Over-stimulation

Your baby is probably more alert than she was a few weeks ago. This may mean that she needs more help going to sleep. Remember, you can’t spoil a newborn so go ahead and rock her to sleep, use the swing, snuggle her, wear her in a backpack or wrap, etc. And don’t forget to swaddle that baby up tight! Swaddle tutorial here. Lots of parents think their babies don’t like to be swaddled, but my experience shows that most often the swaddle is just too loose.

Our aim right now is to do whatever we can to make our babies as happy as possible. We’ll work on fostering good habits and self-soothing later. Right now, the most important thing is that they’re getting good meals and good sleep. Preventing over-tiredness now sets the stage for smooth sleep training in a few months. Remember, tiny babies don’t like to be awake for more than an hour or so at a time.

Happy Sleeping!

Xoxo

Chrissy

Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out!

We got peanut some Zantac. Hallelujah! It has made the world of difference. Read more about reflux and how to spot it here.

This week, everything has continued to improve. We’ve had two nights with 6 hour stretches which was amazing, but most nights are holding steady with 5 hour stretches. I’m not complaining. It’s great progress, but I am still looking forward to those longer nights coming soon… hopefully!

I feel like our schedule is starting to solidify a lot. She’s starting to be a whole lot more predictable too, which I appreciate. Day and night are definitely oriented now. She wakes up on her own during the day every 2-3 hours to eat, has much more alert time after those feedings, and she goes right back to sleep during the midnight feedings. I think part of this is because she’s on Zantac now so she’s not squirming and upset after those big feedings in the middle of the night.

Her daytime patterns are getting more consistent (or at least it’s easier to notice when MY day is structured.) We’ve got a good 3-hour rhythm going:

Wake up

Eat for about 45 minutes

Poop, burp, spit, fart

Awake and alert for about 45 minutes

Sleeps for 1 ½ hours

Repeat

I went back to work on Monday! I take Peanut with me and she’s been AMAZING!! Most everybody thinks it’s crazy that I’m back to work already, but seriously it feels like a gift to be able to sit in a big comfy chair, snuggle my new baby and talk to adults all day. Honestly, it’s easier than juggling 3 kids at home, with the constant demands of a 3 and 5-year-old. Plus, I really love what I do and the clients I work with. And I only work 1.5 days a week anyway…

The last big insight I’ve noticed this week is that she LOVES to be swaddled. Most babies do. I find that she sleeps way better when she’s swaddled tight, and even when she’s awake and alert she’s much happier swaddled up. Babies also love to suck, so be sure to keep that paci handy.

If you haven’t introduced a bottle yet, do so this week. Even if you are planning to be a stay-at-home mom, it’s so worth it to get them used to a bottle as soon as possible. There will be times that you’ll need to leave your baby for a doctor’s appointment, date night or a solo grocery trip and it will be a giant relief if you know they’ll take a bottle in your absence. Seriously, just talk to a mom who’s been there with a 6-month-old who won’t take a bottle. It’s STRESSFUL!

Give your baby an ounce or two of expressed breastmilk once or twice a week and they’ll be golden. If you’re not planning to pump a ton, I am totally in love with this manual breast pump. It feels so natural and I love how quick it is. In less than 30 seconds you can be set up and pumping. Sometimes the hassle of setting up the double electric pump with the cords, million pieces and pump bra feels like a hassle. Plus, I can be walking around doing stuff like unloading the dishwasher with my other hand while I’m pumping.

For those mamas that pump a lot, this is my favorite double-electric breast pump. I’ve tried several, and the spectra is amazing. And this hands-free pumping bra is an absolute must.

Happy Sleeping!

Xoxo

Chrissy

Okay, this bug is the cutest thing in the whole world. We just love her so much. She is seriously the sweetest!

Her sleep is improving. She always gets 3-4 hour stretches between feedings, but I’d love longer ones since I know she’s eating so well. My milk is finally starting to regulate and I’m not as engorged anymore. And she’s getting a little more efficient while feeding, though night time feedings usually still take 45 minutes.

We had an AMAZING night Saturday night. We went to the Clark County Fair Saturday, which meant a long drive there and back and being snuggled close all day in the moby wrap. Meaning… London slept ALL day long. I was SO worried she was going to be up all night! To combat this, I made sure she was awake from about 7-9 and then I fed her, crossed my fingers and we went to bed. SHE SLEPT UNTIL 3am!!! Then she slept until 8!!! I was in heaven. Foolishly, I hoped we turned a corner and could expect 5-6 hours between feedings. Nope. Not so fast. The next few days continued like before, eating every 3-4 hours. Last night I tried keeping her up from 7-9ish again and she slept 4-5 hours at a time. So, I’m going to aim for 90 minutes of solid awake time before bed and hope that’s the secret. More than that and she’s grumpy.

Most of the week was pretty consistent with a 9/9:30 bedtime, wake up at 12:30/1 and another wake up around 5 and up for the day around 8:30. Doable, but she’s also had some awake or restless time in the middle of the night. She just squirms and wiggles so it may be gas or she just wants her paci put back in. Not sure yet. She also seems to prefer a very tight swaddle but she likes having her legs curled up. So I have to be sure to swaddle her tight around her tummy but loose on her hips.

PS, can I brag about my amazing mom for a second?? She’s here helping me for 2 weeks and she is having the baby sleep with HER! She brings me the baby when she needs to eat and then I give her back when I’m done. Then, in the morning she gives me the full report and I can troubleshoot from there. She also takes my kids to school so I can sleep in. AMAZING. Please don’t leave. Ever.

The other pressing thing this week is reflux. I’ve been going back and forth wondering if her discomfort is gas or reflux but tonight it was made VERY clear to me that we’re dealing with reflux. Luckily, we see the doctor on Friday so we’ll get some medication then. Read more here to learn how to identify reflux and what to do about it.

In the evening, she is 1,000 times happier falling asleep on her tummy. Before everyone gets stressed out by me saying that, she’s propped up ON ME on her tummy, not left alone. Babies should sleep on their backs only. This is only when we’re hanging out awake at night and she’s getting ready to doze off.

I have two go-to positions that seem to relieve the most discomfort:

These positions work really well because in both her knees are bent under her in a way that will help push gas out if that’s the problem. There’s also more pressure on the top part of her belly to help get burps out, and she can easily lay her head down and comfortably fall asleep when she’s ready. Plus, she’s propped up which will alleviate discomfort from reflux. 

Want to know the difference between gas and reflux? Read more about it here:

Overall, week 2 has been a huge success and we’ve slowly seen consistent lengthening of sleep times between feedings. She likes sleeping in the mamaroo because it keeps her at an incline. Though you can’t spoil a newborn, I prefer to have the swing feature turned off so we’re not using it unless she needs it. It seems to work well to put her down in the mamaroo at 9:30 without the motion on, and then after she wakes up to eat in the middle of the night we turn it on low.

Here’s to hoping for a good night of sleep tonight, and more good sleep throughout the week!

Xoxo

Chrissy

Hi friends! Meet baby London, the sweetest newborn on the planet. And welcome to my blog. I’ve never done this before, so you’ll have to bear with me as I work out the kinks and figure out how to do this. What I DO know how to do though, is get babies to sleep well. So I’m here to document my own journey, in as much detail as possible, so you can see what sleep training looks like from the beginning. I want mamas out there to get a realistic look into how to establish healthy sleep patterns and how to deal with the millions of wrenches our little nuggets throw into the mix.

I’m a sleep specialist and this is my third child so part of me feels like a pro at this, and the other part of me feels like a total novice. I think that’s what being a new mom does to you. I’ve been amazed by how much I second guess myself. So, new mama, if you’re second guessing your every move too, welcome to the club. I’m sure you’re doing fine.

If you haven’t already, download my FREE newborn sleep guide. I called it “Get Awesome Newborn Sleep” but now having a newborn of my own again I realize a more accurate name would have been “How to make your sleep with a newborn slightly less sh*tty.” But alas, I’m only a week into this thing so it’s bound to get better. Right? RIGHT??

Week 1:

Holy cow, I can’t believe it’s only been a week. I feel like this tiny human has been a part of our lives for way, way longer. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten like 3 hours of sleep a night though, so every day feels like more.

My two main priorities right out of the gate were orienting day/night and getting full feedings.

Orienting Day/Night

For the love of all that is holy, we DO NOT want wakeful periods at night. It’s hard enough that we have to get up so often to feed them. When it takes an hour or two for them to fall back to sleep it’s extra painful. I had two terrible nights this week. Well, actually, I had mostly terrible nights this week. Let’s start off with the hospital—hi, I just had a baby and my sleep is going to be crap for weeks. Can you please not come in every 2 hours and wake me up? But I had all that extra adrenaline from just having a baby and I got to take naps during the day so I survived. But then I got home to two other small children and the whole “sleep when the baby sleeps” advice can just go right out the window. Then, aside from that, I had 1 night this week where she was up for over an hour after I fed her and wasn’t falling back to sleep (gas, maybe??) and then one night I woke up because I thought my boobs were going to explode and I couldn’t go back to sleep until I pumped. She slept great that night. Me? Not so much.

Orienting day/night was challenging this week. It’s so hard for me to wake a sleeping baby and I wanted to kind of figure out what her natural routine was before I started intervening. I made the mistake with my first of wanting too much awake time during the day (so she’d sleep at night) that I was inadvertently making her over tired. I still haven’t found the right balance of day time wakefulness because this week she’s had about 30-60 minutes of wakeful/stirring time before she falls back to sleep. (Again, maybe gas?) Ideally, I want her to finish nursing and go straight back to sleep. We’ll keep working on it.

My plan for next week?

• Focus on getting good awake time after each feeding during the day.
• Keep things bright and noisy during daytime naps. Keep finding the balance of getting enough wakeful time during the day without making her over-tired. Newborns sleep 16-20 hours a day (which is a pretty wide range) so I’m going to keep trying to figure out how much awake time she needs for optimal sleep. PS as a general rule, newborns shouldn’t have wakeful stretches longer than 1 or 2 hours.

Try to get a full feeding every time.

This is hard because their sleep pressure is STRONG. It feels nearly impossible to keep them awake to keep eating, but we want them to nurse for as long as possible to promote milk production and get longer stretches of sleep. In the hospital, they told me to try to get 10-15 minutes per side. In my experience, it takes 20+ minutes per side for a good, full feeding. A feeding session at night usually takes me an hour, including burping, changing her diaper, etc.

But ahhh! My boobs are KILLING me. Why is nursing so painful?! I know it’ll get better but, ouch. The latch is good, this is just part of the process for me. My milk comes in fast and furious, so plugged ducts and mastitis are something I have to be SUPER diligent about. I’ve started pumping every night before bed to get rid of the excess so I don’t explode. With my first, I was told not to pump because my body needed to regulate… But I’m choosing to pump the excess this time because I’d rather have to need to pump every night than get mastitis. Also, nipple shields, nipple cream and soothies can heal sore, cracked nipples and give a little relief from the intensity of nursing in the beginning. 

Other priorities week 1:

• Focus on getting to know your baby. Play detective. Figure out what her little nuances are and tune in (as much as possible) to what different things mean. But try not to let the second guessing go overboard and stress you out.
  • Day 3 and 4 baby was MAD about something. Gas? Reflux? Allergy? Who knows!? Is she arching her head back and crying during or right after nursing? Does she cry when she spits up? Both of those could be indicators of reflux. Does she cry before she burps? An indicator of painful gas. Her spit up was chunky and curtled, which sounds like it could be reflux or an allergy to something I’m eating. The doc guessed maybe meconium plugs (slight constipation if the meconium didn’t all clear out in those first poops) and next he said to try cutting out dairy. Luckily her next poop had little balls of meconium in them and she was a happy camper. So no need to cut dairy! Pfew.

• Take care of yourself. It’s alllll too easy to neglect yourself when you have a baby. You have all this adrenaline from having a new baby and you don’t feel as exhausted as you really are. You may have visitors there to help out but you might feel guilty letting them do things for you that you CAN do yourself. Sit down, snuggle your baby and let people wait on you. Say yes to offers for meals from friends. Don’t feel like you have to entertain your guests. Take care of yourself. Take naps if you can. Cry if you need to. Take medication if it helps.

I’ve heard way too many moms tell me they think they had post-partum depression but didn’t realize it until after the fact. Pay attention to yourself and your emotions. Medication is SOOOO helpful and it doesn’t mean you’re broken or crazy. Do what you need to feel happy and feel like yourself. Self-care isn’t selfish.

More about post-partum depression here:

Most days this week look like this:

• Wake up around 8:30am
• Nap on and off inconsistently throughout the day
• 9/9:30 last feeding and then bed
• 1am wake up to eat
• 4:30 wake up to eat

All in all, we’re off to a good start. She consistently sleeps 3-3 ½ hours between feedings but I’m counting down the days until we can get longer stretches. Mama is tired!!