Having a new baby is such a blessing. However, getting your baby to sleep can be difficult. You have been waiting for nine months to meet this little person. You plan, and you prepare, and you count down the months. Then, before you know it, your baby arrives. What you quickly learn is that your new baby doesn’t sleep as much as you thought they would. With baby not sleeping, parents don’t sleep, and that is a recipe for a hot mess. As a mother, I remember the exhaustion, and all the emtions.
When I think back to that time, I remember crying happy tears, feeling so excited, exhausted, and crying for no reason at all. I needed to sleep so bad, but on the other hand, I wanted to be awake. I tried to hold my new baby and not miss a minute when my baby was awake. After a couple of days of this, I soon realized that sleep was imperative. As a parent of a now nine-year-old , rest was something I needed, and something I wish I had some tips for myself. How do I get my newborn to sleep? So I have listed for you tips that I use when I photograph babies, and have to get them to sleep.
How do I get my sweet baby to sleep?
The part I couldn’t figure out was how, how to get my new baby to sleep? New babies are up every 3-4 hours for feeding, diaper changes, and maybe just because they need to be held. Sometimes it is just super hard to get a baby to sleep period. I meet so many first-time and even 2nd or 3rd child parents who come to my studio to have their newborn photographed, and they are exhausted. Throughout their session, I have a lot of parents who leave my studio and want to take a few tips with them to help their baby sleep.
If you’re struggling, here’s a few tips I use throughout my sessions and amaze parents by getting babies into a deep sleep and keeping them asleep for several hours. I am able to keep them asleep while dressing them, undressing, posing, and moving them around. Of course, this isn’t magic, there’s always a baby or two who won’t settle, and we adjust the session to keep baby comfortable.
About keeping baby warm
I keep my studio warm. What we have to remember is that baby was just in mom’s tummy, with a temperature set at a nice warm, comfy 98 degrees. Now I am not saying I suggest you set your thermostat to 98 degrees, that would be crazy, expensive, and could be dangerous to baby. But I am saying babies like to be kept warm and being cold will keep them awake. For my newborn sessions, the studio is warm. Keeping the room cold would be impossible, it keeps baby awake. I wouldn’t get even one photograph. I am always keeping my studio around 78-81 degrees on the high side. The babies I photograph are mostly naked or in a diaper, so I take that into account.
White Noise
White noise can mask abrupt sounds during the session. But not just normal white noise, a noise they’ll be somewhat familiar with, “The baby Shusher” This is one of the best investments I have made. This miracle shushing noise calms baby, the same as white noise does, but in a familiar sound. The difference is, it shushes. Parents always ask where I got it and where they can get one. So, I have attached a link for anyone who in need of a shusher. And this really does help and work.
Wrap that baby up
One thing that works, with almost every baby I have had the pleasure of photographing is, swaddling. As a photographer, I call it wrapping the baby, and I have taken classes on different ways to wrap babies for safety, different wrap looks, and wrapped poses. I remind my client that you have to remember that your new bundle of joy was in the small space of your stomach, and for nine months that space grew slowly keeping baby tight, secure, warm, and safe. Babies like to be held and wrapped snug.
Wrapping safety
Safety first! Now let me explain what I mean by tight, I don’t want this taken out of context. I have taken professional workshops and training. I never wrap baby tight around the neck area. Wrapping to tight at the neck can cause asphyxiation. It is imperative to not wrap your newborn too tightly in the neck area.
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