7 Tips To Help Your Baby Go To Sleep And Stay Asleep

7 Tips To Help Your Baby Go To Sleep And Stay AsleepBy Tom Hackett
It is an absolute necessity of parenthood to help your baby(and yourself) get the best sleep possible. A baby (or parent)that does not sleep enough can easily become restless andirritable. Here are some tips to get your baby to go to sleepand stay asleep longer.
Keep your baby active during the day. When awake, create aplayful and active environment for your baby. Stimulate themwith normal household light and noises. Talk, Sing and Play withthem to ensure they stay active.
Monitor and limit sleep during the day. It’s important to set aregular schedule for daytime naps. However, sleeping for longperiods of time during the day may create disaster when it’sbedtime and your little on isn’t tired.
Try using a pacifier. Some people swear by them and some peopledislike them, but pacifiers are a proven remedy to help somebabies settle down and get to sleep. In fact, studies have shownthat using a pacifier can reduce the risk of SIDS. Of course ifyou choose to use a pacifier, you risk nighttime wakings whenyour baby loses it’s pacifier and can’t find it.
Establish a bedtime routine. It is very important to create asolid routine before bedtime. This will help your baby know whatto expect before bedtime. A standard nighttime routine could bea bath, reading a book, then a good night kiss. It’s moreimportant that it’s consistent rather than what it includes.
Put your baby in it’s crib while it’s awake. This may be themost important thing in this article. If you hold, rock, orswaddle your baby to sleep and then place them in their crib orbassinet while they are asleep you are asking for trouble. Whenyou do this and your baby wakes, they get very scared andconfused because it’s not the same environment that theyremember before they fell asleep. This is asking for nighttimewaking and crying. The trick is to hold your baby until they arevery tired but not sleeping and then put them into their crib. Create a pleasant sleeping environment. Keep your babies sleeparea quiet and dark. Some babies will wake at the slightestnoises or movements. If your baby is like this, you can keep thenoise down my oiling the springs on the crib and turning thephone ringer off. Try to keep the temperature and humidity at aconstant level. 68 – 72 degrees and 40% - 50% humidity seems towork well for my daughter. If you baby seems to wake often witha stuffy nose, try a using a humidifier to keep the air morecomftorable. You should also keep allergens including dust andpet dander away from your baby’s nursery or crib.
Try using “White Noise”. Sometimes, using a constant noise orhum will help your baby get to sleep and stay asleep.Personally, we use a small box fan set on low. It creates a humthat seems to help relax our daughter and drown out otherhousehold noises. Instead of a fan, you could try a recording ofa parent’s voice singing a lullaby or just a tape of rain or theocean. I have heard of this working for several parent’s.
Don’t let yourself get frustrated. Getting your baby to sleepdoes not measure how good of a parent you are. Every baby isdifferent and you must be patient and try to understand whatyour specific baby’s needs are. Remember that you can always askyour child’s pediatrician for recommendations.
About the Author: Tom Hackett is a dedicated father of 2 andwebmaster of http://www.yourbabysupply.com/. Your Baby Supplyoffers baby sleep aids including baby pillows, positioners, andsleepsacks.
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