Creating a Solid Sleep Foundation for Your Newborn

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As new parents, we all crave one thing – a good night's sleep! The early months of parenthood can be a rollercoaster of emotions and sleepless nights. I really had no idea what it really meant to be sleep deprived until I had a newborn that needed to be changed and fed and held and rocked to sleep every 2-3 hours around the clock. It’s a feeling you can’t explain. But having confidence that your little one can get to sleep easily is HUGE in finding those ounces of time where you can try and catch up on your own rest (or let’s be honest - wash bottles, do some laundry, pick up the room, take a shower). While I was pregnant, I had been told about Taking Cara Babies by many friends. Once Mila was born, I hopped right to it. Taking Cara Babies transformed our sleep routines and brought peace and sanity back into our lives. I recommend their programs to EVERYONE!

Today, I want to share my journey and the incredible impact the First 5 Months Bundle from Taking Cara Babies had on our family.

The First 5 Months Bundle is a comprehensive sleep program designed by the renowned pediatric sleep expert, Cara Dumaplin. It focuses on providing parents with the tools, knowledge, and strategies to help their little ones develop healthy sleep habits from birth to five months of age. The Bundle includes both the “Will I Ever Sleep Again” course for setting the solid sleep foundation at 0-12 weeks as well as “Navigating Months 3-4.” You can purchase them independently but trust me, you’ll want both.

The first 4 weeks of a newborn’s life are a bit of a crapshoot (which I believe she even says in the First 5 Months program) but after that, you can start to create some sense of routine. The first thing is to lay a solid sleep foundation. From day one, the Taking Cara Babies program emphasizes the importance of a consistent sleep routine and a conducive sleep environment. With step-by-step guidance, we learned how to create a soothing bedtime routine, how to optimize the room (she slept in our room for 4 months) for optimal sleep, and lay the groundwork for healthy sleep habits.

The “Will I Ever Sleep Again” program includes topics such as:

Reading your baby’s cues so you know when they’re ready to sleep
Calming a fussy baby
Swaddling, sound machines, and other sleep tools
Sleepy cues & wake windows
Healthy naps & flexible daytime routines
Helping your baby learn to fall asleep independently
Getting longer stretches of sleep at night
Even more help with days, nights, and other common newborn concerns
Seeing it all in action with real families

And the “Navigating Months 3-4” ebook includes:

Understanding the 4-month sleep regression
Weaning unnecessary night feedings
Helping your baby fall asleep more independently
Reducing night wakings
Creating a realistic, flexible schedule
Handling naps
Releasing sleep props

As well as helping to setup a solid sleep foundation, I referenced the Taking Cara Babies blog frequently (which is PACKED with free articles with great tips) for details about schedules, primarily. The way she outlines the daily routine really helped us create a predictable flow throughout our day, which we have maintained throughout Mila’s first 2 years of life. Cara provides detailed sleep schedules for every age - broken down even by the quickly changing patterns of babies as they move through weeks in their first 5 months. These schedules are perfect little gems.

The First 5 Months program was super useful in helping us to understand the appropriate schedule for Mila’s sleep, based on her exact age as well as to help us understand sleep cues. Turns out, the things I normally would have thought were sleep cues were actually signs of being over tired and actually missing the appropriate sleep time completely, making sleep even more difficult - that’s right - when they’re really tired it’s even HARDER for them to fall asleep and then you’ll end up in a downward spiral of crying and rocking and shushing and basically wanting to crawl in a hole and never come out.

We began our First 5 Months course once Mila was 4 weeks old. I won’t say we totally nailed it and followed all the guidelines, but now, after being through the 5-24 month program as well and really sticking to ALL of Cara’s “rules” - I would not deviate from the First 5 Months guidelines the next time around. We screwed ourselves in a few ways by not sticking to Cara’s program. When you follow what she says - it freaking works!!!

As the weeks passed, Mila’s night sleep would extend, giving all of us more restful and re-energizing sleep. Any parent can attest, the night wakings can be truly exhausting. The First 5 Months Bundle provided us effective strategies to handle night wakings, gradually reducing night feedings, and encouraging longer stretches of uninterrupted sleep. These tools helped us create a more peaceful nighttime routine for the entire family.

Another great benefit of the program is the community that Taking Cara Babies has created around their program and the additional benefits they offer to help you work through some confusing and complex sleep challenges. As I mentioned, their blog is a treasure trove of valuable information and has awesome tips about challenges like early mornings wakings (we had a personal experience with this and their suggestions got us back on track) and a great Instagram account with both informative and entertaining content.

Overall, the First 5 Months Bundle from Taking Cara Babies has truly been a game-changer for our family. Through the program's gentle and effective sleep techniques, we witnessed Mila develop healthy sleep habits and achieve restful nights, which have led to her being a stellar sleeper at nearly 2 years old. One thing I can say about following the Taking Cara Babies programs is that they gave us the confidence to navigate the ups and downs of baby sleep and early parenthood and have helped us foster a nurturing sleep environment that has given Mila a life skill she will be able to continue carrying with her forever.

If you find yourself longing for more sleep and seeking guidance on establishing healthy sleep routines, I highly recommend exploring the First 5 Months Bundle from Taking Cara Babies. You’ll discover the joy and relief that comes with a well-rested family, and unlock the precious gift of sleep for both you and your baby. You will not regret it!