Helping Your Baby Sleep

Your baby’s crib mattress pad is one of the most important pieces you can buy because it will directly affect your baby’s comfort and whether they get a good sleep.

One of the priorities for a parent with a baby is to establish good sleeping habits. There are many health benefits for parents and newborn if the child can learn to sleep consistently and on their own. Instilling good sleep habits may involve trying a number of things and seeing what works.

The setting of good sleeping habits is based on two things: establishing routines and building associations between bedtime and sleep. Often building these associations is the hardest part. Many children find the transition from being awake during the day to sleeping at night difficult. If your child does not seem to be making this transition easily here are some techniques you could try: One common technique is 'wearing down'. Simply place your baby in a carrier or sling for about half an hour before his bedtime and literally 'wear him' as you go about your household chores. The closeness to a parent and being slowly rocked as you move around can help your child fall asleep.

An alternative is to 'father down'. Just before placing the baby into bed, the father should cradle the child so that the baby's head rests on the father's neck. The father should then talk gently to the child. Because a male's voice is much deeper than the female's, babies are often more soothed by it, and can fall asleep more easily. Finally, if you've exhausted other options, you can go for the tried and trusted method of 'driving down'. Simply place your baby in their car seat and drive around for a while until the child falls asleep. Although this is probably the most inconvenient and environmentally unfriendly method, it usually works. None of these methods are intended to be used long term. If you have to use any of these techniques you should slowly ease out of them as your child learns how to go from being awake to being asleep.

On the other hand building routines is a long term plan. Even routines you establish during the day can help the transition to sleep. One daytime routine that can help your child sleep is the feeding routine. Oftentimes a child will be active during the day, and will not be doing a lot of feeding. The problem with this is that he will then wake repeatedly throughout the night for a feed. One way to overcome this problem is to 'fill up' during the day. Try feeding every three hours. This should ensure your child's appetite is satisfied for the night, and help your child associate feeding with the daytime. If your child does wake up in the night for a feed, try to do one full feeding the first time he wakes. This is to stop him waking you to 'snack' throughout the night. However, if your child does not want to feed every three hours in the day, do not force him. Also, do not force a full feeding if he wakes you at night.

You also need to establish a bedtime ritual so that your child associates feeding and play with something that happens during the day, and lullabies and baths ( or whatever routine you establish) as something that happens at night, just before it is time to sleep. Remember, the general principle is to ease the transition from wakefulness to sleep by creating daytime and nighttime associations for your child. The above are methods that may help, not hard and fast rules. Every child is an individual and as a parent you know your child best. Try some of the methods, but do not be afraid to trust your instincts too. One of the priorities for a parent with a baby is to establish good sleeping habits. There are many health benefits for parents and newborn if the child can learn to sleep consistently and on their own. Instilling good sleep habits may involve trying a number of things and seeing what works.

The setting of good sleeping habits is based on two things: establishing routines and building associations between bedtime and sleep. Often building these associations is the hardest part. Many children find the transition from being awake during the day to sleeping at night difficult. If your child does not seem to be making this transition easily here are some techniques you could try:

One common technique is 'wearing down'. Simply place your baby in a carrier or sling for about half an hour before his bedtime and literally 'wear him' as you go about your household chores. The closeness to a parent and being slowly rocked as you move around can help your child fall asleep.

An alternative is to 'father down'. Just before placing the baby into bed, the father should cradle the child so that the baby's head rests on the father's neck. The father should then talk gently to the child. Because a male's voice is much deeper than the female's, babies are often more soothed by it, and can fall asleep more easily.

Finally, if you've exhausted other options, you can go for the tried and trusted method of 'driving down'. Simply place your baby in their car seat and drive around for a while until the child falls asleep. Although this is probably the most inconvenient and environmentally unfriendly method, it usually works.

None of these methods are intended to be used long term. If you have to use any of these techniques you should slowly ease out of them as your child learns how to go from being awake to being asleep.

On the other hand building routines is a long term plan. Even routines you establish during the day can help the transition to sleep. One daytime routine that can help your child sleep is the feeding routine. Oftentimes a child will be active during the day, and will not be doing a lot of feeding. The problem with this is that he will then wake repeatedly throughout the night for a feed.

One way to overcome this problem is to 'fill up' during the day. Try feeding every three hours. This should ensure your child's appetite is satisfied for the night, and help your child associate feeding with the daytime. If your child does wake up in the night for a feed, try to do one full feeding the first time he wakes. This is to stop him waking you to 'snack' throughout the night. However, if your child does not want to feed every three hours in the day, do not force him. Also, do not force a full feeding if he wakes you at night.

You also need to establish a bedtime ritual so that your child associates feeding and play with something that happens during the day, and lullabies and baths ( or whatever routine you establish) as something that happens at night, just before it is time to sleep.

Remember, the general principle is to ease the transition from wakefulness to sleep by creating daytime and nighttime associations for your child. The above are methods that may help, not hard and fast rules. Every child is an individual and as a parent you know your child best. Try some of the methods, but do not be afraid to trust your instincts too.