Are there things I can do to help my newborn develop good sleep habits?

In the early days it’s very much about going with their flow and getting to know one another, but there are a few things you can do to start helping your baby get onto the right path: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💤 During the day when your baby is awake, make sure there’s as much daylight as possible, that lights are on and there is conversation, music, etc. And at night, keep the lights dim and noise to a minimum so that you can start to teach your baby the difference between day and night. 💤 Optimise your baby’s sleep environment. So, making sure the room where your baby sleeps at night is as dark as possible, the room is a safe temperature and using an amber or red night light when doing night feeds will mean as little disturbance to sleep for both you and your baby. 💤 Swaddling your baby when putting them down to sleep is a huge comfort when they have so recently been neatly tucked inside the womb. It also helps with their “Moro” reflex, where babies’ arms fling upwards involuntarily until they are around three months old which can cause them to wake when their arms connect with the sides of the crib. 💤 One of the hardest parts in the early days can be keeping your baby awake long enough in order for them to take a full feed, which is important for their weight gain and helping them stay fuller for longer stretches. Some babies will need a bit of extra help staying awake in order for them to finish their feed. Image via: @woodandlens