o Sleep Through The Night
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Congratulations! You are now a parent. Bringing home that bundle of joy is an experience like no other. On one hand it fills your heart with a joy and love like you never knew you could experience. On the other hand, sleep never sounded so good. Before the baby came people told you babies seem to be up all night, but you never knew how true that was until now. Nothing can truly describe the experience like living through it yourself. Here are a few tips on how to help train the newest member of your family to sleep.
1. Napping Now you have learned that babies sleep a lot. When they are not sleeping they are eating, pooping or crying. I have found that when I let my children sleep when their body needs to they go to bed better at night. A sleep deprived baby tends to be in overdrive. They get cranky, angry and they can't seem to calm themselves down. Funnily enough one of the best ways of getting my kids to sleep through the night was sleep itself. I found it was okay for them to sleep, for an hour or two, a few hours before bedtime. This way when it is time for bed they aren't frustrated and angry because of things they got in trouble for or boo boos they got because they were too tired from skipping a nap. The trick here is to have a relaxed child. If napping isn't the thing that works for your kid, try reading a book, playing with blocks, or the oh-so-forbidden TV. Whatever you can do to get your child calm before starting the bedtime routine.
2. Bathing After a long day of changing diapers or a hard day in the office a bath is a great way to cool down and get clean. In a way, showering can seem to wash the worries away. Believe it or not crying, sleeping and using the restroom all day is hard work. Babies bodies are still getting use to the world around them. They are confused and they are just starting their life on this earth. Giving your baby a bath is a great way for them to play and get out extra energy before bedtime. This is also a fun way to bond with your children. It's easy to get caught up in everyday life and not focus totally on their cares and worries. Children must always be supervised in the tub, so make this a fun time for the both of you. To extend the tub time trying massaging your baby with calming baby lotions. When they are toddlers they can have fun helping with the lotion. Of course, depending on how new your baby is, some kids hate the tub. Don't worry. Being clean never killed anyone I know. Plus, they will sleep better when they are clean and the crying still gets out excess energy. You can have the bonding time while you dry they off, put on their lotion and calm them down!
3. Noise Babies can hear noise in the mothers womb and even though we can hear our bodies I can imagine they are a noisy place. Imagine living by New York's Times Square and then having to switch to sleeping in a quiet Alaskan village where they don't even have crickets to chirp to you at night. It's kind of the same thing with a baby. Trying putting a radio or noise machine by the babies bed. Every child is different though, as is every parent. If it has been a week and you don't feel the noise is working try the opposite. No noise can work just as well as lots of noise. It all depends on what the mother was like while pregnant. Was she relaxing with her feet gently being massaged by her loving partner or was she rockin' out to the radio all day?
4. Placement and Crying These are essentially two different steps, but the right combination of the two is the key. I know it's easier to have your baby in bed with you. I'll admit I have done it once or twice. The baby feels more comfortable and safe and you can more easily access them when they need help. I haven't been to a hospital, read an article or seen an interview yet that says this is a safe and recommended trick. My reason why not to do this is more long term. It will be easier to get your baby to sleep in their own bed if they have always slept there. If you want easy access, try a bassinet near the bed. I used a very large Tupperware bin and it worked great. I also recommend putting them in their own room as soon as possible. You will sleep better when your baby is not in your room. How many times do you wake up when they sneeze or even wiggle slightly. Babies go through REM cycles too and will fuss slightly sometimes in their sleep. Putting them in a different room and using a monitor will allow you to better gage the real waking from the night time sleepy noises.
Of everything, the crying is the hardest part and this is where the tricky placement comes in. If you know your child just tired it is okay to let them cry. Double check the hunger and diaper factors to satisfy a little of your guilt. No mother likes to hear their baby cry when it is so easy to hold them and let it stop. Crying is part of a babies way to train them self to fall asleep in their own. Give them their own room, try all the other steps, and let them go. The big trick is to know your babies cry. Are they really upset or do they just want you to hold them? The timing is different for every baby and even every time. I would say that 20 minutes is a good time frame to wait before going in to help calm them down. If they are an infant try feeding or rocking to calm them down, then it's back into the bed. Most of the time they will fall right to sleep. Now, an 18 month old is very different. by this time they will know that if they cry long enough you will come in. With this step I must encourage you to stay strong. You are training yourself as much as your child. It is hard for almost all, but it can work if you will let it.
5. Repetition Of everything repetition is the most important. It is key in training your child to do what you want. Some kids are more stubborn than others and so are some parents. Try everything, try different things, but keep it consistent. You know your child better than anyone. A week is a good average to try a routine, but if something just didn't work for your situation don't feel bad about switching it sooner. Always remember that every age is different too. You might need to constantly change your bedtime routine. What didn't work when they were newborn might work when they are two. But make sure you aren't changing it to drastically. Kids are smart and will notice a change.
Ruben Nixon