Jo’s seven secrets to baby sleep
Babies need sleep so that their developing brains can process everything they have learnt during the day. Getting your baby to sleep through the night is every first time parent biggest concern. So here is my special 'Seven Secrets' guide to getting it right:-
- Follow a bedtime ritual consistently every night. Babies and toddlers relish routine and ritual they like to know what's coming next, they like certainty.
- Treat every hour between 7pm & 7am as night time which means darkness and calm, quiet voices. Dress, massage and feed your baby at 7pm in their room. They will soon learn the difference between night and day..
- Try not to let your baby fall asleep in your arms or while feeding - always lay your baby down awake.
- Use 'Spaced Soothing' to calm baby and reassure him that you are there for him without having to pick him up. 'Spaced Soothing' techniques are explained fully in the 'Baby Secrets' book.
- Don't rush to your baby at every sound - many of the noises a baby makes are his attempts to fall asleep.
- Give your baby a late-night feed or 'dream feed' at the same time every night even if you have to wake him to do so. Continue until he is ready to sleep through the night.
- Set a base time for his middle of the night feed and never feed before it: stretch that time gradually until your baby sleeps through the night.
Teaching your baby to have good naptimes is also a key to sleeping well at night. A baby who is overtired when they go to bed is only going to nap and not go into a lovely refreshing deep sleep. When you start to teach your baby good sleeping habits always start at the beginning of the day so that he will have several practises before night time. You will also be able to be more alert and patient than in the middle of the night when you will do anything just to get more sleep.
Babies need to have this long deep sleep at this age, this is the time when their brains are processing everything they have learnt during the day. It is also the time when their immune system is boosted and their bodies repair themselves. Research shows that they should be getting enough nutrition in the daytime so they don’t need feeding at night.
