FUNDAMENTALSOF NEWBORNSLEEP

B A B Y S L E E P T R A I N E R

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HELLO! When your new baby arrives, well, there’s nothing really in the world to

prepare you! It’s an amazing, life-changing, exhilarating, emotional,

sometimes scary, and oftentimes challenging new adventure. And I

want you to know right now, The Baby Sleep Trainer is here for you!

As an experienced mother of two and a certified sleep consultant who

has helped thousands of families get their babies and toddlers to

sleep, I developed the Baby Sleep Trainer method to help babies and

toddlers get the sleep they need at night and take healthy naps during

the day.

I believe the first 16 weeks of life are all about mama and baby staying

healthy, getting to know each other, and thriving! A newborn has SO

MANY THINGS on their plate just coming into the world – from

regulating their body temperature to learning how to breathe. And

that’s plenty in my book!

So while you can’t sleep train a newborn, there are a few things to

learn, collect, and prepare for so you are as ready as you're going to be

for this new life adventure. That is why I created this handy guide for

you - so you can ENJOY those first weeks of life to the fullest! 

N A T A L I E W I L L E S Founder / CEO

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NEWBORN REGISTRY WISHLIST For all the things you *actually* need regarding baby's sleep and

more!

DIAPERING

FEEDING

1. Swaddlers in Newborn Size I LOVE Swaddlers for their texture and absorbability, and because they have a radblue line that lets you know if your baby has peed.

2. Swaddlers in Size 1 I would count on about 10-12 diapers per day for the first couple of months, andassume your baby can transition to size 1 diapers after month one.

3. Wipes I don’t have a strong preference for wipes, but sticking to ones that are as free fromscents and chemicals at first is wise, so as to prevent any issues with sensitivenewborn skin.

4. Diaper Cream It’s unlikely you’ll need any type of diaper cream in the first few months of life, butjust in case (and for future reference) I have found Butt Paste (in both regular andmaximum strength) to be the best when it comes to preventing, relieving, andtreating diaper rashes.

5. Burp Rags Cloth diapers are the easiest, cheapest, and most affordable option when it comesto burp rags. I would have at least 10-20 on hand at all times, as parents seem to gothrough at least 1-3 rags each day.

6. Boppy I loved my boppy so much I took it to the hospital with me!

Make sure you pick up at least 1 or 2 extra covers, as babies seem to LOVE pooping,peeing, and spitting up on Boppies, and mamas tend to leak on them a bit as well.

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NEWBORN REGISTRY WISHLIST For all the things you *actually* need regarding baby's sleep and

more!

FEEDING - CONTINUED

8. Pacifier  I would make sure you get a clear okay from your pediatrician and lactationconsultant (if you are working with one) before you use a pacifier. Once you get theokay, Philips Avent Soothie Pacifier tends to be widely loved by babies (and parents).

NURSING

9. Lanolin I literally put this on as soon as I was physically able to after birth, and reapplied itreligiously. Once your nipples crack (and that can happen very, very quickly), it can bea lengthy, uncomfortable, and even painful recovery. Regular use of the miracle that islanolin can keep your nipples intact during early breastfeeding days.

10. Nursing Pads Nursing pads will be invaluable once your milk comes in. You may find that nursingpads fit your needs, or that gel pads are more comfortable.

7. Bottle Bottles are a bit of a trial and error process, but the Comotomo Natural Feel BabyBottle tends to be accepted by most babies.

SLEEPING

11. SwaddleMe Blankets They are easy and straightforward to use and are inexpensive. As baby grows older, Ipair them with a simple thin muslin blanket for a double swaddle. 

And if you want to see my favorite swaddle technique – watch here!

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NEWBORN REGISTRY WISHLIST For all the things you *actually* need regarding baby's sleep and

more!

13. White Noise Machine  I’ve had a love affair with white noise for many years. I even brought my white noisemachine to the hospital (it helped me sleep as well, since hospitals are SO SO LOUDand no one tells you that). Avoid using a sound machine on your phone (unless you’vegot it connected to a speaker) as the sound quality from a phone or tablet can bewearing on a baby’s ears.

12. Pack N' Play / Co-sleepers If you have the funds available, it’s always nice to purchase a co-sleeper. These makeit very easy to feed your baby throughout the night because they are at arms reach,but, also safe in their own sleeping area.

However, co-sleepers can only be used for a brief time, and for that reason I generallyrecommend parents purchase a Pack n’ Play with the bassinet attachment. In myexperience, it’s really the best of both worlds, with the caveat that the side of the Packn’ Play can impede the easy transfer of a sleeping baby.

SLEEPING - CONTINUED

DRESSING

14. Gerber Onesies Here’s something no one tells you – newborns are next to impossible to dress. They alsosoil their clothes near constantly. And finally, nothing ever seems to fit them at first! Theonly clothing I’ve found that fits them well and doesn’t break the bank are Gerberonesies (short and long-sleeved) and Gerber kimono shirts. Remember to always select“newborn” size, not 0-3 months, as the newborn size will actually fit your baby at thehospital. Plan on only being able to use the newborn size for a few weeks.

The kimono shirts are great because they just button up the front and don’t need togo over the head, and they also don’t aggravate the umbilical stump. 

Finally, the long-sleeved onesies have hand covers at the end, which will keep babieswho scratch from being able to harm themselves.

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NEWBORN REGISTRY WISHLIST For all the things you *actually* need regarding baby's sleep and

more!

CAR

15. Car Seat  When shopping for a car seat, I recommend keeping the following information inmind. If you and/or your partner are tall people, it’s much more likely your baby willbe “long,” so when you search for an infant car seat, look for one that has a highmaximum height limit. If you and/or your partner are of average height, the best thingto do is search for a car seat with the highest allowable maximum weight. Infant carseats are often, in my opinion, safer and more convenient than convertible car seats.The longer your child can stay in an infant car seat, the better! Some kids can stay intheir infant car seat until they’re over a year old.

16. Stroller  It’s easy to transfer a baby that’s fallen asleep in an infant car seat into a lightweightcar seat stroller frame (like the Baby Trend Snap N Go EX Universal Infant Car SeatCarrier), than having to unlatch them from a convertible seat into a regular stroller.Also, that stroller frame is a lot easier to deal with than a regular stroller (and theframe often takes up less space in your trunk/is easier to haul around in general thana regular stroller), so the longer you can use the carseat/frame combo (even whenbaby is awake), the better. As a secondary consideration, try to keep in mind howmuch the car seat itself weighs – the heavier it is, the harder it’ll be to carry around.

FOR MOM

17. Colace  I would recommend throwing Colace in your bag, and (with doctor’s approval) taking itdaily in the week preceding your due date. You would think that your vagina wouldexperience the most trauma from childbirth, but the truth is that straining to pass abowel movement is really one of the scariest things to do after birth! Colace willensure that bowel movements are soft and won’t require much straining.

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NEWBORN REGISTRY WISHLIST For all the things you *actually* need regarding baby's sleep and

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FOR MOM (CONTINUED)

18. Belly Band If you managed to get through your pregnancy without a belly band, I still think you’llfind this useful in the “in between” stage where your stomach is reducing in size, butyou’re not able to fit into your pre-pregnancy clothes. While you may still be wearingmaternity clothes for many months after your baby is born, you may find that they stillbecome ill-fitting over time. Belly bands help you transition back into non-maternitysizes nicely.

19. Fridet This one might seem crazy, but along with straining for bowel movements, you mayfind that wiping, and just generally caring for your genitals, will be a bit of a task in theweeks after birth. Thankfully, the Fridet will become your best friend!

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THE SCIENCE OFNEWBORN SLEEP

Excerpt taken from "Getting Your Baby to Sleep the

Baby Sleep Trainer Way" by Natalie Willes:

First, let’s break down what’s happening during sleep.

While a human sleeps, their brain and body go through

five distinct stages, characterized by either REM (rapid eye

movement) sleep or NREM (non-rapid eye movement)

sleep. Stages 1 and 2 are light sleep, 3 and 4 are deep

sleep, and 5 consists exclusively of REM sleep. REM sleep

is when dreams occur, energy is restored to the brain and

body, and the brain is generally active—so active that an

EEG would show similar amounts of activity to an awake

brain! NREM sleep is even more restorative; it’s when the

body repairs itself and releases a host of incredible

hormones, including those that regulate growth, muscle

development, and appetite—all imperative for growing

babies.

In the first six months of a baby’s life, their sleep stages are

not fully developed, so researchers distinguish between

“active” and “quiet” sleep instead. Active sleep is a lot like

REM sleep and quiet sleep is, you guessed it, a lot like

NREM sleep. During active sleep, babies (like adults) can

be woken very, very easily, while quiet sleep is when they

seem like they can sleep through just about anything. 

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While adults spend only about 25 percent of each night in

REM sleep, infants under the age of six months spend equal

portion of their sleep cycles, which last between thirty and

fifty minutes, in REM and NREM sleep. By month six, REM

sleep decreases to about 30 percent of each cycle.

This next point is extremely important and will come up again

and again throughout this book. After an interval of quiet

sleep in babies six months and younger, or after completion

of a full NREM/REM five-stage cycle in older babies and

toddlers, children will either enter another sleep cycle—or

they will wake up. No matter how many books on sleep I

read and how many how-to-sleep-train blog posts I

encounter, I rarely see this point made: An overwhelming

majority of sleep-related issues, for very young infants to

schoolaged children, is related to a child’s inability or

unwillingness to fall asleep unassisted. Most babies with

sleep issues are reliant on something to fall asleep, whether

that’s a pacifier, rocking chair, car seat, stroller, or twirling

Mom’s hair, and when they finish a cycle with light-sleep

REM, they are unable to fall back into deep sleep without

that same assistance. 

As the night goes on, infants and adults alike spend more

and more time in REM sleep and less and less time in NREM

sleep. This means that as morning approaches, your child’s

REM sleep (stage 5) will occupy more and more time out of a

given cycle. While the average amount of each cycle might

be 50/50 active/quiet for very young babies and 30/70

REM/NREM sleep in older babies, children, and adults, more

minutes are spent in deep sleep stages early in the night, and

more minutes are spent in very active/light sleep stages as

night turns into morning. 

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 This is why so many families find that the first part of their

child’s sleep is relatively uneventful, with few or no

wakings, but over the course of the night, they seem to

sleep less soundly and struggle to fall back asleep, even

with assistance.

Finally, keep in mind that because a baby’s sleep cycles

are so short (30-50 minutes!), they transition frequently

throughout the night, meaning an increased number of

possible nocturnal arousals during which they will seek

help to go back to sleep. Since babies spend more time in

light sleep during the first few months of life than they do

as older children and adults, they are easily aroused. If

baby wakes but knows how to fall back asleep on their

own, they can quickly and easily do this with minimal

disruption to their own and to their parents’ sleep.

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HOW DO I PUT MYNEWBORN ON ASLEEP SCHEDULE? One of the most frequently asked questions I get

regarding newborn sleep is HOW to put a newborn on a

sleep schedule....

First, let’s define two terms –  newborn and schedule.

Newborns are babies aged birth–16 weeks, counting from

their due date. If you give birth 4 weeks early, your baby

remains in the “newborn” stage until they are 20 weeks of

age chronologically. Schedule, when used in relation to

infant and toddler sleep, refers simply to naps and

bedtime happening at more or less the same times each

day, with an emphasis on sleep lengths for nap and

overnight sleep lasting for more or less the same durations

each day.  

For many reasons, newborns are not biologically capable

of having a “schedule” in the traditional sense of the word.

While many resources online encourage the scheduling of

newborns, it is generally unwise to try to mandate or even

expect a super predictable pattern in newborn sleep.

Newborns do not have regular outputs of the hormone

(melatonin) that regulates their sleep patterns. Therefore,

you may find them physically incapable of sleeping at

some times, while you may then also find it next to

impossible to wake them at other times. 

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While there are some easy going newborns who adapt

well to sleeping at the same times each day, most new

babies are not capable of having wholly predictable sleep

patterns. Also, know that while your newborn can’t yet be

on a schedule, there is a tremendous amount you can do

to encourage lengthy periods of sleep overnight and

good sleep habits during the day.

For those sweet mothers who are like me (type A,

anyone?), I will not leave you without something to work

with when it comes to your newborn’s daytime sleep

“schedule.” First, try to remember that your goal should

be a pattern or cycle, and not a schedule. A good tip is to

try to start your day at the same time each day. If you

have to get out of bed each morning at 7 am to get an

older child to school, get your newborn up as well,

expose them to sunlight, and give them a good feeding

while trying very hard to keep them alert and awake

throughout the whole feed. Then, watch them closely to

see when they may be starting to feel sleepy. This can

happen within 30 minutes or 90 minutes, depending on

the baby, their age, and whatever their melatonin output

from their brain happens to be doing on that particular

day (note: their varying wake time lengths from day to day

is what makes it impossible to schedule them – they may

want or need to be awake for different lengths throughout

the day and it can vary widely from day to day and

change with each week they grow older). If this is your

first baby and you can sleep in, fantastic! But, still aim to

get up and start your baby’s day within 30 minutes of the

same time each morning (whether that’s 7 am or 10 am).

Once baby shows a tired sign, put them down for a nap. 

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Their nap may last 25 minutes, or up to two hours (wake

them at the 2 hour mark, and also note the varying length

in nap, which is NORMAL, is another reason it’s impossible

to “schedule” a newborn), and then restart the “eat, wake,

sleep” cycle. Continue this pattern throughout the day and

aim for “bedtime” to be about 12 hours after you got them

up to start the day. Finally, for the 12 hour “overnight”

period, aim to keep lights low and also do not have any

wake time after feedings – simply feed in as little light as

possible, then put baby down again right away, and repeat

until your morning start time. Some days you may have

more naps than others, and some days you may have

some long naps and some short naps, and that’s all normal

and okay.

F I N A L T H O U G H T S . . . I WISH I could banish the term “trying not to create bad habits” from the modern

parent’s vernacular—there’s enough pressure on them as it is! Even for an expert like

me, sleep training a newborn is hard (in many cases, impossible), and the truth is, it’s

not necessary in the first sixteen weeks. As long as a newborn is happy and healthy,

my advice is that parents not pursue sleep training until their child is at least sixteen

weeks old, counting from their estimated due date. But there is a lot you can do to

encourage your newborn to sleep as well as they are able to, hopefully resulting in

longer stretches of sleep for baby and parents.

If you’re hungry for more, I encourage you to check out my Newborn Sleep Program

which gives you ALL of my top tools, tips, and tricks for inspiring the BEST sleep in

your newborn! 

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