Parents’ top tips for getting your baby to sleep

baby to sleep

Baby to sleep. If your baby has trouble sleeping, you’re not alone. Here, BabyCenter parents share their best tips and tricks for getting their little ones down, from managing naps carefully to developing a soothing bedtime routine. If you’re a single parent, there’s help for you, too: Form a support network you can rely on and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. And most importantly, try to take care of yourself, too

IN THIS ARTICLE

Need help getting your baby to sleep? Some centers asked questions to share the advice they wish they’d been given when it mattered most. Some of these tips may sound unorthodox, but when it comes to getting your baby to sleep, sometimes you have to get creative – as long as safety comes first.

Don’t wait too long to put your baby to sleep

It seems counterintuitive, but the later you put your baby to sleep, the longer it may take for them to fall asleep. Cranky babies tend to be restless, fight baby to sleep, and wake up early.

“I wish someone had told me in the beginning that if you put a baby to sleep earlier, she’ll actually baby to sleep longer!”

  • “When my daughter was 6 months old, we realized we were keeping her up too long. Within two weeks, we had her bedtime set at 6:30, and now she sleeps 12 hours every night. No more fussy evenings.”

Keep your baby in sleep mode

When your baby wakes up at night, don’t make eye contact, sing to them, or otherwise engage them. This way, it’ll be easier for them to fall back asleep.

  • “It’s easier to keep newborns in ‘sleep mode’ during nighttime feedings if you keep them swaddled and the lights dim. And it’s not necessary to change diapers in the middle of the night unless they’re dirty.”
  • “I leave the public access television channel on all night and turn the volume way down. It plays soft, quiet music and has a dim screen, so it keeps him asleep, and doubles as a night light for me when I get up to check on him. It also means I don’t have to turn on a light when I feed him at 3 a.m., so he goes right back baby to sleep afterward.”

Manage how long and where your baby naps

Napping during the day can help a baby to sleep well at night – as long as it’s not for too long.

  • “I wish someone had told me sooner not to let baby ti sleep for more than three hours at a time during the day. As soon as I stopped that, he slept through the night like a champ.”
  • “I wish I’d known that naps are a necessity, even if a baby doesn’t seem tired. We skipped a few naps and paid the price for days!”
  • “I wish I had trained my son to nap in his crib earlier. I used to have him nap in his carrier. Now he sleeps in his crib at night with no problem, but he won’t nap there.”

Know that every baby is different

Some babies easily sleep through the night. Others toss and turn. Consider your baby’s personality when you’re trying to figure out which solutions will work for them.

  • “There is no one solution for every baby or for every family. No matter what anyone else tells you, do whatever helps you and your baby get some sleep.”
  • “No two kids are alike. My first wouldn’t baby to sleep at all his first 3 months and wouldn’t sleep in his crib. My second slept through the night at 2 months, nearly always in his crib. My parenting wasn’t different; my kids were.”
  • “I learned that giving my baby a binky was the worst way to get him to sleep through the night. As soon as the binky falls out, he wakes up looking for it.”

Commit to the bedtime routine

Over and over again, parents told us to come up with a soothing bedtime routine and stick to it until your child recognizes that it’s the signal to go baby to sleep.

  • “It’s all about routine! My baby started sleeping through the night when we started what we call the four B’s: bath, bottle, book, and bed.”
  • “Consistency is key. We put our son down for bed between 8:30 and 9 every night, and he goes to baby to sleep without any fuss.”
  • “The best phrase I heard (after the fact, of course) was ‘start as you mean to go on.’ The younger the baby is, the easier it is to break bad habits, or better yet, to create good ones.”

Make sure your baby’s entire team knows the drill

Tell everyone who helps out with your baby – grandparents, daycare teachers, sitters – how to put them to bed. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and trouble.

  • “I wish I’d specified to my son’s daycare center not to put him down for a nap with a bottle. Breaking him of the habit has been torture.”
  • “Partners and other caregivers need to be on the same page about baby to sleep training methods or it could take a very long time.”

Use noise strategically

White noise machines or apps, streaming lullabies, and humidifiers can all help lull your baby to sleep.

  • “Our vaporizer creates white noise to help my baby to sleep and it clears out her nose.”
  • “White noise apps on our phones have been a huge help – and are free! They also work better than a machine and travel well.”
  • “We live on a busy road, so we leave a fan and a TV on in the room next to the nursery. She’s able to sleep over 12 hours, even with the sirens and traffic.”
  • “I make it a point not to be quiet around my baby, and now she sleeps anywhere and through anything.”

Get your partner involved in night duty

Parents recommend that partners share the responsibility of nighttime care, and the earlier you start the better. Set the expectation that this is a job for both of you.

  • “When the baby wakes up during the night, my husband usually changes her diaper before I feed her. This helps me a lot, but it also teaches our baby that Daddy is there for her at night, which will be important when she’s no longer nursing and he can handle more of the nighttime duties.”
  • “My husband has his own ways of helping her sleep. It gives me a break, and the variety helps our child get used to different methods.”
  • “I let my husband do things his way from the start so I wouldn’t be stuck doing it all later on when it’s more difficult for a baby to adjust to different methods.”
  • “My partner gets up with the baby on Saturday mornings so I can rest. I found that clearly communicating my need for baby to sleep without nagging was the easiest way to get her to do this.”

Prepare for setbacks

Parents warn that teething, developmental milestones, and illness can interfere with sleep. It’s so common there’s even a phrase for it – sleep regression.

  • “Expect the unexpected. Every time I think my baby has finally mastered sleeping for long stretches, something comes up – like a cold or developmental milestone – leading him to start waking or being fussy before bed. My advice is to accept that it’s normal, and fall back on using your bedtime routine.”
  • “Have your doctor check the baby for an ear infection if he has too many sleepless nights in a row.”

Take care of yourself, too

Have you heard the phrase “You can’t pour from an empty cup”? When you’re drained and exhausted from lack of sleep, call in the reinforcements – for yourself. It’s okay to rely on your support system for help when you’re running on empty.

  • “Sometimes you can try every trick and suggestion and they still don’t sleep. When that happens, you have to lean on your support system and have them watch the baby so you can get some rest. It’s been 5 months, and my daughter has not slept through the night at all. On average, she sleeps about two hours at a time.”

You’ll get through this

As hard as it is to go through life on just a few hours of sleep a night, remember that this is temporary. Your baby’s bad sleep is a phase that will be over eventually, so hang in there.

  • “I really, really wish someone had told me not to stress so much about my baby’s sleep. Trust your instincts and let things work out naturally. Be patient those first several months, and remember: You will sleep again.”

Sleep survival tips for single parents

Nights with your baby can be challenging if you don’t have a partner for backup. Here are some tips to help you and your baby get enough baby to sleep.

Consider moving in with relatives for the first few weeks at home with your baby, or ask a parent or relative to move in with you. Another option (if it fits into your budget) is to hire a nighttime caregiver or a doula trained in helping new moms before and after birth. Having in-home help will make it easier for you to get the vital rest you need to care for your baby.

  • “My mom takes my baby every Tuesday night so I can get rest, or someone occasionally spends the night and helps me with her.”

Set up a support network to help when you’re overwhelmed, need another pair of hands, or just want someone to watch your baby while you catch up on baby to sleep. Try to strengthen your support system before your baby arrives. Talk to family members and friends, find a local support group for new parents, or consider making arrangements with an au pair or a live-in student.

  • “Push your pride aside and run for your bed if anyone offers to watch your child for even an hour. You will be so glad you did. And if no one comes your way, start asking. Most people do want to help if they know what you need.”

Sleep when your baby sleeps, or at least use the downtime to take care of yourself. Nap time for your baby can be nap time for you, too. Or you could call it a night when you put your baby to bed in the evening. If you don’t want to sleep, resist the urge to tackle chores while your baby sleeps: Take a bath, call a friend, have a cup of tea – whatever helps you relax.

  • “I try to take one nap with her during the day around 3 o’clock. Coincidentally, that is her longest nap of the day.”
  • “I made a point of making sure I had a shower every morning. Most of the time that meant taking my baby in the bathroom with me. After a bad night it did wonders, making me feel refreshed and ready to face the day.”

Consider room-sharing. Nighttime feedings and diaper changes are easier if your baby sleeps in your room. The Pediatrics actually recommends sharing a room with your baby for the first 6 months to a year, since it reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and makes nighttime care more convenient. Don’t sleep in the same bed as your baby, though, since that increases the risk of SIDS.

Read more about

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *