We are sharing our 5 Newborn Sleeping Tips. When babies visit us in the studio, parents always worry that their baby won’t sleep or settle. Sometimes, that happens and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The most important thing is not to ‘beat yourself up’ about it.
Lee and I have been photographing newborns for around 5 years and there are definitely some helpful tips we can share. We find one or a combination of these tips can settle a crying baby quickly.
#1 – Swaddling
This is our go-to method. Newborn babies like to feel secure and snug as it reminds them of being in the womb. In the first two weeks, they will still be in those curly shapes as they were in the womb. It is of course vital that newborns are swaddled safely. You should be able to comfortably place your fingers under the swaddle, indicating that you have not wrapped too tightly. We don’t want to be constricting breathing or blood flow! We use a nice soft, jersey/cotton wrap which is a nice breathable material.
There are a variety of videos you can find for swaddling. Here is an example
#2 Magic Shusher
This was one of the best purchases we made for our studio. We have had so many parents sit and order on right there in our newborn session! It can be set to a 15 or 30 min timer and makes white noise. Again, the sounds replicates those heard in the womb providing comfort for an awake newborn. There is a handy strap that enables you to hang it close by when needed.
#3 Gentle back pats
We have found that once the baby is swaddled, holding them slightly upright and giving gentle, reassuring pats on the back is another good soother.
#4 Rocking
With baby nicely swaddled and the shusher playing white noise, gentle rocking from side-to-side is our next go-to. Someone we do this near to a light source and rock the baby gently between the contrast of light and darkness.
#5 Forehead strokes
When baby is nice and calm but still wide awake, the last strategy we use is to give them a gentle stroke with the thumb from the top of their forehead to the bridge of their nose. This is beautiful to watch as they slowly close their eyes and settle into a dreamy, cosy sleep.
So here are our 5 newborn sleeping tips. Do you have any others that work well for you? Please comment below and share your strategies with others. Please don’t be hard on yourself if none of these tips works for you. It can be very overwhelming in those first few days and so easy to blame yourself. Don’t forget, You are doing a great job!
If you enjoyed this and would like to read other similar posts. Please visit the Newborn Love Blog for more.
5 tips to photography your newborn at home
Healthy Meals for an expectant mum
If you are interested in booking a newborn photography session with me and Lee, please contact and tell us your due date!
