Just one night…..8 or even 6 interrupted hours of sleep. Please, please, please!
Many are familiar with these words, but for the uninitiated, this could be described as the parent’s prayer. Especially in the first few months, getting the baby to sleep seems to be the biggest hurdle to really enjoying time with your little one.
If you are in the midst of this, don’t worry. We will now consider 5 baby sleep tips that are sure to help you on your way to getting your prayers answered!
1. Noise Is Your Friend
It is natural to want to keep noise to a minimum when getting a baby to sleep, but we could be guilty of putting our adult preferences onto our little ones.
Unborn babies are exposed to sounds of up to 90dB in the womb and enjoy every minute of it. That’s approximately the volume of a train entering a subway station! So complete silence can be what is keeping your baby awake.
For this reason, a sound machine is a wise addition to any parent’s arsenal.
2. Avoid Overstimulation
Especially in those first few weeks, all of our efforts are spent getting our baby to smile. That usually means pulling out all the stops to keep them entertained, but in doing so, you can unwittingly ruin your bedtime routine.
One of the best baby sleep tips is to keep things chilled at night and avoid overstimulating them. Doing so is a signal to them that it is soon time to take up residency in the land of nod.
3. Sunlight for Sleep
Our bodies are amazing in that even at the newborn stage; they have all the necessary functions to know when it is day and night. If you are a parent in the throes of getting your baby to sleep at night, then you may struggle to believe that!
The problem is that our circadian rhythm just isn’t calibrated, so to speak, at such an early stage.
To help give your baby the cues that it needs, expose her to as much daylight throughout the day as possible. Likewise, if you keep them away from bright artificial lights in the evening, then your environment, as well as you, will be signaling to your baby that sleep is the only option!
4. It’s Cool to Fall Asleep
Among all baby sleep tips, one that applies to both grown-ups and babies alike is room temperature.
No doubt you have heard older ones in your circle voice their concerns about your baby keeping warm, but for sleep, cold is your friend. The optimum temperature for all of us is around 65°F (18.3°C), so make sure your baby’s room temperature is hitting the mark.
This may be particularly challenging in hot summer months if you don’t have air conditioning. In this case, a great solution is bamboo clothing, which allows your baby’s skin to breathe but still keeps them nice and wrapped up at night.
5. Take Your Cues
One of the most precious things you will experience is you and your little one getting to know each other.
While lovely, one benefit of this is beginning to notice their unique signs of sleepiness. Whether it is a dazed look at a certain time at night, rubbing their eyes, or crying in a certain way, it’s time to spring into action!
Overtireness leads to spikes in stimulants like adrenaline and cortisol, a death wish to any parent, so don’t delay and put your newfound knowledge to good effect.
Baby Sleep Tips That Work
While it may seem like a fantasy, no matter how hard it gets, times of no sleep will eventually come to an end.
Until then, we hope that our baby sleep tips can provide you with at least one blissful night of sleep!
We hope that you enjoyed this post. If you did, be sure to check out all the other great content we have for new parents on our site.
