Help your baby learn to sleep

Parenting is a rewarding as well as challenging experience. The most common thing experienced by parents of small babies is sleepless nights. As adults need their sleep to rejuvenate, babies also need to rest at proper times. But the best way to solve this dilemma is by helping your baby learn how to sleep. Babies younger than four months have different sleep patterns than the older ones. It is very important to understand your babies sleeping pattern as it will help you have reasonable expectations regarding their sleep. All babies are different and we should respect their preferences. Observe and understand her schedule and ways of communicating. 

Sleep patterns of babies:

Newborn babies often sleep 16 or more hours per day. She sleeps when she is tired it is that simple. You cannot force her to sleep when she doesn’t want to. In the same way you cannot keep her awake if she is sleepy or wakes her up from her sleep. For a new born the sleep pattern is done in stretches of just one or two hours at a time. During earlier months the babies have tremendous growth spurts which demand more food even during the night. They can have longer consistent sleep patterns only once their nervous system matures. As the time progresses and your child become 3-4 months she will sleep for 5 hours during the night. By the time they are six months old they can sleep for nine to twelve hours at night. Eventually they settle down and sleep whole night through.

How will you help your baby learn to sleep?

• It is very important that the babies should get tired. A parent should plan a well scheduled activity for the day. She should be kept busy by talking, singing and playing. Provide your baby with lots of light. This kind of activities during the day promotes good sleep at night.
• It should be a habit for the parent to make consistent bedtime routine. By giving them warm water bath, reading, singing and cuddling your child just before bedtime will help her to sleep.
• The baby should be allowed regular naps during the day time and not during the evening as this may cause the baby to stay wide awake in the night. It is important that you monitor your baby’s naps.
• It is important that they are taken to bed when they feel drowsy as they will associate bed with sleeping. She should be put to sleep on her back.
• The baby should be at ease when putting her to sleep. Let her find a comfortable position, if she makes a fuss at the beginning give her time to settle down. Speak calmly or sing to give reassurance to her about your presence.
• Many parents provide pacifiers, bottles or soft toy to the baby to have complete and restful night’s sleep.
• Make his crib comfortable and welcoming. It should be neatly done and should be clean and dry.

Creating an environment which is conducive to sleep as it helps the baby to have good sleep. The baby is use to the dark for nine months inside a mother’s womb. Hence the baby is use to the darkness so turn the lights down low and you can also use shutters, blinds and drapes that help to block the light from outside. 

Though we all wish that we can just click our fingers and the baby will go off to sleep, but it does not happen so. Helping your child learn to sleep is a gradual and consistent process. By establishing good bedtime habits you can facilitate this process and making sure that your baby knows that nighttime is sleep time.