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The Sleep Lady®'s Gentle Newborn Sleep Guide
Get better sleep for the whole family — from birth — with gentle, proven tips, tools, and techniques from The Sleep Lady® Sleep training isn’t recommended until your baby is 6 months old, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless to help them (and you) sleep better now. For the past three decades, Kim West, known around the world as The Sleep Lady®, has personally helped over twenty thousand families gently teach their children how to fall asleep—and fall back asleep—without leaving them to cry it out alone.
Now, in The Sleep Lady®’s Gentle Newborn Sleep Guide, she offers gentle, evidence-based ways to help newborns (and parents) get to sleep! Understand action steps you can take and learn myths you can let go of with easily digestible chapters you can follow along monthly.
“I find crying it out (CIO) and Ferber to be rather brutal approaches and wanted something much gentler with minimal crying. This did the trick…”
– Katclimber: AMAZON Top Contributor: Baby
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In the first months of life (typically zero to three months), rather than focus on newborn sleep issues, we concentrate on establishing basic rhythms and routines that will help babies learn to sleep better. You can gently shape some newborns’ sleep habits early on and hopefully prevent future sleep problems. We also learn a repertoire of soothing techniques that will help us become more confident parents, able to help our babies feel calm and secure, without relying exclusively or constantly on the breast or a bottle.
Consider this precious time a sleep-shaping phase and less a sleep-coaching phase. Cherish these first few months – which will fly by – as your gift of time to bond with your baby. There will be plenty of opportunities soon enough to worry about sleep. Your newborn sleep issues are just that – newborn issues. With time and appropriate parent coaching, a lot of issues will resolve with age.
OUR MOST HELPFUL ARTICLES FOR NEWBORN SLEEP ISSUES
If your baby’s been crying more than usual and you’re not sure if it’s teething, gas, or just plain exhaustion, you’re not alone. As a
Sleep coaching can feel like a big milestone—for both you and your little one. But here’s the good news: there’s no “perfect” timeline and absolutely
According to the Mayo Clinic, colic is “frequent, prolonged, and intense crying or fussiness in a healthy infant. Pediatric nurse practitioner and PhD Maryanne Tranter
Can You Sleep Train Newborns? No, sleep training is not appropriate for newborns. As a sleep expert, I advise parents to hold off on formal
Entering parenthood is a rollercoaster of emotions, especially when it’s time to prep for your little one’s arrival. To ease some of the pressure, we’ve
Navigating Sleep with The Newborn Twins Sleep Guide Are you expecting newborn twins and bracing yourself for the sleepless nights that seem inevitable? Fear not,
Gentle Sleep Coaching: 12 Tips For Better Sleep In an effort to make gentle sleep coaching more accessible, I have compiled twelve common tips that
Busting Myths: The Truth About Gentle Sleep Coaching In an effort to bust sleep coaching misconceptions and prevent them from spreading further, I’ve put together
The Sleep Lady Shuffle Myth Buster: Setting the Record Straight on Gentle Sleep Coaching The Sleep Lady Shuffle is a gentle and compassionate sleep coaching
How to Swaddle your Baby: Benefits and Safety Tips Swaddling is tightly wrapping your baby in a blanket to restrict the movement of their arms
5 Newborn Sleep Tips To Support a Better Schedule Early On Putting your newborn on a sleep schedule isn’t as rigid as it sounds. I’m
Understanding Sleep & Surviving the First Few Months With Your Sweet Newborn You won’t get a lot of sleep with a newborn. (There, I said
Signs of The 4-Month Sleep Regression & 3 Simple Solutions To Help You Through It Whether you’re still sleep deprived or feeling like you’re finally
Understand Why Your Baby Stays Awake All Night but Sleeps in The Day Your 4-week-old’s beautiful eyes are wide open, and they’re staring up at
The Gentle Newborn Sleep Guide: Your Top 12 Questions Answered Those first few months with your newborn are supposed to be a precious time –
The Best Way To Safely Co-Sleep with Your Newborn & Insight On The Impact The topic of co-sleeping and whether the risks outweigh the benefits
What You Want To Know on Room Sharing and Safe Sleeping for Newborns When you’re bringing home a new baby you want to do the
The Difference Between Sleep Shaping and Coaching Your Newborn To Sleep First and foremost, please don’t believe this newborn sleep advice, “You must teach your
Naptime Products to Get to Sleep Talk to any new parent, and the topic of sleep is bound to come up. Milestones like “sleeping through
Babies in Their Own Room at 4-months Sleep Longer? Not Necessarily You may have seen headlines about a study that found that babies in their
Baby Sleep and Temperament: How it Affects Sleep and Everything Else Did your baby come out of the womb ready to take on the world?
Room Sharing for the First Year: Is it Right for You? The current American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends to “room share for the first
Baby Nap Basics for All Ages: Your Daytime Sleep Questions Answered Many parents wonder what a ‘typical’ schedule looks like for their child. The truth
Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit ® — The A-B-C’s of Sleep The Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit ® was designed by Pediatric Physical Therapist and mother of
No matter how ready you are for your child to sleep through the night, sleep coaching can feel like a huge leap. It’s not always
A Nap Schedule for Every Age: Help Your Child Nap Well Parents often wonder when their baby will settle into a “perfect” nap schedule. This
Sleep Training at Four Months? Why it May Be Better to Wait Just a caveat before we start: If you started sleep training at four
Soothing a Fussy Baby: Using Motion and Cues to Calm the Crankiness Parents dealing with a fussy baby — especially one that has been recently
Infant Massage – Ten Steps to a More Peaceful Baby Giving your baby an infant massage can help baby relax and drift off to sleep.
How to Wean from Swaddling — A Gentle Transition So you’ve reached that wonderful — and often dreaded milestone: your baby is ready to give
Why Newborns Wake at Night and 10 Things You Can Do About It Some newborn babies seem to be born as night owls, with longer
How Much Do Newborns Sleep? Most newborns sleep about 14 to 17 hours in a 24-hour period, sometimes even a little more (6-Hirsh). On average,
Baby and Toddler Naps — Everything You Need to Know Many parents assume that nighttime is the only time that we should worry about our
Naps, Naps, and Naps! When, Why, and How to Get Your Baby to Nap Getting your child to sleep at night is a major milestone
Safe Cosleeping: Creating a Safe Environment for your Baby How you choose to sleep is personal, and if you choose to co-sleep, there are a
Co-Sleeping and Room Sharing – Tips for Sleeping Safely The term “co-sleeping” is often used alongside “room sharing”. While having your child rooming with you
We Must Stop Blaming Parents for Baby Sleep Problems This article has been reprinted with permission. Original title: “Sleep research and advice is full of
Travel Naps: Tips for Maintaining Naps During Holiday Trips The holidays are a time when we get together with friends and family, and that sometimes
Holiday Travel Sleep Tips from The Sleep Lady Are you planning to travel this upcoming holiday season? If so, you’ll want to create game-plan for
Summer Sleep: Can a Cool Breeze Mean Better Sleep for Your Baby? One of my favorite things to do in the early months of summer
If you’ve been paying attention lately, you’ve probably heard that Fisher Price recently recalled their popular “Rock ‘n Play” due to safety concerns. The baby
The holidays are quickly approaching, and while they are some of the most joyous times we can experience with our family, they can also be
Written by Andrea Strang, Certified Gentle Sleep Coach, Postpartum Doula, and owner of KinderSleep. One of the most common things I hear from parents is
9 SIDS Prevention Tips Every Mom Should Know October is National SIDS, Pregnancy, and Infant Loss Awareness month here in the United States. One of
This week I am happy to introduce another reader favorite product – The Zen Swaddle by Nested Bean. I love this product as it aligns perfectly
New parents are often taken by surprise by their newborn baby’s sleep patterns. Parents may wonder whether their baby is sleeping enough, or find themselves
Babies are naturally terrible sleepers. As parents we often feel it is best to do what nature intended, but when it comes to sleep this
Summer Sleep Tips: 10 Ways to Improve Summer Slumber The days are getting longer, temperatures are rising, and summer is almost here. After rainy spring
Some of us feel an intense bond the minute our baby is born. For many other parents, that passionate connection isn’t that immediate – and
Many parents of newborns worry that they will have to actively “wean” their baby from swaddling. Luckily, babies often send clear signals that they don’t
In the first three months of life, we concentrate on establishing basic rhythms and routines that will help babies learn to sleep better.
7 Survival Tips for Any New Parent
As an author, podcaster and public speaker, Amber Trueblood brings clarity and inspiration to busy moms. She has developed a variety of tools to reduce overwhelm and increase fulfillment in daily life. Listen to learn her 7 tips for helping a new parent survive.
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Helping Your Newborn Sleep, Gently
Is it normal for newborns to wake frequently at night?
Can I help my newborn sleep better without sleep training?
Absolutely. During the newborn stage, The Sleep Lady focuses on Baby-Led Sleep Shaping®, which helps establish healthy rhythms, soothing techniques, and age-appropriate routines rather than formal sleep training.