7 Things I Wish I Knew About Baby Sleep | iL Tutto

7 things I wish I knew about baby sleep before I became a parent

You don’t know what you don’t know. Never is that truer than when you have a baby. And particularly so when it comes to baby sleep.

It’s true that every baby is different and that every parent will have a different experience of baby sleep. But there are some newborn sleep tips I wish someone had given me before I became a parent. Those are the tips you’ll find in this baby sleep guide. The top things I wish I knew about baby sleep before I was in the throes of sleepless nights with a newborn.

1. It’s so much easier to have your baby in arm’s reach through the night

When I had my baby, we knew all about the safe sleep recommendations. We knew that it was best for us to sleep our baby in our room. What I didn’t realise was that it’s actually so convenient to have your baby within arm’s reach.

We used a CoZee Co-sleeping Bassinet and it was one of the best decisions I made. To be able to reach out and pick my baby up for those middle of the night feeds without leaving my bed was a blessing. To then have the flexibility of moving the bassinet around the house while my baby slept during the day was an added bonus!

When my little one had outgrown their bassinet and was in their own room in a cot, I certainly missed that arm's reach convenience.

2. Swaddling is harder than it looks

Some parents swear by swaddling. For me, it never really worked! Before I had even finished swaddling, my baby's arms had shot right out of the swaddle and I had to start again. It just wasn’t convenient for us.

What was convenient was using a swaddle sleeping bag. It’s so easy to zip up and put the baby to sleep without any chance of their arms escaping. They’re also designed with plenty of room around the hips so you can’t accidentally swaddle them too tightly.

3. Rocking baby to sleep is comforting for your baby but also for you

My nursery chair was one of the best investments I made as a new parent. When I bought it, I thought it was something I would use for feeding my baby and getting them to sleep. It was. But it was actually so much more than that.

When your baby is crying and you don’t know why. When they won’t go to sleep and you’re both as exasperated as each other, rocking can be soothing for both of you. There were countless times when I sat in my glider chair rocking my baby to sleep, knowing that the rocking motion was helping to calm both of us, equally.

It wasn’t just during the tougher moments of baby sleep – or lack of sleep – that I found rocking comforting. It was also in those quieter moments when rocking helped to create a sense of calm and connection.

4. Sleep regressions are real and inevitable

Just when you think you’ve got baby sleep all figured out, a sleep regression hits and everything changes.

I remember dealing with our first sleep regression. It felt like all of the time I’d spent getting my baby into a good sleep pattern was wasted. But we did come out the other side, even if it felt like an age to get there.

Sleep regressions in infants are inevitable. It’s not that you’ve done something wrong. Regressions usually coincide with major developmental milestones, such as rolling, crawling or walking. They might last for a few days or a few weeks but they will end… eventually!

5. Newborns don’t know the difference between day and night

If you’re reading this at 2am with your baby wide awake and ready to party, it’s likely because they haven’t yet developed their internal clock. To them, day and night are the same.

While they’re in the womb, it’s dark and quiet 24/7. Your baby’s sleep and wake cycles aren’t influenced by light and darkness in the same way yours are.

When they’re born, it’s not uncommon for a baby to be more alert and active at night, just when you’re desperate for some rest. The flip side is that they may sleep for longer stretches during the day… when you’re awake and wanting to get out and about.

Over time as that circadian rhythm develops, newborn sleep cycles will sync up with a normal day/night pattern.

6. Babies are noisy sleepers

Should a newborn sleep in your room? You know the answer to that. But what you might not expect – because I certainly didn’t – is just how noisy newborns are while they sleep. Grunts, snuffles, whimpers and even the occasional cry are all normal.

In the early days, I would jump every time my baby made a sound while sleeping. But I soon learned what I needed to respond to and what was simply a sleep noise.

7. A bedtime routine is super important

Babies thrive on routine. It may take them a while to get the hang of it, but the sooner you start to implement a bedtime routine, the better off you will be.

A bedtime routine for an infant might look like having a warm bath, reading a story, dimming the lights and singing a lullaby while they drift off to sleep. When you do that consistently, they start to learn the signal that it’s time to sleep.

Our bedtime routine is actually my favourite part of the day. I sit in my nursery chair while I sing a lullaby and then sit back and wait for sleep to arrive. I’ve even been known to drift off myself in the comfort of my chair!

Better baby sleep with iL Tutto

At iL Tutto we offer a range of products and accessories to help you discover better baby sleep. From the ease and convenience of our CoZee Co-sleeping Bassinets to our range of much-loved nursery chairs.

Explore the range and discover functional, practical and stylish nursery essentials designed by parents for parents.