We all want our babies to have a good night’s sleep, but sometimes this is easier said than done. We want to make things easier for you so today we are sharing 5 sure fire ways to beat baby sleep nightmares.
We’ve all been there, being dead tired and babies absolutely refusing to go to sleep. If this is happening just here and there, it is inconvenient but just a regular part of parenting. But if baby sleep difficulties are a daily struggle something should be done, both for your babies sake and for your sanity.
We are sharing 5 sure fire ways to beat baby sleep nightmares today, we even have a handy info-graphic you can print and check when you most need it (mommy brain anyone?).
Give all of these a try and find one, or more that best suit you and your baby.
1.) Teach your baby to self soothe
This one can be a great baby sleep technique. Put your baby to sleep when she or he is a bit drowsy, but not yet asleep. Give them time to settle down on their own. You must resist the temptation to rush in immediately but give them several minutes to sleep on their own.
If your baby is over thee weeks old and gaining weight well, you can wait a few moments before feeding them when they wake up.
Concentrate on creating a soothing environment. Sing lullabies, play white noise…
Eliminate sleep associations such as feeding them to sleep, holding them to sleep, rocking them to sleep.
Create a bedtime routine.
These might be hard, but remember you have a goal of teaching your baby to self soothe!
2.) Gradual Retreat
Place a chair next to your baby’s bed. Put your baby to bed when they are drowsy and sit in the chair.
When your baby cries, get up and gently pat them back to sleep. Do not linger.
When your baby stops crying, move your chair further away from their bed and sit down again.
If they cry again, go back and soothe them again. As before try and keep it brief.
As soon as they stop crying move your chair even further away. Repeat until your baby is asleep.
3.) Controlled Crying
This method should not be done if your baby is sick or if there was a major change in routine that happened. This one can be hard on us parents.
Put your baby to sleep in a darkened room, say goodnight and leave the room. When your baby cries, wait for five minutes before going into the room.
Put you baby back to sleep, you might need to soothe the child.
Gradually increase the time before you return to the room (but not over 15 minutes).
Repeat the process as needed.
4.) Pick up, put down baby sleep method
Put you baby to sleep. If they cry, place your hand on their chest softly and speak gently to them. If that does not work, pick them up and continue to speak softly.
When they stop crying but are still awake, put them back down. If they cry when you put her in their bed, continue to lay them down.
If they continue to cry, pick them up again. Repeat until you see signs of your baby calming down, for example they might start to cry more weakly.
Leave the room.
If your baby starts to cry again, repeat the process as needed until they are asleep again.
5.) No Cry approach
You have to have a consistent sleep routine both for naps and bedtime.
Get to know your baby’s sleep patterns, know how long your baby will sleep and what is typical for their age. It is completely normal, as we are sure you are well aware, for babies under a year old to wake open during the night.
It’s best to keep a record of your baby’s sleep habits. This may help you learn what is waking your baby up at night.
You should not allow your child to get overtired, put them to bed earlier instead of allowing him to stay up too late.
It’s also important to create a good sleep environment for your baby. Consider things like lighting, temperature, smells, sounds, etc.
Come up with a calming phrase or a noise (like shhhh) to use with your baby. This way they will associate that sound with their bedtime.
Learn your baby’s cries. This way you will always know when they require attention and when they are about to sleep.
We really hope one or more of these sure fire ways to bead baby sleep nightmares will help you and your baby to a less stressful bedtime routine.
Some of these might be hard on us, even harder on us parents than the child, but the end result benefits both us and our precious little ones.
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine! Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time. KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania. Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on. Get in touch TODAY!