The first days you bring your newborn home your baby will most likely sleep a lot. Soon enough they will start to be awake more and for longer stretches. While every baby is different, most can be calmed by one or a combination of things.

As a parent and a newborn photographer who has photographed over 1,000 newborns, I have picked up a few tried and true tips for settling newborn babies.

Whether you are trying to get your little one to sleep for the night, down for a nap, or settle them while you are on the go, these tips will help you calm your little one.

1. See if there is a chill in the air or a draft – babies are more sensitive to cold that we think!

2. Are they still hungry – it might seem like you just fed the baby but you can never know when a growth spurt is happening. A tip is if they look like a baby bird or try to eat your shoulder they are probably still hungry. When in doubt I say try more food   If that doesn’t work, perhaps they are needing to suck something to soothe themselves – try a pacifier – I love the soothie pacifiers for newborns.

3. Is their tummy hard?–are they suffering from gas or learning to get their poop out… try the bicycle method or a gentle massage on their tummy to relieve the gas pain.

4. Holding a baby in your arms until they fall asleep (I believe in the 4^th trimester – you can’t spoil a newborn and I don’t believe in habits forming so young)

5. Use one of the 5 s’s (from Happiest Baby on the Block)  – my favorites are the rocking, gently rhythmic patting or shhhhh. Sometimes carrying them and walking around can relax them too.  I love the baby shusher or the sleep sheep for white noise – Ocean is the most popular with my babies (regular white noise machines don’t replicate the sounds they were used to!). You can also find an app on your phone for baby sleep if you don’t have access to one of those items!

6. Swaddling – I highly recommend the halo sleep swaddle – I like arms in as it replicates the womb (arms must be out if your baby can roll over though but highly unlikely )

7. Check to see if they went to the bathroom? Some babies don’t love being wet so a diaper change can help them feel more comfortable!

Conclusion

Go through this list and see what works for your little one! Most of all, remember that you have got this! Babies definitely sense stress so if you need a break don’t be afraid to ask for help – sleep deprivation and baby’s crying are actual torture methods so make sure to get some rest yourself! You can do this!