How to Get a Newborn to Sleep Through the Night
Do you have a brand new baby in your house and you are having a hard time getting it to sleep at night? It is possible to get some sleep again!
1 Do not let your infant sleep too much during the day.
2 Avoid naps that are close to when the baby needs to go down for bed. So if you want him/her down at 7:30 PM then you might avoid letting him/her nap after 4 o'clock.
3 Put your baby on a schedule. The structure is important to children of any age. Try to feed, bathe, and put a baby to bed at the same time each evening. If you think it is impossible to control a baby's habits at least be structured in what you can control, like bath time. Wake him/her up for the bath if you have to.
4 A nice warm bath and some warm milk at night have calming effects.
5 Avoid overstimulating the baby during the night. Most importantly: keep night-time feedings as low key as humanly possible by
-Using dim lighting (or better yet none at all)
-Keep talking and eye contact at a minimum to help the baby understand that night-time is for sleep only.
-Absolutely no playing with the baby at night.
6 Lullabies always work! They help the baby to relax and be calm so they can maybe try to go to sleep!
Tips :
- Keep the baby to your chest, especially if you are the mom. The sound of your heartbeat will calm it. Then, once it has fallen asleep, put it into its crib.
- If you are lucky enough to have a two-parent family, it is sometimes a good idea to let the parent who is going to work sleep in another room so that at least one parent gets enough sleep. There's no sense in having two cranky and deprived parents in the house, especially if there are other siblings.
- Check for colic and use appropriate comfort measures, if the baby is colicky.
- Make sure your baby's diapers are not on too tightly, but not so loose that they can leak.
- Adjust the temperature in the baby's room so it's not too hot or cold.
- If the work scheduled allows, take turns in doing the night feedings.
- Swaddle the baby.
- Make sure the baby's sleeping attire is comfortable by taking the labels off the back of pj's and making sure they fit.
- Use a warm bean bag to warm up the crib before you put them in it at night.
- If your baby is a playful one, play till they become tired.
Warnings :
- If you don't have a nightlight or dimmer switch, don't move around in the dark if there's a chance of getting hurt, no matter how much you want to avoid ruining the nighttime atmosphere.
- Never pick up a fussy baby when you are frustrated and exhausted - let the baby lay in a safe place such as a crib with sides up and take a break - it's better to take a break than pick a baby up if you can't deal with your frustrations! Frustration can lead to shaking, and even accidental or unintentionally shaking a baby is dangerous!
- Remember safety first! Babies need to be on their back with no loose bedding around them or any stuffed animals.