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3 hacks every pregnant person needs to know about baby sleep
Today on the Cold Coffee, Hot Mess Podcast Nadean and Olivia caught up with qualified sleep consultant, Steph Gouin from ‘Sleep by Steph’, to understand more about baby sleep training and how to encourage healthy baby sleep - with steps you can learn now and implement when the time is right.
Sleep by Steph has now assisted thousands of families in Australia and around the world to help make bedtime run a little more smoothly. This all comes back to putting the right foundations in place and ensuring you are setting yourselves up for success.
During our chat with Steph, she identified three tips that can make settling into an effective baby sleep routine easier from day dot. Yep, that’s day dot. As in the moment you come home from the hospital.
Here are the 3 Sleep Training Hacks to Get Baby to Sleep
Forget ‘making’ a routine. Lean into your baby’s natural routine
Forget ‘making’ a routine. Lean into your baby’s natural routine
Steph revealed that babies are designed to follow a very simple and natural routine of sleep, eat and awake time. If you tend to lean into this very natural pattern, instead of assigning a sleep time or a feed time and trying to make them fit into your schedule, you’ll find you have more success at ensuring a more restful baby.
Establish day from night
This is an important thing to distinguish early on, as we don’t want our babies to be awake throughout the night and sleeping all day long. In our chat on the Cold Coffee, Hot Mess Podcast, Steph highlighted the importance of ensuring parents follow the routine of sleep, eat and then play, before going to sleep again during the day, and then following a routine of sleep and eat, and sleep again at night - without the awake time. While there probably isn’t the need for blackout blinds in winter, Steph confirms they might be worthwhile using in the warmer months when it is still light at baby’s bedtime.
This will help your baby to distinguish night from day, as daytime naps are taken with some light still coming through, and the night stretch should be as dark as possible.
The bedtime routine is the secret weapon
During our chat with Steph, she recommended the bedtime routine to start at around 5pm with a relaxing bath, before taking your baby into a dimly lit room and perhaps having a soothing baby massage before getting dressed into pyjamas and baby sleep suit and having a bedtime feed before a bedtime of around 6pm. All of these little steps may seem meaningless, but in fact they are all working as sleep associations to let your baby know that night time is here and it’s time to go to bed for our big stretch of sleep.
Babies - and children and adults - are programmed to wake between 6-7am, so a bedtime of 6pm will help to ensure your baby is receiving 14-17 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period.
Parents, you've got this! Be kind to yourself, always.
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Sleep training is simply about helping your baby learn how to fall asleep on their own and stay asleep for longer stretches. Most parents start somewhere between 4 to 6 months, when babies begin to develop a more regular sleep rhythm. But there’s no “one-size-fits-all” timing—it really depends on your baby’s needs and your comfort level. The idea isn’t to make your baby cry it out, but to gently teach them that bedtime is safe and calm. If you’re unsure, it’s always a good idea to check in with your healthcare provider before you begin.
A soothing bedtime routine helps your baby understand that it’s time to wind down. Keep it simple—maybe a warm bath, a soft lullaby, a little cuddle, and dim lights. Try to do things in the same order each night so your baby starts recognizing the pattern. Avoid anything too stimulating, like bright lights or noisy toys, right before bed. Babies find comfort in routine, and when bedtime feels calm and familiar, they’re much more likely to settle down peacefully and drift off to sleep.
If you prefer a softer approach, gentle sleep training methods work beautifully. You can try “pick up and put down,” where you comfort your baby briefly before laying them back down, or the “chair method,” which involves staying nearby until they get used to sleeping on their own. Some parents use “gradual fading,” where they slowly reduce rocking or patting over time. Every baby is different, so find a rhythm that feels right for your family—consistency and patience are what matter most.
To encourage longer sleep stretches, focus on setting a consistent bedtime and ensuring your baby gets enough daytime naps. Keep the room dark, cool, and quiet to mimic nighttime, and use white noise if it helps your baby stay calm. Feeding your baby before bed can also help them feel full and comfortable. Most importantly, try to respond consistently when they wake—this helps them understand when it’s time for sleep versus play.
It’s completely normal for babies to push back a little when routines change. If your baby cries or struggles, try slowing things down and offering extra comfort. Make sure they’re not overtired or hungry, and remember—progress takes time. You don’t have to be perfect; even small improvements count. Keep showing up with patience, warmth, and consistency. Before long, those bedtime battles will ease, and both you and your baby will start getting the rest you need.
