Getting Your Baby to Sleep

Bedtime! If you ask new parents about which is the time that is the toughest for them, most will definitely heave a sigh and say bedtime!

One of your hardest jobs with your new baby is getting her to sleep. After all, the world is a very interesting place, and having boundless energy to expend, who has time for sleep, anyway?

Your new baby can not tell the difference between night and day, nor can she understand logic or time. This can become a trying experience for you. What can be done? You can't shout or scold her, this will only escalate your situation. So the best thing you can do to get your baby to sleep is to make the environment itself conducive to sleep.

One of the ways to get your baby to sleep is to simply follow a set schedule. Daytime is for eating, playing, exploring, and fun. Nighttime is for sleeping. If you follow a set schedule so that the your baby is doing fun and stimulating activities, and exploring during the day, and then sleeping at night, she will begin to associate nighttime with sleep. Be consistent.

A few ideas to get your baby to sleep:

Always placing baby in her crib on her back to sleep. This will slowly become a conditioned reflex and your baby will associate the crib with sleep time!

Nap time should be scheduled at a consistent time during the day. Being consistent will help to get baby to sleep longer periods of time at night.

Set the atmosphere, after laying your baby down to sleep make sure you don't make it a "social" or "fun" time. Be quiet and soothing while feeding or changing diapers. This quiet and soothing time will help your baby establish nighttime is for sleeping.

Most parents like following a simple bedtime ritual of bathing their babies then reading to them. This helps them to relax. Babies are creatures of habit. These rituals help them to make this association with sleep. Consistent bedtimes and going to sleep rituals get your baby to sleep easier and they stay asleep longer.