Baby Sleep 0-6 Months

Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep all night long.

First, make sure your baby knows the difference between day and night.

• Don't be quiet. Leave the TV on, talk on the phone, and continue doing day to day chores. Your baby will notice a difference when at night time all is silent.

• Have Baby sleep in a portable crib or bassinet during the day in a common area.

• Do not make the room completely dark while Baby naps.

• Greet your Baby when awakened from naps; be quite and quick when awakened at night and try to keep baby warm and snuggly.

• When baby wakes at night try to get baby to go back to sleep using other methods than feeding (tummy or back rubs, lullabyes or shushing, a pacifier, etc.) and try to leave baby in bed while doing this.

• Try to avoid changing your baby during the night if possible.

Make sure your baby gets enough sleep during the day but not TOO much.

• Studies show that babies who are overtired don't sleep well at night, so try to make sure your baby has a good long nap early in the day and has the shorter cat naps later, rather than vice-versa.

• Don't deprive baby of sleep as that can backfire. Babies who are not fully rested and who are woken up by their parents usually want to go back to sleep sooner than if they had woken on their own. Thus making your baby sleep more during the day and less at night.

Sleeping arrangements

• While having baby rooming in might seem like a nice idea, it might actually be keeping both of you and your baby up.

• Babies make a lot of noise and even whimper or cry when they sleep and this can easily make a sound sleeping parent pick baby up thinking that he/she is about to get up anyway, when perhaps they are just shifting around, dreaming, or moaning. So have baby close enough so you can hear a cry for help but not so close baby is keeping YOU up.

Feeding

• Make sure your baby is getting all the calories needed during the day, and has a good feed before bed.

• If they wake at night try and make sure they finish the feeding before going back to sleep and you might not hear from them till morning, as opposed to in 2-3 hours.

Start a Routine!

• Try starting and ending everyday the same way. For example; In the morning greet your baby cheerily and after breakfast wash babies hands, face and neck with a face-cloth, and get dressed for the day. At night, give baby a bottle, then a bath (allow baby to stay in as long as possible), then apply lotion, fresh PJs, and give baby some more milk.

• Try to lay Baby down when he/she is still awake. This will help teach baby how to self sooth. If baby is accustomed to being rocked to sleep for the first 3 months of life then they will not expect that to change. If baby starts to whine, try not to rush in, instead, wait to see if this whine is going to escalate. You may be surprised!