Marbra Cofounder and Sleep Coach Laura Ormerod Gives her Top Newborn Sleeping Tips

Hi Mumma! How are you feeling? I thought today's blog could be about giving you a little reassurance and knowing you are doing an incredible job. 

Ok here's an interesting statistic… Did you know newborns can sleep up to 18 hrs in 24 hr period.CRAZY!!!!!

Doesn't always feel like this, especially after a long night. Sometimes I like to understand the ins and outs so this might help you understand your little baby at this stage.

Babies have different sleep cycles that they go through. This is active sleep and quiet sleep.

Active sleep you will notice them making lots of noises, wiggerling about, sometimes crying out and you probably pick them up when they are actually still sleeping.

Then you have a quiet sleep. This is their deepest sleep, breathing is deeper, they seem more settled and less likely to wake.Babies sometimes struggle to move from one sleep cycle to the next, so the first little tip would be to listen, watch wait to see if they fall back off or they are actually waking up. Remember sometimes when they let out a cry, they are actually still asleep.

Ok this is a big one… Newborns can only manage very short periods of time awake before they need to go back to sleep. Wake windows can be anything between 30/90 minutes. BONKERS right!! Its super easy for a little one to get over tired and they are not able to go off. Then everything gets thrown, and you have a little tired bubba who is doing long chunks in the day and lots of wakes through the night. All this is totally normal but with a few tricks, you might be able to help your little go down without all the tears.

Newborn sleep can be  all over the place and quite frankly overwhelming, one minute you feel you are in a good rhythm then the next you are back to the cluster feeds every 1.5/2hrs. My biggest take away from this is let go. Routine comes. Babies love routine but this normally kicks in around 3 to 4 months. Everything before is about doing what best suits you and your bundle. This might be totally different to your friends by the way, and that's totally fine. You and the baby are learning on the job. 

Cluster Feeds What is a cluster feed?? Short feeds over a few hours/can be days. All depends on the baby and their growth spurt. You normally find they pop up in the first 6 to 8 weeks.

They might happen from 2 to 3 weeks. 4 to 5 weeks then sometimes even 6 to 8 weeks. All very normal. Little bubba is growing and needs all the feeds he/she can get. Don't stress about routine, enjoy the ride and find your 3am crew. This is also the time you are building your milk supply. To start with you might think  baby isn't getting enough, but actually the colostrum is giving your little one everything they need till your milk supply is ready. This is the time for eating all the warm foods that make you feel good. Eating a cold salad that doesn't fill you up won't help with supply. So indulge and fill your tum. Its crazy how many calories  baby takes from you.

Contact naps are going to be your lifesaver in the early days. It will help them sleep for longer. They love being close and in contact with you. Something that you can use if bubba is having an unsettled day.It might be on the sofa asleep on you chest or while you are on the move with babe in the sling. Anything with motion at this point is your best friend. Baby has been hanging out in your belly for nine months with so much movement and noise.So popping them in a cot on a flat surface in a dark quiet room might be the total opposite to what they need right now. Trust me cot naps timed naps/bedtime its coming.So enjoy going with the flow having lunch dates with your girlfriends.

Bedtime Routine I think for every mummy and baby a little routine will help them as they get that little older and make the whole transition easier. Normally babies don't fall asleep for the night till around 10/11pm. You might be thinking well my baby goes down at 5/6pm. This is actually their last nap of the day, then they have an awake period where it all kicks off around supper time when you want to kick back. My suggestion would be eat earlier if you can so you are ready for them around 8pm. Its feed time then upstairs for bath, massage, pj’s. Then into bed for both of you for your last feed before sleep. Remember they don't have a body clock yet, so they don't know day and night. But you can help with a quiet bedtime routine which they will soon understand what's coming next. Then as they get older and bedtimes is moved earlier they still have the same routine from day one. Which to them is a comfort and help them feel more relaxed.

MELATONIN The sleep hormone. Babies don't have this in the early days. This is why newborns can sleep in bright daylight. What is incredible is if you're breastfeeding you will release the sleepy hormone through your breast milk in the evening, which will help them go to sleep. How incredible is that and how amazing is the body.

So I'm going to sign off here but I hope a few of these little nuggets will help you in the early newborn bubble. If you like to go over anything in today's blog please email in and i'd be happy to help. Always love a chat x

Laura your sleep fairy xx