Baby sleep help is one of the top requests we get at Welcome Baby Care. Read on for a few helpful tips.

If you’re wondering what’s the secret sauce in helping Baby sleep, we’re here to tell you that it’s not magic, but there are definitely some things you can do to move your little one toward dreamland. We not going to go into any particular sleep training methods—save that debate for your mom’s group—but we do have a few tips that you might not have tried. Read on!

White noise is a must.

You might not have guessed this, but a totally silent room is actually not the most effective environment for helping your newborn sleep. Not only does total silence make it a lot easier to hear the accidental noises of others in the house, it doesn’t promote the best sleep. While you can buy an actual white noise machine designed to help baby sleep, you can also use a standard box fan. There are even some good white noise apps available.

Turn down the temp.

As mothers we spend our lives preoccupied with whether or not our kids are warm enough, wearing enough layers and generally protected from the elements and ups and downs of temperature. As tempting as it is to crank up the heat and throw an extra layer on Baby, he’s going to sleep best in a cooler room. The ideal temperature is between 68-72 degrees F. Keep Baby out of the direct path of windows and air conditioners, as the temperature in these spots can vary widely.

Give her a nap.

Wait, you’re thinking, if she sleeps during the day, she won’t sleep through the night, right? Wrong. The desperate, sleep deprived parent may opt for skipping naps and keeping Baby awake for much of the day in an attempt to ensure that everyone sleeps through the night. However, this is wildly counterproductive. As we say, sleep begets sleep. Babies are easily exhausted—they need to recharge frequently through the day. Don’t worry—this actually helps their nighttime sleep so let the little one nap.

Swaddle.

We’ve already devoted a whole post to this topic here, but it bears repeating. A wrapped-up baby is generally a calmer, more sleep-ready baby. Sleep sacks are great for fast, easy swaddling.

Calm yourself.

This is hard to do when you’re sleep deprived and desperate to get the little one down so you can enjoy 10 minutes to yourself and maybe do something fancy like eat a meal with two hands. Here’s the amazing, difficult thing: just like you know your baby, your baby knows you. That means if you’re stressed out and anxious, he probably will be too. Taking a patient, calm, relaxed approach to bedtime (and parenting in general) tends to make things a lot smoother. And as you can imagine, calm babies sleep better than anxious ones.

we’re committed to helping babies sleep like little champs because well-rested babies are happy babies. During the first four months, we encourage parents to do what works—this isn’t the time to start implementing sleep training methods. After that, however, our sleep consultations can help you to start moving Baby in the direction of healthy sleep patterns. For more information, contact one of our postpartum doulas!