A new baby in the family means changes for everyone. One of
the biggest changes is in our sleep, or rather, our lack of
sleep! Even if you have other children and you've gone
through the adjustment before, every child is different.
Some babies sleep through the night at an early age.
Others make you wonder if you'll ever sleep again.

It's very common for new babies to be born with their body
clocks the wrong way around. While still in the womb, your
baby may have been rocked to sleep during the day by your
movements and more active when you were resting at night.
So your baby's longest stretch of sleep may be in the
middle of the day.

There is evidence to show that a young baby can start to
distinguish between night and day from as young as two
weeks with a little gentle guidance. Here are six simple
strategies that work.

1 - During the day, let natural light into the house as
much as is possible. Take your baby out for walks in the
fresh air. Even if he's sleeping, he will be stimulated by
the light and feel of the air against his skin. Daylight
has been proven to aid night sleep for babies and adults.

2 - When your baby is awake (for a very short time in the
early weeks) interact with him, talk to him, stroke his
skin and place your face near his so he can see you. Just
being close to his family provides him with all the
stimulation he needs. Infants are stimulated just by being
held.

3 - Night time should be dark and quiet. Use a night light
when feeding your baby and don't engage with him too much.
After giving him a feed and a cuddle, put him straight back
to bed. This will set him up for healthy sleeping habits in
the next few months. Only change his nappy if you really
need to and if you do, keep the light dimmed and your voice
low.

4 - Your baby will know it's time to sleep if you introduce
sleep cues. In the early days, this won't mean much to your
baby. Once he has the hang of what's coming next, and
understands this is the pre-sleep routine, he will start to
settle to sleep easily.

A bedtime routine may include a bath, sleep suit, sleep
sack, feed and cuddle before bed.

For nap time, a little face wash, nappy change, sleeping
bag and feed will let your baby know he's going for a sleep.

You could also have a lullaby CD that plays while you're
getting him ready for bed.

Follow the same routine in the same order every night and
your baby will very quickly learn that it's time for sleep.

5 - Sleep props really help your baby know it's sleep time.
White noise works because the rhythmical sound is familiar
after the noise your baby was used to in the womb. Silence
can be alarming for babies and white noise can be calming
and reassuring.

A baby comforter that you can take everywhere with you and
bring out at sleep time is also a fantastic sleep cue.

Hold it close to you before and after your baby is born so
that it smells of you. Try one that you can attach to the
cot so it's close to your baby in the early months, but
safely out of the way.

Later, you can detach it and give to him for cuddles. And
when you feel it is safe, you can leave it with him at
sleep times too. Baby comforters have been proven to help
babies sleep through the night from an early age.

A sleeping bag or baby sleep sack also helps if you use it
for every sleep time. It's snug, warm and safe and can
become an essential part of your baby's sleep routine.

6 - Create a place for sleep. In the first few weeks your
baby will probably fall asleep anywhere and everywhere. He
will feel most safe when with you and probably enjoy
sleeping snuggled up against your skin.

But you should decide on where you want him to sleep at
night and during the day as early as possible and start
putting him down to sleep there so that it becomes a
familiar, safe place for him. It doesn't have to be every
sleep time at first. But gradually get him used to falling
asleep in the same place every night and nap time.

If you set up good habits from the start, it will make
sleep time easy for everyone. It's much harder to later
correct bad habits.

New mums are often told to sleep when their baby sleeps.
With everything that needs to be done, this may seem
impossible and simplistic. But it really does help. If
you're not well rested, you won't enjoy the time with your
baby when he's awake and ready to play. In the early days,
if you have a sleeping baby, you should be sleeping too.