Tips, education, routines, & checklists to create healthy sleep habits for baby & parents from the beginning Congratulations on both your new baby and for the wise decision to teach healthy sleep habits right from the beginning! In this guide you'll receive tools, ideal schedules, tips, and education to get you started on the path to sleeping well and setting the foundation for healthy, independent sleep for your child. This plan covers babies 0-3 months and is meant to be flexible in nature. It is NOT meant to be used as a formal sleep training process, as you cannot formally sleep train a baby younger than 4 months. Did you know it’s possible for babies and children to look forward to bedtime and actually get excited about going to sleep? My daughter tells me when she is tired and ready for bed and my son tries to climb into his crib at the end of our routine! This is all possible for you and your baby and I'm honored to help you start your journey. I know you may be sleep deprived and you’re doing the best you can. I don’t judge any of your decisions up to this point, and I respect you for investing in your baby’s sleep health! I am here to guide you on creating healthy sleep habits for your baby that will last a lifetime. Keep this handy. The newborn/early infancy phase can be confusing and chaotic and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Use this guide as a tangible outline full of important tools to set a healthy foundation and refer back to when sleep gets disrupted. This is NOT "Cry it Out," but your baby may cry. In this guide I will provide you with options to soothe, comfort, reassure, and support your newborn baby every step of the way; but please understand that crying is a symptom of frustration, confusion, and often fatigue/exhaustion and as such, may not be preventable. The older a baby gets, the more difficult it can be to change unhelpful habits or introduce new skills. If your baby's emotional response to a change in their sleep habits is to cry, just know that after several days of consistency on your part, the crying will lessen and sleep will improve. Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. This guide was created to benefit the wellness of babies. I will educate you on how your decisions and actions impact your baby’s sleep and while I will ask you to make changes, you are not expected to do anything you are not comfortable doing. However, please keep in mind that if you are not willing to take the steps required to initiate change, you likely won't see results. Flexibility is key. The newborn phase is constantly changing as your baby is developing physically and cognitively. A 1- month-old is so much different than a 3-month-old in what they are capable of and aware of. One day everything may go perfectly and the next day, naps are a mess and bedtime gets moved up before the sun even sets. That’s ok! Be patient with yourself and your baby. You WILL sleep again, so will your baby, and sooner than later with this guide. Commit to the plan, it works! Have faith that when these tools are used consistently they will be successful. Nothing changes in one night or one nap. Give it time, be consistent, be patient, and commit to the work. And remember to read the guide through front to back. It's easy to miss important portions of guidance if the content is being skimmed. Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. This guide is about PRACTICE! You and your baby are on a journey. You are setting a foundation. You are not trying to win a race. So every day just practice. If you feel burnt out then take a break, or just focus on the morning nap, or have someone else do bedtime. Remember to also take care of yourself during this time. Ask for help when you need it, take breaks and rest, and most of all enjoy this short stage with your baby. It’s by far the most exhausting time, but it’s also the shortest stage. Reminder: This is not sleep training. There are no bad habits during this stage, BUT habits do become ingrained and will become unhelpful as your child grows. Sleep is a biological need, and it is crucial to healthy development. By implementing these tools now you can avoid formal sleep training in the future. Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. My Services Are Not Medical Advice. The advice you receive is for informational purposes only and is intended for use with common early childhood sleep issues that are unrelated to medical conditions. This advice is NOT intended to be a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health practitioner regarding any matters that may require medical attention or diagnosis, and before following the advice and using the techniques described here. Reliance on any information provided by Dr. Aubrie DeBear and Baby Sleep Dr. is solely at your own risk. Additionally, Baby Sleep Dr. does not consult on breastfeeding. If you have questions about breastfeeding and/or how much/how often your baby should be eating please consult a specialist. Exclusion/Limitation of Liability: Dr. Aubrie DeBear and Baby Sleep Dr. do not make any representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding consulting services provided. Dr. Aubrie DeBear and Baby Sleep Dr.’s liability (if any) is limited to the 'Newborn Sleep Guide' fee paid by you to Baby Sleep Dr. and in no event will Dr. Aubrie DeBear and Baby Sleep Dr. be liable to you for any other claim, losses, or damages. Confidentiality and Proprietary Information: Through your purchase of the 'Newborn Sleep Guide,' you (the client) agree to hold in strictest confidence and shall not disclose to a third party any confidential information, technique, process, trade secret, or other confidential matter relating to the products, services, or business of Dr. Aubrie DeBear and Baby Sleep Dr. This content, imagery, text, and processes in this guide are copyrighted and may not be reproduced, distributed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work. Any such behaviors will be considered infringements of that copyright. Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. 8 15 29 39 45 52 67 72 80 89 Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. stages + windows Consistent sleep is critical for brain development & physical growth While babies and children need a solid 10-12 hours of nighttime sleep, their amount of daytime sleep differs as they grow. ‘Sleep needs’ are the typical TOTAL amount of sleep babies and children need based on age for health, functioning, growth, and development. Sleep is essential and crucial to overall wellness. Without enough proper sleep our health suffers and the same is true for babies. I always remind parents that when we become sick our bodies literally shut down and force us to SLEEP because sleep is restorative and encourages optimal health. Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. How much sleep should your baby be getting each day? This is total time and includes daytime naps as well as nighttime sleep in a 24-hour period 0-2 months 16-18 hours 2-4 months 12-16 hours Babies will sleep somewhere in this range; although, some days it might be more or less and that’s ok. Especially in the newborn stage, babies sleep an excessive amount, so don’t worry if you have a very snoozy baby. However; on the other side, if your baby is not sleeping enough, you will want to do what you can to PUT your newborn baby to sleep and not worry about bad habits or doing things the “right” way. Your baby needs to sleep, that’s most important! So if you need to introduce a pacifier, wear your baby in a carrier while you fold laundry or binge watch a show, or take your baby for a walk in the stroller to force them to sleep – do it! Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. Wake windows are the MAXIMUM time a baby should be awake from the moment they wake up until they are put back down. That includes feeding, diaper change, ‘play time,’ & nap routine. Babies can only handle being awake for so long before they become overstimulated and overly-tired. Wake windows change as babies grow, and while everything else can be pretty flexible with newborns, you want to really take wake windows seriously. If your baby becomes overly-tired, they will NOT go down for naps or bedtime smoothly. Wake Windows by Age Birth -8 wks 45 min - 1 hr 8 wks - 3 mos 1.5 hours 3-6 months 2 hours **For babies born before 37 weeks, please see "adjusted age" in the success tips section Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr. Babies 0-3 months only have two stages of sleep: light sleep and deep (REM) sleep. Not until they turn 4 months (between 3 and 5, really) do they shift into a typical 4-stage sleep cycle and this is when the mysterious ‘4-month sleep regression’ can occur. If you watch your sleeping newborn baby, you’ll notice they move around a lot, fuss, fidget, move their lips, and even flutter their eyes OR they are dead asleep. STAGE 1 STAGE 2 Light sleep = Deep sleep = appears not easily awake disrupted During light sleep, we can mistakenly assume they are awake; and if we tend to them immediately because we heard a peep, we can actually wake them! They will soon transition into the 4-stages of sleep and transferring them to their crib after rocking them will no longer go as smoothly, but it will now be a prop they NEED to fall asleep Copyright 2021 Baby Sleep Dr.