Learning to adjust to life with a newborn can sometimes feel like running in a hamster wheel (spoiler: you're the hamster). Getting into the rhythm of feedings, trying to understand what each cry means, and crossing your fingers that your baby will sleep more hours tonight than they did the night prior becomes your life on a repeat loop. Although this day-to-day activity can be exhausting, it's important to understand why you shouldn't sleep train a newborn, because the effort won't only be frustrating, it's likely to end up being futile as well.
When your baby learns how to fall and stay asleep for long stretches of time, there's no doubt you will take a victory lap around your house, followed by a dance party in your kitchen. But if you're expecting that day to come when your bun is fresh out of the oven, here's the reality check: you're going to have to summon all your patience. According to Parents magazine, newborns don't produce enough melatonin to know the difference between day and night. Additionally, newbies require multiple feedings throughout the night, making hunger the biggest cause for waking. Both of these factors are proof that newborns are not ready for sleep training.
As Today's website pointed out, sleeping is a natural, biological function which all humans inherently know how to do. And your newborn? She's listening to her body to the best of her ability. In this phase, she is sleeping when she's tired (which is a lot) and crying out when she has a need that requires your help (which is everything). But the good news is, there is a light at the end of a not so long tunnel.
Baby Center noted that, by about four months, babies start to develop a regular sleep-wake cycle and drop most of their night feedings. Sticking it out those first few months may be brutal, but knowing that the promised land is right around the corner will keep you hopeful on the most sleepless of nights. Although you shouldn't try to sleep train a newborn, try to sleep and rest as much as possible, since mommy fatigue can cause a long list of problems. To avoid total burnout, Parents magazine suggested resting even if you can't sleep and asking your partner for help with nighttime feedings. These little tricks will get you through until your little one hits the magic number for sleep training.
