Follow the cues of your newborn if you want them to sleep, expert says

Our sleep expert offers 5 ways that can help you get your baby sleeping and in bed.

While many new parents might feel hopeless when it comes to helping their newborns to sleep through the night, one sleep expert says there are plenty of strategies parents can employ to ensure they and their babies get a good night’s rest.

Erin Junker, a professional infant and toddler sleep consultant with The Happy Sleep company, says even the newest newborns can get on a sleep routine.

“You can start from day one,” Junker told CTV Your Morning Ottawa on Tuesday.

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“Routines don’t need to mean rigid. It doesn’t need to mean, and shouldn’t mean, by the clock for a newborn or really young infant.”

According to Junker, instead of trying to get their newborns to follow a strictly timed schedule for sleep, parents should instead follow the cues of their infants.

“It should really be more about looking at your child’s sleep cues, getting them naps when they need naps, so they’re not getting over tired and really cranky,” she said.

To help your child sleep through the night, Junker recommends simple advice that sleepers of all ages can follow: make it dark and quiet.

“We all sleep best when it’s very dark and very quiet, that’s what tells our brains that it’s time to go to sleep,” Junker said.

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Junker recommends using blackout blinds or curtains to make the room as dark as possible, and she also suggests using a white noise machine to drown out any bothersome sounds.

For those who are planning to travel with their newborns, Junker suggests packing portable blackout curtains and white noise machines.

While Junker says parents should take cues from their children to determine when they need to sleep, she also suggests giving cues to your infants to indicate to them that it’s time to rest.

“We can’t just say it’s time to go to bed, they don’t understand what that means, but we can put a little routine in place and give them these cues that tell their brain, sleep time is coming up soon,” Junker said.

“That might be a nice little bath every night before you start their bedtime routine, that cues to them, ‘oh this means my big, long sleep in my crib is coming up soon.’”

In addition to nightly bath time, Junker also recommends putting your babies into their pajamas and reading them a bedtime story.

“Those are some good cues to line up for your baby before its sleep time,” Junker said.

• SLEEP WEEK: Are you tired of being...tired? CTV Your Morning Ottawa breaks down the best ways to get your best rest yet and help you wake up refreshed.