Nobody sleeps much in the first weeks with a newborn. That part is normal.

What surprises most parents is how unpredictable it feels. One day the baby naps for three hours. The next day every nap lasts twenty minutes. You start wondering if you're doing something wrong.

You're probably not. A newborn sleep routine isn't a strict schedule with fixed times. It's a gentle, repeating order of events: feed, awake time, wind down, sleep. Babies learn that order long before they can follow a clock.

We ship blankets to a lot of families in those first weeks, and the question we hear most often is some version of "How do I get a rhythm going?" So here is the honest, practical answer, week by week.

A schedule says the nap starts at 10:00. A routine says the nap starts after the feed, a short awake window and the same few calming steps.

For babies under three months, a routine works far better. Their internal clock isn't developed yet, so fixed times rarely hold. What they can learn is sequence and cues: the same song, the same dim room, the same soft swaddle.

Three things make a newborn sleep routine work:

• Repetition. The same steps in the same order, every time.
• Short awake windows. Most newborns can only stay comfortably awake for about 45 to 90 minutes.
• Light and dark. Bright, social days and dim, quiet nights help the body clock start to form.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends 14 to 17 hours of sleep in 24 hours for babies up to three months old. That sleep comes in short pieces, day and night, because newborns need to feed every two to three hours.

Here is roughly what that looks like:

• Weeks 0 to 2: Sleep most of the day. Awake windows of 30 to 60 minutes, often just long enough to feed.
• Weeks 3 to 6: Awake windows stretch toward 60 minutes. Evenings get fussier. Night and day are still mixed up.
• Weeks 7 to 12: Awake windows of 60 to 90 minutes. Many babies start one longer stretch of sleep at night.

Every baby is different. Treat these numbers as a guide for watching your own baby, not as targets to hit.

In the first two weeks there is no real routine to build yet. Your only job is to feed on demand and let the baby sleep. Keep night feeds dark and quiet. Keep daytime feeds in normal light with normal household sound.

That small difference is the first brick of a newborn sleep routine. You aren't training anything yet. You're simply showing the baby that day and night feel different.

Now the pattern starts to matter. After each daytime feed, keep the baby awake for a short window: a diaper change, a few minutes of tummy time on a clean blanket, a look out the window. Then start the same short wind-down before every nap.

This is also when many parents notice the evening fussy period. It's common and it usually peaks around six weeks. A calm, repeated wind-down helps more than any clever trick.

Around two months, most babies can handle a consistent bedtime routine. Pick a time window, often between 7 and 9 p.m., and run the same steps every evening. Daytime naps can stay flexible. The bedtime sequence is what anchors the day.

Here is what one realistic day can look like. Your times will shift. The order is what counts.

1. 7:00 a.m. Wake, feed in daylight, diaper change.
2. 7:45 a.m. Short wind-down: dim the room, swaddle, a quiet song. Nap.
3. 9:30 a.m. Feed, then about an hour of awake time with tummy time.
4. 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Repeat the same cycle: feed, play, wind down, nap.
5. 6:30 p.m. Start the bedtime routine.
6. Night. Feeds in the dark, no play, straight back to sleep.

If a nap is short, don't restart the whole day. Move on to the next feed and keep the same order.

Keep bedtime short and boring in the best way. Long routines tend to overtire a newborn.

1. Bath or warm wipe-down. A full bath isn't needed every night. A warm washcloth works as a cue too.
2. Fresh diaper and sleepwear. Dress for the room temperature, not for winter.
3. Feed. In a dim room, with as little talking as possible.
4. Swaddle. A breathable cotton swaddle, snug at the chest and loose at the hips. Our guide on how to swaddle a baby step by step covers the folds.
5. Same song, same words, into the crib or bassinet. Drowsy but awake when you can manage it.

Repeat it every night, even when it feels pointless. Most families see the payoff after two or three weeks of the same newborn sleep routine.

This part matters, so we'll be direct. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies sleep on their back, alone, on a firm flat surface, with no pillows, bumpers or loose blankets in the crib for the first year.

So where does a blanket belong in a newborn sleep routine? In more places than you'd think:

• As a swaddle for sleep, until the baby shows signs of trying to roll. Then it's time to stop swaddling.
• For tummy time on the floor, while the baby is awake and you are watching.
• For feeds and cuddles on your lap or in your arms.
• Over a buckled baby in the stroller or car seat, on top of the harness.

A blanket that shows up at every one of those moments becomes a strong comfort cue. Kim, one of our customers, ordered personalized blankets for her twins and wrote to us: "These baby blankets will be generational heirlooms without a doubt." The blanket that sticks around is the one that was part of every day.

Fabric matters here too. Breathable cotton like waffle weave or double gauze muslin keeps a baby from overheating, which is one more safe sleep factor. Every Mouliss waffle blanket is 100% certified cotton, OEKO-TEX and GOTS certified.

• Day and night confusion. Open the curtains during the day, keep nights dark, and keep night feeds quiet and short.
• Short naps. Thirty-minute naps are normal before about four months. Watch the awake window: an overtired baby often naps worse, not better.
• Cluster feeding in the evening. Many babies feed often in the late afternoon. Fold those feeds into the bedtime routine instead of fighting them.
• Only sleeping when held. Very common in the first weeks. Try one transfer to the crib per day after the baby is fully asleep, and build from there. Our post on how to get a baby to sleep in a crib walks through it.

If your baby is hard to wake for feeds, isn't gaining weight, or seems unusually sleepy, call your pediatrician. A routine is a comfort tool, not a substitute for medical advice.