Getting a baby to sleep can be tough to figure out, and in the first few months working out the best strategy for both yourself and your little one when it comes to sleep can take some time.
However, there are some things you can do when it comes to establishing a healthy nighttime routine. Here’s how you can create a sleep strategy for your baby.
Understanding A Newborn’s Sleep Pattern
Newborn’s will sleep from anywhere between 8 to 18 hours a day, usually in short bursts of 2-4 hours. They’ll wake up frequently for feeding or if they’re too hot or cold. Whilst this may be tiring for you during those initial first few weeks, they will start to settle down as they begin to grow and develop from the newborn stage to the infant stage.
If your newborn wakes up often, try and share the responsibilities with your partner (if you have one) so the both of you can get more sleep without reaching the point of exhaustion. When sleep is disturbed, it can be difficult to deal with, but you need to figure out how you’ll handle these types of nights early on so you can make a solid, consistent plan that works for your family.
How To Teach Your Baby About Daytime & Nighttime
Your baby won’t have an understanding of day and night, so you’ll need to teach them the difference so they can begin to associate nighttime with sleep. To do this, make sure during the daytime lots of light is being let into the room by opening curtains, play with your child, go for walks or visit playgroups and keep the environment calm, but not totally silent. When it hits night, shut curtains, keep their surroundings quiet, put your baby down to sleep when they’ve been fed and changed and softly soothe them to sleep before you head to bed. During the first 6 months, you should sleep in the same room as your baby as this reduces the risk of SIDS both in the day and at night, using a moses basket so you can put them to sleep in a room without a cot.
Creating A Sleep Strategy
At around 3 months old you can begin to consider introducing strategies to help your baby get to sleep. There are many strategies you can try and combine to help your little one calm down and relax. Your routine could include giving them a bath and changing them into fresh clothes and a nappy and then putting them down to sleep.
Once they’re in their nursery, give them a cuddle before putting them into their cot, and talk to them calmly so they feel safe and can still recognise that you’re present, even if you’re not holding them. You can then either sing a lullaby, read a book or use a musical mobile to help them drift off.
As they grow, keeping your strategy in place can help with winding your child down before bed – avoiding any activities that are over-stimulating and cause them to get overexcited.
Knowing When Your Baby Is Tired
When you begin to recognise your baby is starting to get tired, this can be the perfect time to begin carrying out your sleep strategy. A tired baby may stop playing and become quiet, begin yawning, rubbing their eyes, crying or clenching their fists. Whilst their bedtime may vary in the first few months, it will begin to even out the more you stick to a scheduled time and strategy, so you can get into a pattern of recognising when your baby will usually start getting sleepy and is in need of a nap.
Remember, all babies are different and some will respond better to certain sleep strategies than others. Whatever method you choose, try not to get stressed when things don’t work as well as you intended – you just need to try a different strategy to see if things improve. If you notice there are any problems with your baby’s sleep that become a consistent issue, consult a medical professional who will be able to help with any concerns.