Tired of being awake at all hours with your baby? Use these simple tips to help your baby sleep through the night.
Just like us, babies are individuals – and this goes for sleep requirements too. If you haven't had a good night's sleep since your baby was born, you're not alone. Sleepless nights are a rite of passage for most new parents — but don't despair. You can help your baby sleep all night.
Newborns sleep 16 or more hours a day, but often in stretches of just a few hours at a time. Although the pattern might be erratic at first, a more consistent sleep schedule will emerge as your baby matures and can go longer between feedings. By age 3 months, many babies sleep at least five hours at a time. By age 6 months, nighttime stretches of nine to 12 hours are possible.
For the first few months, middle-of-the-night feedings are sure to
disrupt sleep for parents but it's never too soon to help your baby
become a good sleeper. Ideally, we would all like to employ fully
qualified maternity nurse who will help in the the first weeks and
establish a baby sleeping routine. What do we do if we are on our
own? Consider these tips:
When your baby is awake, engage him or her by talking, singing and playing. Stimulation during the day can help promote better sleep at night.
Try relaxing favourites such as bathing, cuddling, playing quiet music or reading. Soon your baby will associate these activities with sleep.
When your baby is awake, engage him or her by talking, singing and playing. Stimulation during the day can help promote better sleep at night.
Try relaxing favourites such as bathing, cuddling, playing quiet music or reading. Soon your baby will associate these activities with sleep.
Your baby might fuss or cry before
finding a comfortable position and falling asleep. If the crying
doesn't stop, speak to your baby calmly and stroke his or her back.
Your reassuring presence might be all your baby needs to fall
asleep.
When your baby needs care or feeding during the night, use dim lights, a soft voice and calm movements. This will tell your baby that it's time to sleep — not play.
None of us like being kept awake when we are craving sleep, so rather than waiting until your baby is ‘past it’, put her to bed as soon as she shows sleepy signs such as becoming quiet, losing interest in people and toys, and fussing. If you miss this window of opportunity, your baby is likely to become grumpy and find it difficult to settle.
Silent nights could be at your fingertips: research from Miami University showed that infants and toddlers who were massaged daily for one month, for 15 minutes prior to bedtime, fell asleep more easily by the end of the study. The calming, repetitive sounds of traditional lullabies recall the ‘womb music’ your baby heard before birth (your heartbeat, and fluids whooshing through the placenta). Baby music that incorporates elements such as the rhythm of the maternal heartbeat or ‘white noise’ has remarkable soothing effects, especially if played continuously through the night.
When your baby needs care or feeding during the night, use dim lights, a soft voice and calm movements. This will tell your baby that it's time to sleep — not play.
None of us like being kept awake when we are craving sleep, so rather than waiting until your baby is ‘past it’, put her to bed as soon as she shows sleepy signs such as becoming quiet, losing interest in people and toys, and fussing. If you miss this window of opportunity, your baby is likely to become grumpy and find it difficult to settle.
Silent nights could be at your fingertips: research from Miami University showed that infants and toddlers who were massaged daily for one month, for 15 minutes prior to bedtime, fell asleep more easily by the end of the study. The calming, repetitive sounds of traditional lullabies recall the ‘womb music’ your baby heard before birth (your heartbeat, and fluids whooshing through the placenta). Baby music that incorporates elements such as the rhythm of the maternal heartbeat or ‘white noise’ has remarkable soothing effects, especially if played continuously through the night.
Avoid waking baby during night feed times by changing the nappy either before or half way through a feed, not when baby is all full. If baby is falling asleep during feeds, so only having a short feed, try changing the nappy half way through, then offering the other breast.
Simply knowing how long you are awake can be enough to make you too tense to get back to sleep, or it may encourage you to rush your baby and make him feel anxious. If you see your baby’s waking as a genuine need, it could help you to enjoy this precious cuddle time: feel the softness of his skin and snuggle!
In case you need a rest and you would like a professional hire a maternity nurse. They are specialists when it comes to setting the routines including the sleeping pattern.
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