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night time sleep routine[/caption]Most new parents find their baby’s night time wakings a rude shock to the system. They quickly find out that the tiredness you experience as a parent is very different to the tiredness you feel as a partying young adult with no children. As a parent there is no night off, and no sleep in the next day either! Think about going out partying late into the night every night and then getting up to go to work and trying to perform at your job - every day. You would probably not be looking, feeling or performing at your best. Sleep deprivation can impact on your mood, health, judgement, decision making and so many other important skills. Any parent will tell you there are no days off, so it is essential to minimise the disruption to a good night’s sleep.
Babies are immature little beings who wake at night for any number of reasons, importantly they need night feeds until around six months of age. We understand this and accept it. You can streamline night time wakings by developing night time habits that assist everyone to go back to sleep easier.
Five top tips to minimise night time waking:
1. Swaddling - Swaddling newborns if they are in their own cot or bassinet is the number one tool to help babies sleep at night. This would be our most important habit to use to help your night time get better.
2. Low lights - Only turn on the light if you really need to. Keep lights down low so that you keep baby as drowsy as possible so that he or she hopefully settles easily at the end of the feed.
3. Avoid changes - Only change nappy if you need to. If you are using disposables be aware they are designed to soak up a lot of fluid. Your may be able to go all night comfortably without a change.
4. Quiet - Use a gentle, calm, soft and quiet voice and keep talking to a minimum.
5. Avoid play time at night - Remember just because your baby is ready for play doesn’t mean you have to play with them. Let your baby play if he or she wants- you don’t have to join in. There is plenty of opportunity to play during the day. By reducing stimulation it encourages your baby to settle back to sleep easier.
There are a number of habits you can employ to foster a helpful nighttime routine. These top tips are a great place to start. For more information get one of our resources here- http://insyncwithinfants.com/baby-sleep/
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