Sleep Training Bed Time Routine How To Put Your Baby To Sleep

Hi Mom! In this blog post I will be sharing my baby’s bed time routine and techniques I use to get him to go to sleep. As first time moms this is something that we all struggle with.

If you’re having difficulty getting your baby to fall asleep, my advice is just Get To Know Your Baby – as all babies are different and what works for one might not necessarily work for another; try everything, put a bath time/ bed time/ sleep time routine in place and stick to it. Its the routine that works for us, as well as the techniques.

Highly Important: If your instinct tells you there could be a real issue – It is always best to consult personally with your Medical Healthcare Provider for personalised treatment for your baby’s specific issues.

Consistency Is Key

I find consistency is key. My baby has been going to sleep smoothly (at 8pm) since he was 3 months old, and he will be 2 years old next month. Whilst being breast fed he woke up two to three times during the night for feeds, and promptly went straight back to sleep. I could eventually tell when he was thirsty, and dream fed him, burped him, and changed his bum all without him waking up at all; he then slept through until 6am.

He still goes to bed at 8pm, and wakes up at 6am and has one 3-4 hour long nap in the afternoon. If he’s having a growth spurt, or if something else is going on like teething or sleep regression, perhaps he’s a bit ill… he can nap anything from 0-6 hours and I just let him. You have to know your child and take all this into consideration when dealing with him or her, and not just expect them to fall asleep and stay sleeping because you got things to do. Babies are human beings with minds of their own, emotions, free will and stuff going on with their bodies, its hard being a baby – try a little empathy!

Note: It is also extra difficult and takes longer to put your baby to sleep if he or she is over tired or over stimulated. Help your baby to calm down and relax before attempting to put them to sleep.

Your Baby’s Brain Is Developing While He Or She Sleeps

It’s always baffled me how some moms worry that their baby is sleeping too long and wake them up – I do not recommend this. From my research and experience: Babies will wake up when they have slept enough, if they are hungry or upset and need something. Let them sleep, that is when their brains are developing and they are growing and recovering from this hard life you’ve suddenly brought them into.

Sleep also influences “critical abilities such as language, attention, and impulse control. Brain activity during sleep has a direct effect on a child’s ability to learn and may even affect developmental and mood disorders. Simply put, sleep builds your baby’s brain.” … Not coincidentally, it’s during these early phases of life that the brain is busiest growing.

The only time I struggle to put my son to sleep is when he’s teething but I still stick to the routine with minor adjustments. He knows when it’s time to sleep and he will usually fight the routine but eventually he will fall fast asleep.

My baby Luke’s Dinner/ Bath / Bedtime/ Night Time Sleep Routine

30 minutes after dinner Luke and I get started on his Bath and Bed time routine. Once I start unpacking his clothes and preparing his cloth nappy, waterproof cover, snappy, toiletries and run the bath water – he knows things just got serious! If he doesn’t want to sleep he will begin moaning and complaining, however once he sees the bubbles he gets happy and excited and just can’t wait to jump in!

Please visit : www.sacnu.com if you’re interested in finding out more about using cloth nappies. If you’re a First Time Mom I highly recommend looking into this to 1. save money and 2. Save the environment. And have some beauty in nappy time.

After Lukes bath I give him a full body massage, focusing as much as possible on his legs because he’s so active, as well as baby foot reflexology which is awesome for relaxation and has a multitude of health benefits.

Next

Once he’s had his relaxing massage, I powder him up with Johnson’s bedtime powder with soothing NaturalCalm essences (smells like lavender), change him into his pajamas, plonk him on the bed, say a short prayer, read him a bed time story, following which we listen to a lullaby from Youtube. He will usually fall asleep on his own after all this.

My go-to Youtube Channels for Baby Sleep music are as follows:

Best Baby Lullabies

Baby Relax Channel

Lullaby World Official

Wonderful Lullabies

I’ve literally brainwashed by son with the above music channels (unknowingly), Lullabies now work as a hypnosis technique since he hears the tunes and immediately calms down to get in the mood for sleep. There are a ton more, you just have to search “Relaxing music for babies to fall asleep” or “Baby bed time music” and similar phrases. I recently searched “Bed time story for toddlers” and came across the below video which is a miracle on bad days. And since finding this story I’ve discovered a few more which my son LOVES. He’ll watch a couple of them and before I know it I’m watching alone and he is far away in dream land. Watch the video:

Bed Time Story for Toddlers by TOP BEST APPS FOR KIDS

I think there is an App you can download and interact with the video, like when they say “switch off the light” you have to actually click the light switch off… and you possibly choose which animal to view next? I haven’t tried to download the App as my phone doesn’t have free memory, but if you happen to download the app please let me know if it’s as awesome as I imagine?

Is It Really That Easy to Put Your Baby To Sleep?

No. There are some times I may have to resort to cuddling, rocking, singing, using the baby carrier or pushing Luke in his pram for a few minutes. And there are so many other ways, you can get very creative with practice. For nap time today (he’s currently teething) I had him wrapped tightly to my back, in a towel, rocked him back and forth for the longest 15 minutes of my life while singing a made up song and he eventually dozed off successfully. He’s 15kgs so this is definitely a last resort!

Last night while fussing he burped twice before falling asleep, so I guess it was the wind that was worrying him… So as mentioned before, my advice is just get to know your baby. Use the trial and error method of finding out what works for you both and then stick to it.

Wonder Weeks

P.S. You might want to download the Wonder Weeks App. It will help you get to understand your baby and his or her mile stones. Then you will be able to make the best decisions to suit both of you. It will certainly show you how to support and stimulate your little one’s development.

In conclusion: To get your baby to sleep, Routine and Consistency is imperative.

All the best Mommy. I hope you and your little one have sweet dreams and sleep well.

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