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Putting Baby to Sleep

When reading and learning about putting a baby to sleep, a lot of attention is given to baby sleep habits, and with good reason. One of the most difficult things about becoming a parent is learning to deal with being woken up at all times of the night by your baby. Unfortunately there are no definitive answers about how to put a baby to sleep as all babies are different. Thankfully though, there are some baby sleep tips and guidelines which can help. It may be difficult at first but it is important to trust your instincts and to trust your experience. If you try a tip and it doesn't work then try something else. Don't be afraid to keep trying different things. The only real way to learn is through trial and error. You will eventually find the right solution for you and your baby.

The first and probably best baby sleep tip is to establish a bedtime schedule or ritual for your baby. A new born baby generally doesn't sleep well through the night because she is used to falling asleep with her mother. When she cries during the night it is because she has woken up without her mother and she needs her to fall asleep again. As the new born grows older she becomes used to being on her own and therefore tends to find it easier to get to sleep on her own and to cry less during the night when she wakes up. Your goal should be to try to speed up this transition process as much as possible. This will result in a good nights sleep for both you and your baby as well as setting up good long term sleeping habits for your child.

When putting your baby to sleep of a night make sure you are consistent in your actions. Babies need a routine and they get confused without one. A good routine to get into is to give your baby a warm bath, feed her, change her, and then put her straight to bed. If you stick to this routine every night then she will know that as soon as she has had a bath, eaten, and put into her pyjamas then it must be time to sleep. She will associate this pattern with sleep and it will become a natural process for her. However, if you are inconsistent, your child will be unsure of what is happening next and might expect you to play with her when you want her to sleep.

Don't forget to enjoy the time when you are putting your baby to sleep. This could possibly be one time in the day when you get to spend a decent amount of time with your child so make the most of it. However, don't let your child manipulate or take advantage of you. She will probably want to spend as much time as possible with you. If you don't spend enough time with her before you put her to bed then she might refuse to sleep as a way to try to get you stay with her. They way to overcome this is to have fun while bathing and feeding her and then get serious before she goes to bed so she knows the fun is over for the day and she must then go to sleep.

In summary, when putting your baby to sleep at night, be consistent and stick to a routine or schedule. It doesn't matter so much as to what you do each night before bed but the order in which you do them. Consistently stick to this pattern and you and your baby will be sleeping through the night in no time.