Get Your Baby to Sleep
It’s 11 pm and your little one is smiling, eyes wide open while you struggle to keep your head up. You’re saying to yourself, “Sleep baby sleep.” To say the least, with a newborn, sleep can be an issue. Here are some tips for salvaging what’s left of your sleep pattern and your sanity when planning your sleep baby sleep mission.
- Light: During the day, allow light to shine throughout your home. Light is nature’s alarm clock and the dark triggers the body to make melatonin, the hormone that helps you sleep.
- Timing: Put your baby down when they are drowsy and not asleep. This can be a balancing act for breastfeeding moms, but master this routine and you won’t be trying to escape your child’s room like a ninja.
- Stimulation: Try not to look into your sleepy baby’s eyes when putting them down to sleep. When your baby meets your gaze it signals playtime and snaps them out of sleep time.
- A Routine can Help Get Your Baby to Sleep: Develop a sleep routine but know that this can regress with new additions to the family or changes to your surroundings, such as a move or when you are traveling. Stick to predictable and consistent bedtime habits that work for you and your baby.
- Diaper Changes: Resist the urge to change your baby every time they wake, they may not always need it. Try placing your baby in a high-quality nighttime diaper at bedtime. If a change is needed, try using wipes that have been warmed in a wipe warmer.
- Dream Feed: If your baby has difficulty staying asleep, try waking them up for a late-night feed (between 10pm-Midnight) this may actually help them sleep for longer stretches of time.
- Stay Calm: This is probably the hardest tip as it can be difficult when you are tired and frustrated. Realize that this too shall pass and that sticking to a routine will only improve the baby sleep patterns over time. You also need to get as much rest as possible, so when the opportunity affords, you should…. Sleep.
These are just some tips. Head over to Facebook to share with us what you have done to ease baby’s sleep. What’s your own Mission – Sleep Baby Sleep protocol?
