One of the hardest parts of life with a newborn is doing it all with little to no sleep under your belt. Every baby is different, and some babies are just not going to be great sleepers. That said, I believe there are a few simple things you can do to get the most restful nights possible with your newborn. Getting the right bassinet, learning about baby’s sleep and schedule, and having a bedside care station are the best ways to set yourself for newborn sleep success.
By the time my babies were six weeks old, they were both sleeping 6+ hour stretches every night, waking to eat, then going right back to sleep for another 4-6 hour stretch. This is not because I sleep trained them or because my babies are superior sleepers – this is because I got the right tools and the right information. Let’s get into it.
Newborn Sleep Necessities List
Snoo Bassinet
Taking Cara Babies Info Course
Three Tier Metal Rolling Cart
Elvie Curve
Elvie Milk Storage Bottles
Bedside Mini Fridge
Diapers
Wipes
Disposable Changing Pads
Mini Trash Can
Snoo Sheets
Snoo Swaddle
Spit Up Towels
Baby Pajamas
Nursing Nightgown
Hatch Sound Machine & Nightlight
Owlet Baby Monitor
The Right Bassinet
The Snoo Bassinet-
The first thing you’ll want to get to set yourself up for newborn sleep success is a Snoo Bassinet. I cannot recommend this bassinet enough- there is nothing else like it on the market and nothing is more crucial to both you and your newborn getting a good night’s sleep. Every time I talk to a friend who is expecting, the first thing I tell them about is the Snoo.
There are so many things to love about the Snoo Bassinet. It has a built in swaddling system that contains your baby’s arms, and holds your baby into place so you never have to worry about them rolling over in the middle of the night. The Snoo is the only bassinet that is FDA certified to reduce the risk of SIDS. The peace of mind that this gave me as a new mother was priceless, but I’ll go on.
When you go to put your baby down for the night, the Snoo makes it so that you can put them in their bassinet while they’re still awake. No need to rock them until they fall asleep before putting them down – just put baby into the bassinet at their regular bedtime, strap them into the built in swaddle, and turn it on. The Snoo will rock your baby to sleep for you. People call the Snoo “an extra set of hands” and they are absolutely right. Bedtime with two under two at my house means lots of things to get done all at the same time. Being able to put my little one in the Snoo while she’s still awake, and knowing the Snoo will take it across the finish line and get her to sleep is as helpful as having an extra adult around.
Once your baby is asleep, the Snoo literally rocks your baby back and forth, all night, mimicking the motion they got used to in the womb. If your baby fusses, it rocks a bit faster, and soothes them back to sleep. When my baby starts to wake up in the middle of the night, instead of immediately rushing to pick them up, I instead wait for just a minute to see if the Snoo can get her back to sleep before I intervene. Nine times out of ten, the Snoo’s rocking and soothing does the trick within just a minute or two, and both baby and I go back to sleep without any intervention.
The Snoo is pricey, and at first I was hesitant to spend that much on a bassinet that they’ll only sleep in for about six months. Having now used it for two babies, I can confidently tell you it was worth every penny. Sleep is invaluable when you’ve got a new baby. The days are long, and wondering whether or not you’re going to get any sleep that night can really make you feel defeated. Having the Snoo and being able to rely on baby sleeping at night was an absolute game changer. If you don’t want to purchase one, Snoo also rents their bassinets. Visit happiestbaby.com to learn more about their rental program.
The last thing I’ll say about the Snoo is that I love the way that it looks. Having a bassinet in your bedroom can make you feel like you’re sleeping in a nursery. The Snoo has a sleek, modern appearance that blends in well with an adults room. When your house begins to be overtaken with baby necessities, its nice to feel like your bedroom is still yours.
The Right Information
Taking Cara Babies Info Courses –
Before having babies, the idea of getting them on a schedule was something I assumed happened when they were two or three years old. While I was pregnant with my first baby, a friend from high school send me a link to @takingcarababies in instagram and said “this will save your life with a newborn”. With no other context, I did a deep dive and learned that this friend was absolutely right.
Taking Cara Babies is ran by Cara Dumaplin, a certified pediatric sleep consultant and a neonatal nurse. She has a series of e-courses available that teach you everything you need to know about newborns as it relates to sleep.
In these courses, she walks you through how to set up a sleeping schedule your baby can stick to and thrive with. She explains how long babies should be awake, when and how often to feed them, when to put them down to nap, and how to change this schedule month by month as they get older. She teaches you about sleep cues to help know when your baby is ready for bed, and shows you methods that actually work for soothing a fussy baby. She does not tell you to “sleep train” your baby, or to let them cry it out, which was important to me. She also helps you understand what to expect from your newborn while they are sleeping. This course helped me differentiate between when my baby is simply being a newborn and making newborn noises, and when my baby is signaling to me that she needs me to feed her or help sooth her.
Having taken this course while I was pregnant, by the time my first baby arrived, I felt prepared and confident that I would be able to help my baby become a good sleeper. The information I learned helped me feel in control of my days, and helped me get as much sleep as possible at night. I was able to successfully get each of my babies on a schedule a few weeks after birth. Once I had my second baby and entered life with two under two, I was able to know what time of the day both of my babies would be napping, giving me a much needed break to look forward to and rely on each day. I highly recommend absorbing the knowledge Cara has packaged together. My friend was right, learning from Cara did (figuratively) save my life with a newborn at home. If I only had the time to do one thing before my baby arrived, I would do this course.
Bedside Care Station
Feeding & Changing Supply Cart –
Now that you’ve got the right bassinet, and you’ve got the info you need to setup a sleep schedule for your baby, the last thing you need is a bedside supply cart. Having everything you need to feed and change the baby in the middle of the night within arms reach is crucial. When they need to eat or need a fresh diaper, having all supplies close by means not having to get out of bed or to move much at all to reset baby, which in turn means less sleep interruption so you can both get back to sleep sooner.
For my supply station, I use a basic three tiered metal rolling cart, with the top level dedicated to nursing supplies, second level for diaper changing needs, and bottom level for clothes & linens. The cart being metal is important, I’ll get into that in a minute. For now, let’s go over the cart level by level to talk about what supplies I keep there and why.
The Top Shelf – Feeding Supplies
The top shelf of your supply cart is for feeding supplies. If you’re formula feeding, I would recommend setting up some kind of a bedside formula station so you don’t have to leave bed to make their bottles. If you’re exclusively pumping, same recommendation – setup this tier to have everything you need to pump without leaving your bed. Since I exclusively breastfed both babies, this is the only method I feel qualified to offer specific recommendations for.
On the top shelf of my bedside cart, I keep one for clean nursing dishes and one for dirty. In those first few months with a newborn, I had a bit of an oversupply, and was also interested in accumulating a stash of extra milk. Never wanting to waste a drop of milk, I wanted to be able to collect and store my excess milk for my stash without having to leave my bed. In my clean basket, I would keep a few Elvie Curves and a few Elvie Breastmilk Storage Bottles. If you’re feeding twice a night, I recommend two of each. Three feedings, I recommend three of each, and so on.
While I breastfeed baby on one side, I put the Elvie Curve in my bra on the other side to collect milk. The Elvie Curve is a simple to use, wearable pump that fits into your bra and uses suction to collect milk from one boob while your baby is nursing on the other. When I’m done nursing, I put baby back into the Snoo, and then pour the milk I collected from the Elvie Curve into the Elvie Milk Storage Bottle. The milk goes into my bedside mini fridge, the dirty dishes go into their basket, and I’m back to bed within a minute of putting baby back in her bassinet. This method is great for people with an oversupply, people looking to build a milk stash, or for people who are trying to stimulate higher milk production. Baby gets fed, no milk gets wasted, and you’re able to build a stash, all without ever having to leave your bed.
The Middle Shelf- Diaper Changing Supplies
On the second level of your supply cart is the diaper changing section. Keep a good stock of whatever diapers and wipes you plan to use. With both babies I used Honest Brand for both wipes and diapers, but I think there are a lot of good options on the market for both. I also highly recommend stocking disposable changing pads on this shelf. These turn your bed into a diaper changing surface. Just put one under baby, change them, then throw both the changing pad and the dirty diaper into your bedside mini trash can– bed stays clean and cleanup is a breeze. If you have pets or a sensitive nose, I recommend a mini trash can that has a lid and some odor locking technology, such as this Freshlix Touchless Trashcan, otherwise any small trash receptacle will do. This system will keep middle of the night diaper changes simple and clean so you can quickly change baby without ever having to leave your bed.
The Bottom Shelf – Extra Clothes & Linens
The bottom level of your supply cart is where to keep clothing & linen backups. I typically keep the following items on this shelf:
Spare Baby Pajamas (one)
Snoo Sheets (one)
Snoo Swaddle (one)
Spit-up Towels (three)
Nursing Nightgown (one)
Inevitably, at some point, all of these items are going to need to be changed in the middle of the night. Whether it’s from spit up, a diaper blowout, leaking milk, or some combination of the three, you’re going to need a change of clothes and linens. Not having to get out of bed to deal with it is going to make remedying the problem substantially easier, and quicker, so you and baby can get back to sleep.
Other Necessities
Hatch Sound Machine & Nightlight
When baby wakes up to eat, you’re going to want a very soft, minor source of light so you can see what you’re doing, but not interrupt baby’s sleep with something bright and harsh. I highly recommend he Hatch Rest Sound Machine & Light. This is a bedside nightlight and sound machine that also has a clock display. It gives me a soft, adjustable light source for the middle of the night feedings, and is a sound machine that I can turn up high when I want to be in my room and don’t want to have to be silent while baby is in her bassinet. This product comes with an app so if you’d like, you can control the light and sound levels with your phone. Once baby transitions to her nursery, this sound machine and light will go with her. While she is in my room in her bassinet, I use it every single night. I have one for each baby, and have used them both every day since each baby was born. This has turned out to be one of the most used baby products I have purchased and I highly recommend it.
Owlet Camera
You’re going to want to have a baby monitor for your bassinet. Baby will probably go to bed at least a few hours before you do, as well as take their daytime naps in their Snoo. Since you likely won’t want to stay in your bedroom while this is going on, it’s great to have a baby monitor in there.
I love the Owlet Baby Monitor. I have many throughout my house, including in both nurseries and in the playroom. I like the owlet for many reasons, but mostly because of how well the app works and lets you monitor multiple cameras simultaneously. I watch my babies from my phone, or from the iPad we keep at the house specifically for baby related needs. The Owlet also monitors the room’s temperature and humidity levels, which is great when you live somewhere with fluctuating temperatures. There are many other owlet features, these are just a few of my favorite.
I mentioned earlier that you’re going to want your supply cart to be metal. This is because the owlet camera, which can be permanently mounted to the wall, is also a magnet, which can be temporarily affixed to your bedside care cart to monitor baby. You can magnet it to your cart when its needed, and take it off when you don’t. And like the Hatch, this will transition with baby to their nursery when they’re ready.
I hope you found this list helpful. I believe if you set yourself up with the supplies I’ve recommend, and absorb the knowledge in the Taking Cara Babies E-Course, you will find the newborn sleep phase to not be as hard as people say. As always, this list is a product of many, many hours of research, and everything on this list is something I personally own and love. Wishing you and your new baby the most restful nights and the most peaceful days.
-Cyn
PS- If you’d like to download a copy of this list, you can do so below.
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