Sleeping like a baby is likely the most inaccurate idiom in the English language. Your newborn will sleep in fitful bursts, radically altering the schedule just when you think you had it down and were in a routine.
If you’re struggling to maintain a newborn sleeping schedule and wondering how a newborn should sleep — in bed with you, alone in a crib, or somewhere else — these newborn sleep basics provide a good starting point toward building and maintaining a successful infant sleep routine.
How much do newborns sleep?
Sleep safety for newborns
While more than 60% of parents admit that they co-sleep with their newborn or young child, the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that having a new baby in the home takes some adjustment. AAP guidance suggests placing a bassinette or crib nearby in your bedroom to make nighttime feedings and care easier rather than bed-sharing with an infant.
Approximately 3,500 babies die each year from sleep-related deaths including sudden infant death syndrome, often simply called SIDS. SIDS in newborns is an unexplained death that normally occurs during sleep in a child under a year old.
So, once settled in his own bed, how should a newborn sleep when you put him down to rest? Roger Kirk, pediatric nurse practitioner for Preferred Medical Group, offered some insight.
“The best position for your baby to sleep in is on his or her back and in an empty crib. An empty crib means a crib or bassinette — while they’re really small — that is free of pillows, assisted lifting devices,” Kirk explained. “No bumper pads no, no occlusive coverings, no extra teddies or stuffed animals, no extra blankets or anything that may cover the baby’s face, nose, or mouth.”
The use of newborn sleeper gowns and sacks can help decrease the chance of suffocation and provide a feeling of security for baby. Infant sleep aids, like white noise machines, can replicate womb sounds, calming your little one so he can settle down and rest.
Finally, if your newborn sleeps on his side after you’ve put him down on his back the AAP indicates that it’s OK to let a baby stay that way only if he is able to roll over on his own. Otherwise, you’ll want to gently nudge the baby over to his back.
