How to Get Your Newborn to Sleep in a Bassinet

These bedside bassinets can be well-worth their money if lack of soothing is the main reason your newborn won’t sleep in a bassinet.

5. Start Bedtime and Naptime Routines

Cueing your baby that sleep is coming can go a long way to being able to put them down. If they become accustomed to a few short steps before they are put down in a bassinet, they may be more welcoming of sleep. A newborn bedtime routine doesn’t have to be very long. 5 to 10 minutes is all you need. A quick example would be some lavender lotion, a fresh diaper, a feeding, a few lullabies, and a few minutes of a little soothing/rocking/swaying.

6. Sleep on the Sheets

Your scent can be very soothing to your newborn! Just watch this baby calm down with momma’s scent:

Of course, giving your baby a t-shirt is NOT safe while unattended. Instead, sleep on your baby’s bassinet sheet for a few days or put the sheet in your shirt for several hours to several days. Do NOT spray perfume or anything. The idea is to have your natural scent transferred to the sheet.

7. Use Gentle Sleep Coaching Techniques

Last but not least, if all of these other tips don’t get your newborn to sleep in a bassinet, you can try some gentle sleep coaching techniques. With gentle sleep coaching, the idea is that you put your baby down awake and coach them to sleep in the bassinet. The goal of this is to help them associate their bassinet as their sleep space and not your arms, chest, stroller, car seat, etc. As of right now, your baby may not KNOW they are “supposed” to sleep anywhere else. By gently guiding them to fall asleep in their bassinet, you can help them learn new and healthy sleep habits. However, keep in mind that sleep training newborns is not always easy. You may need to wait until 6+ weeks old and take it really slow.

I hope these tips have successfully helped you with your newborn’s sleep! If you need more help, please review the resources below!