The secrets of baby-sized sleep

Babies usually get enough sleep. They’re built for it and can do up to 20 hours a day in the first six months. It’s when they do most of their growing – both physically and mentally. Sleep is a natural state, but that doesn’t stop babies keeping their own crazy schedule, which is likely to take no notice of night and day. It means you need to keep an eye on how many hours you’re getting, too. After all, baby needs you at your best.

A happy baby lies on a white GULSPARV blanket on top of a bed with her mother who holds her feet and smiles at her.

Skin-to-skin

There is growing evidence of the benefits of skin-to-skin contact – laying a baby on their mother’s chest (especially shortly after birth). This has a calming effect on both baby and you, as well as having a regulating effect on many biological activities. Holding your baby to your chest at any time can be effective in calming and inducing sleep.

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A gray armchair with a mother with a baby on her lap

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A cosy nursery in your bedroom

You don’t need to have an entire room for your baby in order to make a space that feels like a cosy sanctuary. You can even make an area of your bedroom just right. Don’t forget things like a glowing night light, a mobile and somewhere comfortable for you to sit and feed your baby.

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A mother is sitting on a chair holding her baby on a LEN nursing pillow. Beside her is a young child who is smiling.

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Everyone sings lullabies

The rocking melody in lullabies is universal, from America’s ‘Rock-a-bye baby’ to Sweden’s ‘Mors Lilla Olle’ and China’s ‘Shi shang zhi you mama hao’. A forward and back motion has a settling effect on all humans – so it’ll calm baby and you, too.

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An ÄLSKVÄRD baby bed on wheels next to an ÄLSKVÄRD changing table and ÄLSKVÄRD crib

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A cot that grows with baby

The safest way for newborn babies to sleep is alone in a cot with no pillow, toys or bedding. Adjustable cot bases allow you to set the cot in a high position for newborns, and then lower the base (and detach one side) as your baby grows and becomes more mobile. You can also add a bumper pad, for example LENAST bumper pad, for extra protection.

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A SNIGLAR cot made from beech wood sits in a bedroom near a double bed on which there is a DJUNGELSKOG tiger soft toy.

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Made with magic textiles...

IKEA children’s textiles are mostly made from sustainably grown cotton or lyocell, both natural materials that are soft against the skin. Our cotton is a soft material that breathes and absorbs moisture so your child sleeps tight all night.

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Create your nursery

When you’re making a nursery space for baby, you‘re just as much making a nursery space for yourself. You need to consider your practical needs. Make sure a changing table or space is easy to access and at a comfortable height for you. Place nursing and clothing essentials so you can get at them easily and include a seat comfy enough it can double as a bed when it has to.

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A SUNDVIK changing table sits in a bedroom with two UPPLYST LED wall lamps and some baby clothes on the wall above it.

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Getting enough sleep?

Koalas are world champion sleepers. They like up to 22 hours a day. Your baby might well be on the podium, too. But while every carer has a busy schedule, try to make sure some of those nap times are for both of you. You might not be a koala, but you’re not a giraffe either (they like a world-beating couple of hours per day, taken in tiny chunks – sound familiar?).

See the guide to better sleep