A well-rested baby makes for a well-rested mother! When your baby sleeps well, you may notice he or she is more patient, calmer, and more engaging.
For new parents, it can be difficult to get your baby in a good sleep routine, which is exhausting for parents as well! The following tips will help ensure that your baby will sleep soundly.
6 Simple Ways to Help Baby Sleep Through The Night
1. Dreamfeed
The dreamfeed method is giving a bottle to your baby shortly before bed. Using the dreamfeed method prevents your baby from waking up hungry and disrupting your sleep!
It also ensures your baby will sleep longer, and can be used up until the baby is four months old.
2. Limit Daytime Naps
When babies sleep a lot during the day, it makes it difficult for them to sleep at night. If your baby has been napping for two hours, it is advised to make sure he stays awake for a few hours and feed them before putting them back down for another nap.
If you truly feel like your baby needs more sleep, you can increase their nap time by an additional half hour. Sleeping in short bursts during the day rather than taking longer naps will help your baby sleep better once it’s time for bed.
3. Give them some time
It can be hard for new parents to ignore their babies cries or babbling over the baby monitor at night. However, rushing in every time your baby rustles in the night will inadvertently encourage bad sleeping habits.
It’s common for babies to wake up, babble, or cry before shortly falling back asleep. Sometimes babies even cry or babble in their sleep! When you hear your baby rustling in the night, give them some time to see if they will resettle before checking in on them.
4. Try White Noise
They say that sometimes providing your baby with soothing lullabies, music, or white noise can lull them to sleep, as it mimics the sounds they were used into inside the womb. You can try a white noise maker or music player in a soft tone and volume, to help baby feel comforted as they sleep. Some of these sleep aids come with a light projector as well, that softly illuminates a dark room.
5. Make Sure Your Baby is Comfortable
No matter how old you are, it’s difficult to sleep when you are uncomfortable! Since babies need lots of care, there are several steps to ensure their comfort at bedtime. Changing your baby’s diaper before feeding at night prevents them from waking up after eating. It also helps keep their diaper fresh for longer.
If your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, change their diaper, and re-swaddle before laying them back down. It’s also important to make sure your baby is feeling well, since babies constantly get colds. Check that your baby’s nasal passages are clear and that he is not experiencing any difficulty breathing.
If you notice any congestion or see the baby struggle when breathing through their little nose, consider using a nasal aspirator. Nasal aspirators effectively clear your baby’s nostrils, which will ensure they sleep soundly!
6. Establish Bedtime and Nap Routines
Creating a routine for your baby brings order during a chaotic time in new parents’ lives. When choosing a routine, it is important that it works for both you and the baby. A pre-nap routine may include swaddling the baby, taking them to their room, singing to them, playing white noise, or speaking softly as baby drifts off to sleep.
MORE TIPS FOR NEW MOMS: How to Navigate the First Few Months With Baby
Bedtime routines should be a little longer. An effective bedtime routine may consist of bathing the baby, massaging the baby, reading to the baby, cuddling the baby, and singing softly to the baby. If you follow the exact routine daily, your baby will learn that sleep immediately follows both routines.
There’s no doubt that a baby who sleeps well is a mom who sleeps well too. Getting your baby to sleep through the night is no easy task, but there are things you can do to help your little one get there. A consistent bedtime schedule and routine, keeping baby comfortable and a little white noise from Bubzi Co.'s Baby Sleep Soothing Owl can go a long way to help you get there. Just follow the tips above to help baby (and you) get the sleep you need!
Photo credit: Bigstock, Pixabay
