Collaborative post
Once you become a parent, having the recommended eight hours of uninterrupted sleep becomes a distant memory. Especially with a baby needing feeds throughout the night or even just missing you, you can find yourself at your wits end! And with so many people returning to work soon, whether it’s after a long stint of working from home due to lockdown regulations, or just in general after the birth of the baby, the baby needs to sleep better so you can sleep better! So, here are some top tips to help you get your little one into a good bedtime routine!
Nap Time
Overtired babies are very difficult to settle, so napping is essential! It also gives you a chance to have a break. So, to have a happy nap and therefore a happy baby at night, you need to respond to any of their cues that they are tired. If they could talk, it would make the job easier, but their sleep cues could vary from yawing, rubbing their eyes or ears, or crying since they don’t. Respond to these cues by putting them straight into a Noah Pod Moses Basket or cot for a nap.
Teach Your Baby the Difference Between Night and Day
Newborn babies may spend, on average, 16 hours out of every 24 asleep! So, it’s a good idea to teach them the difference between dark and sleep and light and awake. One way to do this is to immerse your baby in the hustle of normal day life, take them for walks and let them sit in the garden where it’s sunny. And at night, during night feeds, avoid stimulating them by keeping your voice low; combined with the calming darkness and quiet will teach your baby that nighttime is for sleeping.
Have A Familiar Bedtime Routine
Using a succession of events every night will help the baby realise when it’s time to sleep. Maybe singing a song to them while you rock them could help, or an evening bath and a bedtime story. Maybe after dinner, it’s bath time and then bedtime? Experiment to see what works for you and your baby.
Lay Your Baby Down Awake
Rocking your baby in your arms, pram, or even in the car calms a baby too agitated to sleep, but it is important to not make it a habit. So, to help babies learn how to sleep through the night, they must be aware that they are in their own basket or cot, so they are used to settling and soothing themselves.
Help Your Baby to Sleep Well During the Night
To teach babies to sleep well overnight, they must learn to settle themselves back to sleep; if your baby cries at night, are they cries or merely grumbles? When you have gone to check on them, are they comfortable, hungry, too hot, or cold? Is their nappy clean? Once all of these have been resolved and checked, encourage the baby to resettle in their cot by stroking or patting them or try rolling them onto their side and rocking their body until they settle.