Bedtime Baby Rituals: Prepping Your Little One For a Good Night’s Sleep - December 2024

It’s 10pm, and you have to get up early tomorrow for work. The night wears on and you’re getting impatient. But try as you might, your baby just isn’t falling asleep. Your sleepless nights are about to end, for you and your baby. But before we get to the actual advice, you may want to know why babies have trouble sleeping. It may give you some idea of what to do the next time your little one decides to pull an all-nighter. Why Babies Have Trouble Sleeping Babies often have trouble going to sleep and staying asleep, especially if they’re newborns. This is due to many reasons, changes in environment, teething or growing pains are mostly to blame. Moreover, 'baby sleep' works a little differently than adult sleep. For instance, babies take a long time to synchronise with the usual wake-sleep cycle that adults normally go through. Moreover, waking up in the middle of the night is a natural self-preservation mechanism that protects them from danger. Night-waking often occurs due to changes in the environment, such as from heat or cold. For this reason, babies tend to be light-sleepers, so night-waking is unavoidable in the first few weeks of the baby’s life. But this doesn’t mean you can’t reduce the amount of times they wake up throughout the night. Aside from sleep training, here are some ways to create a soothing bedtime environment for your baby. How to Create a Soothing Bedtime Environment for Your Baby Sterilise the Environment In case you didn't know, there's something called 'sleep hygiene', which is a term used for how conducive your environment is for sleeping. So in order to achieve good sleep hygiene, you need to 'sterilise' the environment from any factors that may interrupt your baby’s sleep. This can either be sounds, flashing lights, and even unpleasant smells. Of course, this isn’t always possible with unruly neighbours or passing cars. You may have to resort to some noise-cancelling earmuffs for your baby. Aside from that, your baby’s room should ideally be dark with no light sources. The environment should also be kept at a reasonably cool temperature between 20° to 22° Celsius. Give Them A Nightcap Depending on their age, a pre-bedtime feeding can help with nighttime hunger pangs that are often associated with night-waking. However, this is not recommended for babies over 6 months old, as this is when you should start weaning them from the bottle. If your baby is under 6 months old, then it’s OK. Ideally, you should feed them warm milk, either breast milk or formula, 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. Make sure to burp them too before putting them down to sleep. Bedtime Massage Image credit: Shutterstock Massaging your baby before bedtime may help your little one sleep better. Studies show that babies who get pre-bedtime massages have a higher level of melatonin in their blood. Melatonin is the hormone that your brain naturally produces that helps you go to sleep. You can use some baby oil to give them a light massage, making sure not to squeeze or press too hard. There are YouTube tutorials you can watch that show you how best to massage a baby if it’s your first time. Sing Them A Lullaby Your baby isn’t a judge on American Idol, so don’t worry about hitting all the notes or getting a perfect pitch. Studies show that lullabies can soothe a baby, helping them fall asleep faster. They’ve been used for centuries by mothers as a pre-bedtime ritual. If you don’t feel like singing, you can always purchase a little lullaby music box. Those work just as well. Swaddling Swaddling is great for comforting babies, but only if they’re under two months old. Swaddling helps the baby feel comforted and safe, like being in a mother’s arms. The link provides plenty of ways to swaddle your newborn so pick the ones that are easy to do. However, as your baby grows, it’s best to let them learn their own self-soothing methods. Swaddling can only do so much once the baby learns to move their arms and wriggle free from their bonds. Once this happens, swaddling can actually pose a significant risk to your child. White Noise White noise can be beneficial for aiding in sleep and works by drowning out environmental sounds that may interrupt sleep. White noise sounds usually range from rain sounds to waterfalls, to sea waves. The sounds are uniform and constant throughout the entire night, which will mask any loud disturbances that may occur in the baby’s surroundings. It’s perfectly safe to leave the machine running all night. Just make sure it has full batteries. Sleep Sprays Sleep sprays or pillow mists are liquids that you spray on linen, sheets, and bedding. The natural scents that exude therein can assist with good sleep. Essential oils like lavender and jasmine create a soothing atmosphere that can help calm your baby before bedtime. However, avoid spraying these products directly on your baby's skin or clothes as essential oils can often be irritating to sensitive baby skin. The example provided is baby-friendly and skin-safe. So if you’re shopping around for a sleep spray, be sure to look for these labels. If you think your baby is too young for essential oils, opt for hydrosols instead. Essential oil diffusers are generally not recommended for babies, so maybe don’t go for those. Rock-A-Bye Baby A good night’s sleep is such an important part of raising a healthy, happy baby, for both mother and child. That said, it will take a long time before babies learn to sleep through the night on their own. As part of a child’s many developmental milestones, night-waking is just one in a long list of things they have to experience along the way. So try out these tips and you’ll have your little one dozing off to dreamland in no time. For more insightful stories and fun recipes, stay tuned to Motherhood Story!

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