Settling your Newborn Baby using the 5 S’s

According to the Sleep Foundation newborn babies require between 14 and 17 hours of sleep per day. Due to the small size of your babies tummy, this sleep will be broken up with frequent feedings.

It is normal for your newborn to need a lot of support to settle to sleep, and one way to help them with this is to try and replicate the womb.

Your baby has spent up to 9 months being cosy inside your womb, and it can take them some time to adapt to the outside world. The outside world is loud and has many scents that they’re unfamiliar with. Newborns tend to sleep very well when being held as you’re their home and your familiar scent provides calm.

So, how can the 5 S’s help you settle your new baby?

These work collectively to help replicate the womb and provide comfort and calm for your baby.

What are the 5 S’s?

These were originally coined by Dr Harvey Karp, consisting of swaddling, side settling, shushing, swaying and sucking.

Swaddling is a me