5 Tips to Help Your Baby Sleep Tight

Babies and sleep are notoriously incompatible. We’ve all heard the horror stories about endless sleepless nights spent trying to placate the young ones into drifting off into a semblance of sleep. You have probably tried a lot resources and products that promise to help your baby sleep with concepts such as vibrating cribs and swinging cradles and got frustrated when the latest trend didn’t work as it promised. There are, however, certain key things you can do to make the whole ordeal simpler on yourself and easier for your baby to sleep:

You can help your baby sleep better with these 5 practical tips to do everyday. We advocate simplicity over anything else. Go back to the roots, be realistic about what you can achieve, and do not expect short cuts.

1. Find where your baby sleeps best

Different babies have different needs. Some might relax faster and fall to sleep if left in a quiet location their own while others need the sense of comfort that being close to the mum brings. Therefore it is crucial that you understand where your baby sleeps best. For a few weeks, try the different options and keep track on which choices resulted in the most sleep for the baby (and for you!). Some options include sleeping with the baby in your bed, or in a cradle or crib next to your bed. You might also want to try having the baby sleep in a separate room. Realistically, you might notice that your baby responds better to one option but always be alert and don’t assume that what worked for a few weeks will last. You have to be flexible and keep observing what places result in the best sleep.

2. Keep an eye out for tired signs

Parents need to develop a sharp eye to repeat behaviours that clue you in to what your baby wants. This counts for sleep as well as hunger. Keep a sharp eye out for signs of sleepiness such as yawning. Do take this opportunity and use the next 10 to 15 minutes to help your baby sleep. Alert everyone in the household that the baby is about to sleep. Take the baby to his or her favourite sleeping place and allow the tiredness to play out into a snooze rather than frustration and crying. If your baby is normally energetic it may be hard for him or her to relax when tired so you need to help out so he stops resisting. If your baby is asleep before reacting badly to being tired you will find that sleep will last longer.

3. Make sure the sleeping environment is healthy and safe

Whichever location your baby best sleeps in, you need to make sure that it is safe and healthy so it’s much easier for sleep to come. There are certain key elements that need to be balanced together to created the best sleeping area for your baby. These include:

• Lighting: If the bedroom is too dark or too light it will be more difficult for your baby to fall asleep or stay asleep. Make sure you keep it balanced.
• Strong Scents: Avoid perfumes and other strong scents in or near the baby’s sleep area. This includes cigarette smoke, flowers, the smell of cooking, paint fumes, hair spray,
• Noise: Make sure that as little external noise as possible enters the bedroom (for example, TV and people talking) and instead replace it with soothing white noise such as the low frequency hum of a radio. This sound ‘blankets’ the baby when sleeping and reduces the chance of waking up startled by an external sudden
• Allergies: If your baby always wakes up with a runny nose it’s probably because the dust mites and other allergens present in the bedroom can irritate the baby’s nose and breathing tracts, leading to congestion and sneezing that wake them up. Make sure that the bedding in your baby’s cradle is scientifically certified to lower the risk of developing allergies at this early stage. For instance, things like stuffed soft toys and feather pillows increase the risk of an allergy attack. Make sure that any pets do not enter the bedroom of an allergic child. Silk and other natural fibres do a great job at protecting the baby from allergens at night.
• Temperature: Make sure your thermostat or central heating is not too high and always maintain a steady climate. Fluctuating temperatures or a room that is too cold or hot disturbs the baby’s sleep. You also need to make sure that the baby’s duvet or blanket is not overheating them beyond the optimal temperature.

4. Adapt to your baby, not the other way round

Adults follow a set pattern between their sleeping and waking hours, but it is unrealistic to expect young children to do the same. If your current routine is clashing with your baby’s, you should be the one who is flexible. You can control your own hours but you can’t control your baby’s sleep patterns yet. Think about what changes in your life will make it easier for you. If you’re employed, speak to your employer about the possibility of flexible hours or remote working. Most companies are open to the idea nowadays and understand that they need to keep their employees happy. This is definitely a better approach then trying to force your baby immediately into practical sleep hours – practical for you, not necessarily for the baby.

5. Repeat Bedtime Rituals

Repetition is one of the best ways to ensure an easy time helping your baby fall asleep. You need to create a rich set of activities and associations that immediately connect the baby to the physiological state needed to fall asleep. This can be seen as building up a set of expectations. Consistency is key here, so pick 3 or 4 activities that you do to ease sleep and keep doing that. We suggest picking a day for an activity and sticking to it. For instance: Mondays and Wednesdays the mum can nurse the baby to sleep, while on Tuesdays and Fridays the dad will wash the baby right before tucking him or her bed. You should keep rotating through a variety of cycles regularly in the first few months to learn what works best.

Manage your Expectations

Keep in mind that for these tips to work it takes some patience, as well as a commitment that you get to understand both yourself and your baby’s need very intimately. Not every baby is the same so use these tips as a base to build on: try them out one at a time and see how your baby reacts. Also understand that if your baby is less than 3 months old, it may be too early to introduce stable sleep patterns. Instead, use this time to get to know your baby’s rhythms (see step 2 above), which will make it easier to implement these steps.

Share Your Story

As always, you know your baby best so you’re always free to introduce your own twist on our suggestions. In fact, why don’t you tell us what worked for you in the comments?

2 thoughts on “5 Tips to Help Your Baby Sleep Tight”

1. Pingback: 10 on Tuesday | jaime said

2. Pingback: Dealing With Asthma, Kids and Sleepless Nights - NordicComfort