Hello and congratulations on your little one! We are Laura and Orla, gentle sleep coaches, nurses and friends. Two years ago, Laura was working on a busy postnatal ward as a midwife and Orla had just sleep trained her daughter. During this time we had many conversations about newborn sleep and the impact of lack of sleep on a family. We decided to become sleep coaches and having completed our Gentle Sleep Coach training under the renowned Kim West, the Dream Team was born! Since then we’ve worked with over 150 families and have become increasingly skilled in newborn sleep.

Here are some of our top tips for newborn sleep.
1. Create a calming sleep environment. A dark, quiet room is ideal for your baby. Remember your baby should room share with you until they are 6 months old. A babies room should be between 16-20C. We recommend buying a little night light that tells the room temperature. This will not only create a soft glow for winding baby down, but also let you know if their room is the right temperature. Babies need to sleep on a fitted sheet on a firm, flat mattress and don’t need any pillows. While cuddly toys are lovely for babies, you want to keep the cot free of anything loose! Make sure babies room is clutter free and calm-minimise blue light and loud toys in their sleep space.
2. Establish night and day. Expose your baby to light early in the morning and try to get up at the same time every day. This helps regulate their internal clock and can help create a regular routine. At night time, create a dark calm environment.
3. The 3pm rule. Try have a calm environment and no blue light after 3pm. This can be really brilliant in helping your baby unwind as overstimulation can lead to overtiredness. We advise keeping the house nice and quiet and calm after 3 o clock to promote a soothing environment that encourages relaxation before bed.
4. Ask for help! Don’t ever be afraid to ask loved ones to lend a hand.
5. There are no bad habits! Learn your babies cues, respond to them and enjoy the newborn cuddles!