What are helpful ways to get a newborn to sleep?

Answer 1

Routine, routine, routine. My son is 3 months now and he started sleeping through the night (without a feeding) at 8 weeks. I always do the same thing every night. Bath (Sleepy Time Bath Wash by Johnsons), change, feed, read (Our favorite is Goodnight Moon) and rock. Babies thrive on routine. He now sleeps from 6:30pm to 5:30am. Not bad for 3 months. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

First, recognize that newborns tend to sleep for much of the day. If a newborn won't sleep it could be that it has already slept enough or else that there is something preventing him/her from being able to sleep.

If the baby is awake but not crying assume it isn't his/her time to sleep right now. If he/she is crying it means something needs to be done to make the baby feel more comfortable.

Although you can certainly talk and have a television or radio on, try to make sure you don't have a chaotic environment in the house (particularly when sleep time is coming up). Don't have too much going on all at the same time or have too many people handling the baby.

Always hold the baby in a way that makes him/her feel super-secure. Feeling super-secure all day long makes it more likely a baby will sleep. If you hold the baby in the crook of your arm don't let your arm "go limp" even if you're sitting in a chair. Make sure the baby feels held closely and firmly. If you hold the baby over your shoulder make sure you support his/her head and - again - make sure your arms and hands let the baby know he/she isn't just plopped up against your shoulder without support.

Make sure the room the baby sleeps in is warm enough. Being too cool is one easy way to keep a baby from sleeping.

Holding the baby snugly and walking or rocking while standing in one place tends to lull babies to sleep. Singing softly and in a slow, monotonous way also helps.

Probably the biggest factors in whether a baby sleeps are: Whether he/she is overstimulated or "over-frazzled", whether the mother is tense and stressed out or nice and calm (and calming), whether the baby has had enough milk, whether it has burped up gas, and whether it is warm enough.

Sometimes breast-feeding brings some issues such as the baby's not getting quite enough to drink. Formula with iron can cause digestive problems (cramping). Sometimes the hole in the nipple of a bottle can become blocked, and the baby isn't getting anything.

Assuming the baby has had enough milk and is dry and warm, the best way to get it to sleep is to hold it securely and rock and/or sing. A half hour or so of rocking a baby can make the difference between a baby who sleeps well and one who doesn't. It helps get them out of a "wide awake" mode and more into a "calm" mode, and it helps them feel sure enough and calm enough to relax.

Probably THE most important for all newborns and infants is to feel super-safe and sure and secure. Also, because they are helpless and new to this world, they can only handle so much going on around them (or being done to them) without getting frazzled.

Answer 3

I have 2 daughters and 2 nieces. What worked for all of them was a massage with lotion for about 15 minutes right after a bath. Next I rocked them in the chair while gently stroking their hairlines at their temples. It worked everytime even when they were not sleepy. My oldest is 3 now and it still works.

Answer 4

Try rocking them and rubbing their back. Some babies like it when you pat their bottom. Babies also like it when you hum or sing to them. And they don't know if your any good or not. lol I would advise against putting them in the car seat and taking them for a ride. It does work, but sometimes they get to where they can't get to sleep any other way and it is a hard habit to break.

Answer 5

I used a few different things to get my daughter to sleep. Hope they work for you. (The best for me making this a normal ritual before bed every night.)

Warm bath
massage with lotion (my daughter had dry skin too)
and a soft song or humm (from you or the radio). I did this every night at the same time and it worked wonders. I actually got more then 2 hours sleep.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

When my kid wouldn't sleep I tried:
Pushing him in a stroller
Rocking in a rocking chair
Laying him on a pillow and gently patting his bottom
putting him in the car seat and taking a drive

Each kid is different. Hope you find something simple that works for yours!

Answer 7

Rubbing their backs, soothing music, a warm bath before bed.

Answer 8

Lavender scents. Johnson and johnson makes a lavender cream with chamomile you rub on and it soothes the baby and makes them tired.
http://www.become.com/shop?q=johnson+lavender+chamomile&utm_campaign=become&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_term=johnson+lavender+chamomile

Answer 9

Make sure the basic needs are tended to and then make sure he/she is warm and wrapped. Of course, there are times you just have to let them cry because they just need to let it out.

Answer 10

you could sing to it, read a story to them you could also give it some milk that might work.