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Sleep Baby, Sleep (cont.)

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Find a routine, but be flexible

While it’s good to get into the habit of having a routine to get your baby to sleep at night, don’t be too rigid about it. This only adds to the pressure and stress if your baby decides he/she doesn’t want to sleep just yet. If you hadn’t noticed, babies are smart and they learn pretty quickly what they like and what they don’t like. It’s likely that your baby will notice the patterns and rituals that you have to get them to go to sleep, and if they’re not ready for sleep, they’ll kick up a fuss about it long before you get them in the bedroom. Vary the routines a bit so if the baby doesn’t respond (or kicks up a fuss) to one method, there’s always Plan B, Plan C and so on and, above all, make the routines enjoyable for your baby. Your baby will take a while to develop his or her own pattern and daily cycles, so be prepared to adjust – particularly in the early months of your baby’s life.

Try new things

Don’t be afraid to try new things to get your baby to relax and fall asleep. Introduce a new comfort toy, or perhaps try to give your baby a bath right before bedtime. Try putting him/her into different night time clothes or change the music (or introduce some). Read different stories to your baby, or sing different lullabies. Experiment a little to see if you can come up with routines that work for you and your baby.

Don’t rush the half-way stage

We all know that ‘half way stage’ between sleeping and being awake. When you’re not quite asleep, but you’re not quite awake either. When your baby falls into that state, particularly if you are rocking or cradling him/her, don’t rush to finish the job. An extra five or ten minutes to help your baby go into a deeper sleep will probably save you much more time in the long run. If your baby doesn’t need to be cradled or rocked to sleep, place him/her in the crib (or wherever the baby sleeps) when the baby reaches the drowsy state as this helps the baby to identify the crib as a place for sleeping. Depending on the temperament of your baby you can choose to remain in the room or not until the baby falls into a deep sleep.

Be prepared for drastic action

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself if an hour or more of a crying, restless baby is better than a half hours drive with them in a car seat, or a brisk walk in the baby wagon. Sometimes all a baby needs to know is that he/she is NOT going to bed, and that’s enough to send them to sleep. Sometimes you’ll just have to compromise that routine in order to get some peace in the house. Be careful not to overuse this tactic however or you might just find it’s become an actual part of the nightly routine.

Don’t believe the hype

Nearly all new parents ask the same question – ‘when can we expect our baby to sleep through the night?’ The answer is that all babies are different, and therefore will adopt more regular sleeping patterns in their own time. Sure, you can coax the timetable a little bit here and there, but only your baby will decide when it’s time to sleep through the night. Don’t use other people’s babies as yardsticks with which to measure your own baby’s progress. The important thing with a baby’s development, including sleeping habits, is that the baby eventually gets there – whether sooner or later is largely immaterial, as long as they pass each milestone. Don’t be influenced by other parents, magazine articles, web postings etc., that say it’s normal for babies to sleep through the night at a particular age. There’s always someone whose baby did it a week earlier than everyone else’s.

When all else fails

There is no end of products, gadgets and systems available to buy that claim to help you get your baby to sleep each night, and most of them don’t come cheap. Before you start to part with your hard earned cash, see if you can beg or borrow whatever item you are thinking of purchasing to see if it truly works. Babies can get bored with things very quickly, and just because a particular product works wonders on other babies at night, doesn’t mean it will do the same with your baby. Try before you buy where possible.

 

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If your baby seems unduly fussy and just won’t sleep, and you suspect there might be some underlying reasons that you cannot determine, then make sure that you talk with your medical professional as soon as possible. When the stress of a restless, crying baby gets a bit too much, make sure that you ask for help – from your partner, your family and your medical professionals. When it comes to babies, people love to help.

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