Bringing your baby home is both joyous and overwhelming. You’re learning so much about each other in those first few weeks, and adjusting to life as a bigger family.
And while you and your baby adjust, there’s some learning and adapting to your Cradlewise to be done as well.
Here are some little steps you can take each day to help get your newborn acclimated to Cradlewise, and set your family up for sleep success.
Day 1: Start in ‘Smart mode’ and get a feel for the intensity and ‘sensitivity’ settings
Welcome home! It’s your first day home with baby — now what?
Your first day home is going to feel like a whirlwind. Everything looks familiar, yet nothing feels the same.
Introduce your baby to their crib and let them spend some time in there while awake without any bouncing or white noise. It’s best to do this when they’re in a good mood — usually after a feeding and diaper change.
The two crib settings to focus on at first are ‘Bounce intensity limit’ and crib ‘Sensitivity’. The ‘Bounce intensity limit’ setting allows you to limit your smart mode’s bounce to suit your comfort. And crib ‘Sensitivity’ is how quickly and often the crib responds to sleep disturbances.
When it’s time for your baby to sleep, either for a nap or overnight, try starting in Smart mode, with ~40-60% ‘Bounce intensity limit’ setting and ‘Sensitivity’ set at High. You can then adjust to what feels right for you.
Day 2: Experiment with sound options
Congratulations, you’ve made it through your first night!
On day two, you’ll have more opportunities to use Cradlewise for naps and overnight sleep. If your baby is only contact-napping right now, don’t worry, that’s totally fine.
Your newborn will be sleeping a lot, and the main thing you’re trying to achieve is getting them comfortable in Cradlewise. Keep the settings you had yesterday; your baby needs time to adjust.
Today, try to play around with the different sound options. Pink, brown, and white noise are available in your app. Pink noise, which is similar to white noise but gentler, can sound like a gentle waterfall, steady rainfall, or wind rustling through tree leaves.
It closely resembles the sounds your baby is familiar with from the womb, and research suggests ink noise is soothing for many newborns.
You can also customize a track for your baby with more emphasized heartbeat or breathing sounds — this will help keep them connected to the sounds they heard for the past several months. Head on to the Sound tab and tap the (+) icon in the top right to create a custom track that’s just right for you.
Make sure the adults in the house get a nap in today, too. 😉
Day 3: Maximize your monitor
Day 3, here we are!
Your baby has probably seen their pediatrician by now, so any major concerns should be raised with them. On day three, you’ll want to keep doing what you’ve been doing. Consistency is key here.
Make sure your baby is comfortable in their swaddle and they are being placed flat on their backs with nothing else in the crib. in accordance with safe sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
You may have noticed that your baby is quite the noisy sleeper! That’s pretty normal, and also kind of shocking.
Instead of jumping up and responding to every sound and grunt your baby makes — and risking waking them up — keep an eye on your monitor so you can see if your baby is truly awake.
Cradlewise will alert you if your baby cannot be soothed back to sleep.
If you haven’t done it already, you may want to set up a little middle-of-the-night feeding station with water, a phone charger, and a snack.
Day 4: Soothe with a heartbeat
Halfway through the first week: You’re doing great! Newborns sleep a lot, just not in long stretches like adults — so don’t be frustrated; all the mini-naps are totally normal.
If you feel something needs to change with your settings, start small and start with sound. Try adding or increasing the womb-like ambiance of a heartbeat or breathing or adding or changing the nature sound overlay.
You can try playing around with different sounds while your baby is awake to see if there’s anything they strongly respond to.
If your house is particularly noisy you can also increase the volume of the cradle to help block out any extra noise. You can head to Settings > Soothing > Sound > Volume limit to set your preferred volume range for the Smart mode.
Day 5: Put baby down for a nap with the bounce already on
How did everyone sleep last night?
If you find your baby falling asleep in your arms and then abruptly waking up as you place them in the crib, don’t worry — this is totally normal.
Newborns have an instinctive reflex called the moro reflex that often startles them awake as they are lowered down into their bassinet. This reflex will slowly decrease and completely go away in a few months.
When it’s time to place your baby in the crib, have it already lightly bouncing and then place them down slowly with their bottom touching the mattress first and then their head. You can place your hand on their chest for a moment before walking away to reassure them that they are safe and secure.
To accommodate this, we’ve introduced a feature called “Start Recipe,” allowing you to customize the crib’s response when the baby is first placed inside. Now you can literally code how the crib responds when you first place the baby in the crib!
For instance, if your baby needs less soothing for the first 30 minutes, your Start Recipe will look like this:
Bounce: Gentle
Music: Gentle
Timer: 20 minutes
With this Start Recipe, the crib will use gentle soothing for the first 20 minutes of placing the baby in the crib and then revert back to “Smart Soothing” mode.
Try to keep your baby awake during feedings, but if they drift into a snooze while nursing or feeding, enjoy that sleepy, milk-drunk cuddle time. 😍
Day 6: Get help from other caregivers
It’s Day 6! You’re almost through your baby’s first week! We know it takes a village, but sometimes that village is virtual — and Cradlewise is here to support you.
Did you know you can add caregivers to your app? Caregivers can be grandparents, aunts, uncles, nannies, or anyone you want.
Use the app to add caregivers and control their access level. Maybe someone is coming over to watch the baby while you take care of yourself: You can give them access to control the crib.
Crib Notes
If you have a friend or family member coming over to babysit but don’t want to give them Caregiver access, no worries! They can use the Gesture Controls feature to start and stop the crib bouncing.
Have a family member or friend who lives far away? Give them access to monitor so they can see your sweet little baby whenever they sleep. It can help everyone in the family feel a little more connected.
Day 7: Step up the sensitivity
You did it! You’ve made it through your first week with your baby. You probably don’t have a real routine yet, but that’s okay — it’s coming!
Your 1-month-old baby’s sleep schedule will feel a bit chaotic at first, but will gradually become more predictable as your newborn’s circadian rhythm develops.
If you want, now is the time to change up your crib’s settings. Until now, we’ve been in Smart mode with ~40-60% ‘Bounce intensity limit’ setting and ‘Sensitivity’ set at High.
If you find that your baby moves a lot while they sleep and wakes themselves up, consider raising the ‘Sensitivity’ level — this means the crib will respond to every sleep disturbance with soothing movement. If you think your baby needs a little more soothing power, don’t be afraid to raise the ‘Bounce intensity limit’.
Start small, and if you want to increase more, do it slowly over a couple of days so your baby has time to adjust before making any other changes.
You and your baby are still learning about each other — and Cradlewise is learning too! Soon your crib will learn your baby’s patterns and better respond to their wakeup signs.
Any questions? Our team is here to help 7 days a week via the app chat feature. (We’re also here if you just need a pep talk at 3 a.m.)
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