The skill of connecting sleep cycles is something all newborns have to learn. If newborns learn to connect their sleep cycles without being fed to sleep, many babies will be able to sleep up to a solid 6 hour stretch at night by 6 weeks old.
It's simpler than you think!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It's actually not as scary as you'd think to remove the feed to sleep association. Simply move baby's feeding so you're feeding upon waking rather than feeding to sleep. Ta da! If your newborn needs your help getting to sleep (most do!), break out that carrier or wrap and wear baby for naps, bounce/rock to sleep, and help them soothe, just not by feeding.
Although you're creating a sleep association by using any of those other sleep "crutches" that's completely okay with your newborn. You cannot teach your newborn bad habits.
Need me to repeat that? You cannot...teach your newborn...ANY "bad" habits.
Got it? ;)
So you do what it takes to get your little one to sleep safely. If that's by feeding, that's okay to! You'll just have an easier time later on, and can get longer stretches at night, if you're not feeding baby to sleep all the time.
Feed upon waking⠀⠀⠀⠀
So that sounds great, but how exactly do you feed upon waking all the time? I'm going to share something with you that was one of my biggest sanity savers with my newborn. I craved structure and routine in my live, and so did my newborn. Implementing a daytime Eat, Play, Sleep routine around 6-8 weeks old, gives you just that, and also removes that feed to sleep association.
Remember, babies this young still need to eat every 2-3 hrs at night.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Eat, Play, Sleep Routine
Eat - Nurse/bottle feed baby upon waking⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Play - Tummy time, stroller walk, fresh air, natural light⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sleep - Put baby down for nap⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Need more help?
Download my Newborn Survival Guide for more info and tips on:
newborn naps
wake times
routines
bedtimes
troubleshooting shorts naps
pacifier use
where baby should sleep and more!
Let's chat!
If you need help sorting through your baby's sleep, set up a free 15-minute consultation with me to discuss my sleep solutions!