Bringing a newborn baby home is a whirlwind of excitement but this joy often fades when nighttime rolls around. A newborn baby’s sleep cycle is everchanging making it extra hard for parents to count sheep themselves. It takes time to adjust to your newborn’s sleep routine, so first, it’s important to understand what’s a “normal” newborn’s sleep cycle and learn ways to improve your own.
This article will help you understand the basics of a newborn’s sleep schedule and share insightful tips to help parents squeeze in some more ZZZ’s. Creating a better sleep schedule for parents with newborns is no easy accomplishment, but it is possible with some gradual steps and technological help.
What’s a normal sleep schedule with a newborn?
It’s natural to have some questions about your little one’s sleep schedule. While every baby can differ, the average newborn (0-3 months) spends 14-17 hours each day sleeping. However, this time is broken into sleep sprints since newborns wake to feed every 2-3 hours.
Parents are encouraged to mimic their newborn. They find that the best time to sleep is when the baby is sleeping, even if that means sneaking in short naps during the day. Regardless, a newborn is bound to throw off any adult’s typical circadian rhythm. The average parent with a newborn only gets 5-6 hours of sleep per day.
If newborn parents do not live together or a single parent is caring for the baby, this stress of sleep intensifies. Sleep is essential for your newborn, but also for all parents! Sleep deprivation can negatively affect your decision-making abilities and can even cause long-term mental and physical problems. Thankfully, avoiding sleep deprivation is possible with some tips.
Tips to improve your sleep schedule with a newborn
“No sleep” is synonymous with a newborn, or is it? Here are some tips to try and improve your sleep schedule.
Make sleep a top priority
Your baby may be your new top priority, but make sleep your second. Sending an email, household chores, and texting your friend can wait. A temporarily messy home is worth a little extra shut-eye, so be easy on yourself as you rearrange your priorities in the first weeks of bringing a newborn home!
Keep a consistent feeding schedule
Newborns can’t do much besides eating and sleeping, so it’s no wonder their sleep schedule is entirely dictated by their feeding routine. Average newborns feed every 2-3 hours. If yours tends to sleep a bit longer, try waking them to eat and ensure they’re fed. A full belly means they will fall back asleep and stay asleep instead of waking up hungry.
Follow a nighttime ritual
By following a simple nightly ritual, you can set the stage for sleep for both you and your newborn. Some activities to associate with sleep and the nighttime are taking a bath, singing a lullaby, dimming lights, changing the diaper and into fresh pajamas, and creating an all-around quieter atmosphere. This restful environment will help both of you shift mindsets into dreamland.
Share a room, not a bed
Some parents are tempted to sleep with their newborn, but this is not a safe practice! Bed-sharing can increase the risk of SIDS, so it’s vital to keep a bed for the parents and a bed for the baby. Instead, try “room-sharing” and bring the crib into your bedroom rather than in a separate nursery. Keeping the baby nearby helps with the constant feeding and soothing that comes in your first few weeks.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help
The proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” is true. Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for help. It’s okay to be vulnerable during this time and even throw social etiquette out the window. Instead of being the wonderful host, ask your visitors to watch the baby so you can take a nap. If you don’t have the luxury of help 24/7, a video baby monitor can be your extra eyes and ears.
How a baby monitor creates the best sleep schedule
Getting some shut-eye with a newborn is scary. Any moment your baby is not being watched is not only dangerous but unsettling for parents. Creating peace of mind is the first step to resting alongside a newborn baby. So how do you design a safer space? Enter baby monitors.
There are plenty of reasons why the Babysense V43 is the best split-screen baby monitor, alongside our range of video baby monitors. It's easy-to-use features help parents accomplish the tips we shared earlier and more. Here are some of that baby monitor’s features that help create the best sleep schedule for parents with newborns.
Split Screen Video
The V43 Baby Monitor doubles the eyes watching your little one. The 4.3” color LCD split-screen display lets you see through two cameras at once. That means monitoring two angles - or two kids - at all times.
Night Vision
The two remote pan, tilt, and zoom cameras even have built-in adaptable intensity night lights. You won’t miss a thing, even at night, with auto infrared night vision. You can stay in bed and still peek on your newborn through the monitor, without disrupting both your sleep cycles.
Ultra Long Range
With up to 960 feet of open space range, the V43 means you can safely watch your newborn from anywhere in the house. If you do stray too far, rest assured you’ll be notified by the out-of-range warning. This flexible stream of video allows parents to get their life back knowing their baby is safe.
Hack-proof Security
This latest video baby monitor version boasts 2.4GHz FHSS Closed Loop Technology. That provides an extra stable, hack-proof video connection. Babysense monitors are digitally encrypted and don’t need to connect to WiFi. So if your internet goes out, your baby monitor doesn’t go out too!
Extra Soothing Features
Newborn parents will appreciate the soothing features like two-way talk, lullabies, and white noise sound. Sometimes, the reassuring presence of your voice is all it takes for your little one to drift back to sleep. Soothing features enable parents to comfort the baby from a distance, in turn, teaching your baby to become an independent sleeper.
100% Customer Satisfaction
Babysense has been a best-selling company for over 30 years. Our extensive knowledge and expertise to develop the best baby monitors possible have resulted in millions of safe babies and happy parents.
Babysense Warranty & Compatibility
Babysense offers a 45-day money-back guarantee so you can try it out risk-free, along with a one year warranty. All Babysense Video Monitors support up to four cameras connected to one parent unit, so a split-screen V43 (or multiple!) can make a great gift basket item for newborn parents.
“No sleep” for newborn parents is only temporary
Whether you are getting no sleep or some sleep, your baby is only “newborn” for so long! Any parent can attest the first few months are the hardest. Hopefully, with some practice, routine-setting, and technological help like the Babysense V43, new parents can find some time for rest as their newborn babies sleep peacefully.
