New parents everywhere are bound by a concern common to them all. How do you get baby to sleep and get her to stay asleep, so you can get some good shut-eye yourself?
This is unfortunately one of those things you can't anticipate as you can with other milestones in your baby's life. You have read or heard from others when to expect her first smile, how to introduce her to solid foods and at what age she should roll over or sit up on her own. Ask when you can expect baby to give you that first night of more than two hours sleep at a time, and everybody's answers will likely be all over the map.
It is very important to start from day one in developing healthy sleep habits. Once everyone is getting to know the different signals, it will be that much easier to recognize those tell-tale signs that she needs to be put in bed.
Once baby reaches about two weeks of age, it's time to start helping her to distinguish the difference between day and night. This is the first step to begin developing her sleep schedule. During daytime hours, take advantage of play time or singing using your normal tone of voice. Don't stop yourself from daytime tasks. Baby needs to distinguish and grow accustomed to the variety of noises around him during the day.
When your baby wakes during the night, it's time to reverse the routine. Minimal lighting, noise and other stimuli are necessary to teach baby that it's quiet time during the night. When he wakes for a feed, try not talking very much or being too animated and playful. He will soon realize daytime is for being awake and play; night is for sleeping and quiet.
Bedtime routines also play an important part in getting a bit more sleep. Try leaving bath time until right before bed. Warm water is very soothing to your baby, as is the whole bathing process. If you happen to notice that your baby gets too excited during bath time, this defeats the purpose of it being a calming experience. It might be best to move this to a morning ritual instead. Try to establish a new bedtime routine through soothing music or family bed-time stories.
Outside of a bed time routine, there are still many babies who have challenges in regards to calming down to fall asleep. There are many thoughts and techniques on how to help your baby accomplish this.
One technique that many parents have found helpful is the crying down method that can be used when when baby reaches about 6 weeks old. If you're sure your baby is not hungry and any other potential issues are taken care of, you might let your baby cry a little until she calms down. At first start with 5-10 minutes, but expect that if your baby has become over-tired or over-excited this could take as long as 20 minutes. If you are having trouble ignoring the crying try and wait 5-10 minutes before returning to baby's room. Repeat this procedure until the baby can fall asleep on her own without the crying.
Some people struggle with the idea of letting such a small baby crying itself to sleep. If you are one of them, there are other alternatives you may find easier to deal with. An example of this would be when a parent decides to pay closer attention to the actions of the little one and cluing in on the signs that it's time for bed. This method however could mean varying bedtimes each night. Some other parents may opt to lie close to baby, cooing and gently touching them to provide them with some comfort. Little by little, the parent starts moving further away from the infant, thus providing less interaction. This process gently weans your little one from needing you that close to them in order to fall asleep.
Any way you look at it, babies are precious to their parents, but they still need to sleep. Listening to a few tips from others and a bit of patience, a sleep pattern that is beneficial to everyone will soon show the way to that good night's rest. - 15252
This is unfortunately one of those things you can't anticipate as you can with other milestones in your baby's life. You have read or heard from others when to expect her first smile, how to introduce her to solid foods and at what age she should roll over or sit up on her own. Ask when you can expect baby to give you that first night of more than two hours sleep at a time, and everybody's answers will likely be all over the map.
It is very important to start from day one in developing healthy sleep habits. Once everyone is getting to know the different signals, it will be that much easier to recognize those tell-tale signs that she needs to be put in bed.
Once baby reaches about two weeks of age, it's time to start helping her to distinguish the difference between day and night. This is the first step to begin developing her sleep schedule. During daytime hours, take advantage of play time or singing using your normal tone of voice. Don't stop yourself from daytime tasks. Baby needs to distinguish and grow accustomed to the variety of noises around him during the day.
When your baby wakes during the night, it's time to reverse the routine. Minimal lighting, noise and other stimuli are necessary to teach baby that it's quiet time during the night. When he wakes for a feed, try not talking very much or being too animated and playful. He will soon realize daytime is for being awake and play; night is for sleeping and quiet.
Bedtime routines also play an important part in getting a bit more sleep. Try leaving bath time until right before bed. Warm water is very soothing to your baby, as is the whole bathing process. If you happen to notice that your baby gets too excited during bath time, this defeats the purpose of it being a calming experience. It might be best to move this to a morning ritual instead. Try to establish a new bedtime routine through soothing music or family bed-time stories.
Outside of a bed time routine, there are still many babies who have challenges in regards to calming down to fall asleep. There are many thoughts and techniques on how to help your baby accomplish this.
One technique that many parents have found helpful is the crying down method that can be used when when baby reaches about 6 weeks old. If you're sure your baby is not hungry and any other potential issues are taken care of, you might let your baby cry a little until she calms down. At first start with 5-10 minutes, but expect that if your baby has become over-tired or over-excited this could take as long as 20 minutes. If you are having trouble ignoring the crying try and wait 5-10 minutes before returning to baby's room. Repeat this procedure until the baby can fall asleep on her own without the crying.
Some people struggle with the idea of letting such a small baby crying itself to sleep. If you are one of them, there are other alternatives you may find easier to deal with. An example of this would be when a parent decides to pay closer attention to the actions of the little one and cluing in on the signs that it's time for bed. This method however could mean varying bedtimes each night. Some other parents may opt to lie close to baby, cooing and gently touching them to provide them with some comfort. Little by little, the parent starts moving further away from the infant, thus providing less interaction. This process gently weans your little one from needing you that close to them in order to fall asleep.
Any way you look at it, babies are precious to their parents, but they still need to sleep. Listening to a few tips from others and a bit of patience, a sleep pattern that is beneficial to everyone will soon show the way to that good night's rest. - 15252
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