Remember, all babies are different
Sleep - it is so important isn't it?! It refreshes us, it's relaxing and we love doing it but trying to function on lack of it is a nightmare! The first few weeks and months of raising a tiny, sleep stealer is exhausting!!! So, there are lots of tips and tricks that might help you and your baby develop good sleeping habits. However, it is no one size fits all, it really is just trial and error. Some may work but on the same note, they may not. It's always worth a try though.
Differentiating night from day - Keep day time nice and bright with the curtains open and plenty of normal noise. Don't creep around when baby is sleeping in the day, just let the normal noise happen. Put your washing machine on, get the vacuum out, keep the TV on etc. Then when it gets to night time, close the curtains and blinds, quieten down and avoid too many distractions. Minimal lighting is also a good thing as it is less stimulating. We found blackout blinds helped us in the summer months. You can buy temporary ones from places like Amazon that are easy to put up and take down daily. I've added a link to the bottom of the blog post. Remember, when baby wakes in the night, avoid talking to them unless necessary. Don't play games like peekabooo or tickling, these are things to do in the day time so they become aware that daytime they can be awake and do all of those things. At nighttime, when they don't get any responses or actions, they soon will come to realise that night is for nothing but feeding and back to sleep.
White noise - Lots of babies find sleeping much easier with the aid of white noise. This can be from specific white noise machines such as 'baby shushers' or toys that produce the sound. You can also find white noise apps on phones and tablets or even on YouTube. These can work just as well if positioned in a room, away from baby but loud enough for them to hear. White noise mimics the sounds heard when in the womb and is thought to somehow remind them of a safe place.
Evening Routine - Everybody's night routine will be different. Some parents like to bath their baby every night to start their bedtime routine whereas some parents may only do this a few nights a week. You have to establish a routine that is right for you and your baby. Some good practice that is useful for all though is changing baby ready for bed. A clean nappy, fresh babygrow or whatever you like baby to sleep in and then their feed. Dim the lights and read a story just after for some quiet time. Then when baby is nice and relaxed but hopefully still awake, lay them down in their basket/cot, turn on some white noise, lights out (or maybe a dim night light away from baby) and leave them to settle themselves off to sleep. As every baby is different, if your baby was not at all happy or settled then you may have to come up with a different plan. Lots of babies will self soothe though, eventually.
Many nights will differ - We have to accept that nights will differ throughout baby's first year. The first few weeks of their lives, their sleeping pattern is very much up and down. Babies need to feed regularly as their tummies are so small so they will ultimately wake every few hours. This is why keeping them alert at times throughout the day can be very beneficial as they may go a little longer between feeds during the night. As they get a little older, the waking times between feeds, particularly at night, will become less. This means they may start going 4-8 hours between feeds during the night. This is when most parents do a celebratory dance and post a smug, parent post on Facebook! Then, the dreaded happens... tiny, sleep stealer wakes up every hour the following night and pops that smug balloon right in your face! This is normal and will be on occasion, normal throughout the next year (or even two, sorry!) Babies go through growth spurts, teething, development phases and illnesses which can all affect their sleep. So don't be disheartened if your little angel who had totally cracked the sleeping for most of the night suddenly has a relapse. Things will go back to how they were again, just give it a little time.
So there you have it, some nice little helpful hints for sleep times. I hope some of these work for you and remember there is a wealth of knowledge out there on our good friend, Google, who is always there to help with ideas - even at silly o'clock in the morning!
