Sleep environment should be cool, dark and quiet. Do your best to not overstimulate the baby during the night. When they wake and need to feed or be changed or tended to – Meet the need and then get them right back to bed.
Expect night wakings and be prepared to handle them quickly and with ease. Have bottles prepped in advance. Make sure you have all the changing supplies close at hand. Have extra clothes, swaddle blankets, bassinet sheets, cloth diapers/burp cloths, available. Nursing supplies close by. Dim light only when needed and off as soon as possible.
When signaling at night – respond in lazy slow way with minimal light. Try to respond with voice first, then touch if needed (firm hand on torso – deep pressure on arms/legs). Your goal is to respond quickly so that you do not allow their sympathetic nervous system to up-regulate because it will make it harder for them to fall asleep. The more unsettled they become – the more wakeful they will be and it will cause you to have to spend more time settling them to sleep. Try to settle as quickly as possible and get them back to sleep as soon as you can. A feed without a diaper change or burp usually results in an easy transition back to sleep. Find what works and don’t be afraid to use it. – swing, rock-n-play, nursing, holding, calming.
Don’t worry about your baby falling asleep towards end of feed. This is completely normal and natural and will NOT develop any bad habits for your baby at this stage.
Not always necessary to burp baby after a feeding. Some babies do fine if feeding and settled right back to sleep
Try putting your baby immediately down in the bassinet/sleep space after feedings
Posted in: Month 0-2: Challenges & Solutions