Every baby is unique and every baby will develop at its own pace. There is no right way of getting baby off to sleep; it is a trial and error process sometimes. Trust your own instincts and get to read your own baby’s signs, restfulness, limp limbs etc.
Babies brains are like a computer, they take in the information around them and process it while creating patterns. They are naturally ready to have a routine instilled on them, so create a positive night time routine.
Children and babies that have been brought up with a consistent bedtime routine tend to sleep deeper and longer, this can carry on into adulthood.
Pre Sleep.
1, Give your baby a warm bath followed by a nice massage maybe whilst singing softly. This might have the opposite effect (trial and error).
2, Make sure the bed is a warm, no cold sheets, also the bedroom, 70f is a good temperature. Make sure there are no strong smells like perfume bottles. Humidity should be about 50%, try to have little dust and no dust gathering objects in the room.
An ionizer might help. Keep the room dark.
3, Try and use natural bedding and clothing, not synthetic. Newborn babies often like to be swaddled tight, simulating conditions in the womb.
Transition.
1,Place your baby in a body sling, walk around and wear him/her down, Dads and older siblings can help with this and give mum a break.
2, Breast or bottle-feed your baby in your warm dark room.
3,Use tapes with “new age” sounds or “white noise” some babies hate total quiet. If it’s hot a fan might work.
Softly singing lullabies and gentle rocking work well.
Read a story, obviously they wont understand the content but your soothing tone and voice will be understood.
4, Last resort, put your baby in the car or stroller and go for a drive/stroll.
When baby’s asleep carry the car seat or stroller into the room and only take him/her out at first feed or first waking. (We have used this occasionally and it can be a godsend)
Staying asleep
1, don’t jump at every slight noise or weak cry, chances are your baby will go back to sleep almost immediately without you interfering.
2,if baby wakes, try laying on hands or back patting gently at a rhythm to simulate a relaxed heartbeat.
3, Lie with your baby for awhile, breath heavily and deeply and your baby might pick up on your rhythm and go back to sleep.
There is another school of thought that says let your baby cry it out, personally I am not a great fan of this approach, but there is a method called the Ferber technique, click here if you want to know how this works.
Watch the video below with Dr. Jodi Mindell for some excellent sleep advice.
My baby still won’t sleep what’s wrong?
Gastroesophageal reflux (GER), sometimes just called Reflux, occurs when the muscle at the entrance to the stomach fails to keep the stomach contents in the stomach. The milk or food, along with acid from the stomach, backs up into the lower esophagus and irritates the tissue.
If your baby has GER it will definitely cause sleep problems.Don't be alarmed studies have shown that nearly half of babies up to 3 months old experience reflux.
Symptoms include:
Irritability
Poor feeding
Coughing
Spitting up
Blood in stools
If your child's symptoms are severe including:
Projectile vomiting
Vomiting yellow or green fluid, blood, or something that looks like coffee grounds
Persistent crying
Or is having problems breathing after vomiting,
Call your doctor immediately.
Treatment.
This will depend on your babies age and symptoms, most of the time reflux cures itself, your baby may only need thicker food and not to lie down immediately after eating. A particular formula may be the problem and changing to another brand may solve it. Breast feeding mothers should experiment with cutting suspect foods from their diet.
Try feeding more often but with smaller quantities.
Over feeding might increase the reflux action.
Although it can be traumatic for both parents and babies it should pass by the time your child is two years old.
As always check with your doctor or health adviser, as a last resort medication may be given.
Teething
The first teeth coming through or “teething” may be another cause of your baby not sleeping.
The gums will be sore and of course this will upset your child.
Usually occurring after three months old, a teething baby will start to drool and bite just about anything. Your calm mellow baby might suddenly become noisier ,cranky,
crying more often, not sleeping as well and may change their feeding habits.
Rub your finger along the top of the gum and you might feel the tooth cutting through.
Other signs are very red cheeks on the side the tooth is cutting.
Sometimes your baby might produce a mouth full of blood, the first time this happens you will get a shock!
Don’t worry just clean it up it will stop bleeding fast.
If your baby is drooling a lot and swallowing this might create diarrhea.
