Struggling to get your little one to settle at bedtime? Haven’t slept in a week?
Not to worry mums and dads – we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will explore four simple yet effective methods to help you and your baby get some much-needed shut eye (you can thank us later!)
So, sit back, grab a cuppa, and let us guide you through these tried and tested techniques.
how to help your baby sleep through the night
Stick to a Routine.
Establishing a daily routine may take time and practice as our busy lives can often get in the way. Whilst we can’t expect perfection, having a routine is crucial as it provides your baby with a sense of security and confidence in knowing what to expect of their day.
Just like ourselves, our babies have body clocks that benefit from sticking to the same schedule. Depending on their age, your little one is likely to need at least three naps spread throughout the day. If possible, try to avoid allowing them to nap too close to their bedtime, and instead, give them a warm bath to get them feeling relaxed and cosy.
Create a Sleep Enviroment.
If you haven’t already tried white noise to lull your baby to sleep, this could be a game changer!
An example of white noise could be a recording of the rain, calm ocean waves, or the light humming of an air conditioning or a fan. The science behind this technique is to replicate the same low-frequency vibrations and sound waves as the baby would hear in the mother’s womb.
For safety reasons, ensure that the volume of noise is no louder than 50dB.
Studies have also shown that the ideal temperature for an infant’s sleep environment is around 68 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, so try to keep the room relatively cool in preparation for bedtime.
Incorporate Bonding Time.
The practice of baby massage has been used by some cultures in Asia for over 3000 years!
Introducing this powerful technique to your routine will not only provide you with precious bonding time, but it has the potential to encourage a great nights sleep, along with soothing any trapped gas.
If you would like to learn some massage techniques, there are hundreds of useful tutorials on Youtube. Alternatively, many communities and health care visitors offer baby massage classes for new parents, so it’s always worth checking your local area for these groups.
If your baby shows signs of distress or they become too restless, stop the massage immediately as this will only further hinder their ability to sleep.
Dream Feeding.
I think we can all agree that sleeping on an empty stomach is incredibly unpleasant.
Dream feeding involves putting your baby to sleep at the usual time (7pm for example), and then gently awakening them for a small feed shortly before you head to bed yourself (around 10 or 11 pm).
This method is said to prevent the infant from awakening multiple times in the early hours of the morning to feed. Dream feeding generally continues as necessary until the baby is around 5 months old, by which time they should ideally be ready to sleep through the night.
Conclusion
We have all been there, sleepless nights, screaming babies and the zombified walk to the kitchen to get more milk (or not if you are breastfeeding!).
Hopefully, if you are struggling to get your little angel to sleep all the way through the night, you can read some of these helpful tips and with any luck have some success with getting your baby to sleep through the night.
