This week, I am going to share with you my tips for encouraging good sleep habits for your baby.
I gift this to friends who are expecting and from all accounts, it is very helpful. I hope you have success with it too.
May I gift you a few tips to encourage your baby to become a happy and independent sleeper.
It is OK to start encouraging healthy sleep habits early. Being a little baby is hard work and there is a lot of sleeping and eating to do in the early days. How you put baby to sleep/bed will influence their behaviour down the track.
So, here are my top 5 tips for healthy sleep!
1) Babies cry-it’s normal. He/she is simply trying to tell you they are hungry, tired or just plain cranky. You will figure out which is the answer as you go.
2) If baby is well fed and comfy, and milk drunk (don’t worry, you will recognise this), put baby into bed allowing him/her to go to sleep. Essentially, you are setting the environment for normal sleep and baby will be able to resettle when a light sleep phase is reached because this is their normal go to sleep environment.
It is the most beautiful and lovely thing to nurse or feed your baby to sleep but consider the alternative.
3) If baby wakes early (less than 2hrs) don’t automatically assume they are hungry and need to be picked up (although, this is not uncommon in the early days as you are establishing breast feeding). Firstly, give bub a little pat of reassurance that you are there and they may resettle. Obviously, if baby is distressed, get him/her up.
4) Bed time ritual is important. Look for tired signs and don’t ignore them. Small babies will be restless, cranky, jerky and out of sorts. Older bubs are the same but they also rub their eyes and get uncoordinated and cranky. Wind down before putting them into bed-this relaxes and calms them and signals bed time. De-stimulate them. Calm them down by cuddling, soothing, reading (when they are older) then put them to bed.
5) Now, this is the most important tip. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! Rest when the baby rests, eat well and be complimentary to yourself. Accept offers of help. Parents can be too self critical-congratulate yourselves on doing a good job and enjoy the process. “Enjoy not endure the early years with your child”
However, if your baby is crying continually, then this is not normal and might indicate illness, feeding or sleep issues which can often be simply addressed.
Lots of love and best wishes for your journey,
Kathy
If you have any questions or there are any topics you would like to see in future posts please don’t hesitate to get in touch.