How New Moms Can Get A Good Nights Sleep Even With A Newborn Baby!

Tired of waking up multiple times per night? Use these 9 tips for getting a good nights sleep with a newborn baby, plus get my free “How to Declutter” checklist to get rid of stress-causing clutter. Click this button to download:

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Getting a good night’s sleep with a newborn in the house is like finding the pacifier that fell onto the nursery floor in the middle of the night.

It’s seemingly impossible, especially by the rays of the nightlight and with half-open eyes at 2 in the morning.

And you know you’re truly sleep-deprived when you start to get four-plus hours of sleep in a row and are like– “WOW! I can’t believe we slept so long!”

Feeling good after half a night’s sleep must be God’s built-in, kind gesture to get us through until babies sleep the whole night.

Let Me Give You Some Hope:

You won’t forever be the sleep-deprived zombie you feel like you are now.

In fact, you can rapidly improve the sleep that you’re getting now during the newborn phase, both in quality and quantity.

If you implement the following tips for getting a good nights sleep with a newborn baby, you’ll be amazed at the results!

You can rapidly improve the sleep that you're getting now during the newborn phase, both in quality and quantity, by implementing the following tips. You'll be amazed at the results! #newborn #newbornsleep Share on X

9 Tips For Getting A Good Nights Sleep With A Newborn Baby

1- Start A Sleep Schedule For Baby

The best thing I did with my newborns was to put them on an infant sleep schedule, or more specifically, a routine.

This came in so handy with our oldest daughter because my husband deployed two weeks after her birth. I was solo-parenting, and I needed all the sleep I could get.

You can read more on that story here.

I didn’t use a rigid schedule, but helping us both develop a routine allowed her to nap and eat regularly during the day, and sleep for longer periods at night. She slept 8 hours by 7-8 weeks old, and was sleeping 10-12 hours by 10 weeks.

RELATED: WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO START AN INFANT SLEEP SCHEDULE?

Of course, you can imagine that if she was sleeping that much, I started to recover from sleep deprivation and feel so much more rested pretty early on into motherhood.

Woo hoo!

Not that I haven’t experienced my share of sleepless nights (life with 3 kids is never dull lol) but those first few months with a newborn are brutal.

I was grateful to keep the constant waking to a minimum.

2- Use Essential Oils

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I love the smell of lavender, and I use it regularly to help my mind and body get ready for sleep.

I place a few drops on my wrists, rub them together, and take a deep breath in.

Ahhhhh. This is making me sleepy haha.

Essential oils can help you relax and fall asleep more quickly. You can put them on the back of your neck, on the collar of your pjs, diffuse them, or just smell the bottle.

I recommend using pure grade oils, not just a cheap bottle from the drug store, as you don’t want fillers in your oil.

Just be sure to stick to the list of safe oils for baby, since baby will get an up-close whiff of them when they’re around you. I like to put lavender on my babies feet when they’re especially upset!

3- Turn Off Electronics One Hour Before Bedtime

Ok. This is hard.

I use my phone as an alarm clock. Not that I need an alarm very often, since my kids wake me up long before the alarm would go off. But I pretend.

Electronics can keep you awake longer than you’d like. The blue light emitted stimulates your brain and delays it from winding down for sleep.

Some apps do have a night setting, which could help a bit.

But as much as you need downtime in this stage, I suggest going for options such as a magazine or book to help you wind down… and –BONUS– they’ll probably put you right to sleep!

If you have trouble sleeping (even when baby is finally out!) try reading a magazine or book to help you wind down. The BONUS is, not only will it help you relax, it’ll probably put you right to sleep! #newborn #babysleep Share on X

RELATED: 8 HOMEMADE BABYFOOD TOOLS THAT WILL SIMPLIFY SWITCHING TO SOLIDS

4- Create A Bedtime Routine

It’s the WORST when you finally get baby down for a nice solid night’s sleep, and now YOU can’t sleep. What gives?!?!

One of my fav tricks, as someone who has struggled with falling asleep in the past, is to create a bedtime routine for yourself.

Wash your face, floss and brush your teeth, and get your pajamas on (and whatever else you do) in the same order each night.

The purpose of a bedtime routine is to cue your body that sleep is coming soon.

As you develop a habit, your body will learn that after XYZ happens, we go to sleep. Your pre-bedtime activities signal your mind that sleep is coming, and it can start to transition from awake toward rest.

RELATED: 21 TOP BABY SLEEPING PRODUCTS TO KEEP BABY SNUG, SAFE AND ASLEEP ALL NIGHT

5- Recycle Your Routine

It may take some time to figure out the order you prefer, but try to stay consistent for 3-4 weeks once you nail it down.

If you find yourself lying awake for more than 20 minutes, get up and “recycle” your bedtime routine (see above point). Splash water on your face, use the restroom, repeat the basics.

Doing so can re-trigger your brain that “Hey, it’s time to sleep!”

A routine is great for mama and baby too. As you move baby into a gentle routine, your schedules can coordinate and naturally play off one another.

For example, I did my bedtime routine around my little ones’ night routine and late night “dream feed.”

6- Wear Nursing Tops And Nursing Pads For A Good Nights Sleep

Be sure to wear comfortable sleep wear for nursing. I wore nursing tanks or a nursing bra at night.

I also recommend cloth (washable) nursing pads for night time. I used disposable during the day, but at night the cloth ones were way more comfortable.

Nursing pads give you some extra absorbency and can prevent you from waking up to a soaking wet shirt, especially when your body is still adjusting to nursing.

7- Get Daddy Involved

Who says Mommy has to do all the work with a newborn?

Daddy may not be able to nurse, but he can master baby care ideas such as changing diapers, warming and feeding bottles, wiping up messes, and the honey-do list goes on.

My husband would get up and change the baby’s diaper while I got ready to nurse. Then he’d hand her off, and I would nurse while he went back to bed.

I know I’m pretty lucky to have a hubby so willing to jump in and get involved. I had to do it on my own for #1 and #3 since he was deployed, but I got a taste of him helping with our second daughter and I really appreciated it!

RELATED: 7 BABY CARE IDEAS TO HELP DADS TO GET INVOLVED

8- Stock Your Bedside Table

I was always parched when nursing. As soon as my girls started nursing, it was like insta-thirst.

Like I’m gonna die right now if I don’t get some liquid!

Having water on hand helped me to get back to bed that much quicker after a nursing session!

9- Celebrate The Small Stuff

If you’re like me and have more than one child, it never fails that the day your newborn sleeps a bit longer is the day one of your other children wakes up SUPER early.

It’s always in the morning that I wish I’d gone to bed earlier! HA!

But in those moments, at least I can rejoice that my baby is getting good sleep. After I grumble down the hallway a bit. 😉 

We gotta celebrate the little wins, ladies!

Put these tips into practice, and soon you will be getting a good nights sleep too!

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