Surviving on less sleep than you are used to is not easy. Doing this while recovering from childbirth and adjusting to life with a newborn is even more challenging. Sleep is such an emotive topic and if you’re not searching for ways to find more of it you are celebrating the fact that you are getting it. As humans we need sleep but as parents we really need sleep.
Surviving on less sleep than you are used to is not easy. Doing this while recovering from childbirth and adjusting to life with a newborn is even more challenging. Sleep is such an emotive topic and if you’re not searching for ways to find more of it you are celebrating the fact that you are getting it. As humans we need sleep but as parents we really need sleep.
Most new parents will find themselves regularly thinking about their baby’s sleep. Are they sleeping enough? Are they sleeping safely? Are they sleeping as much as they should be? The list goes on. In reality, all babies are different and there really is no written rule when it comes to sleep. We all know that life is a lot easier for all parties (particularly the baby) when your child sleeps well but it really can be easier said than done.
Some people will suggest sleep training methods and that just might not be your cup of tea. There are some more gentle approaches that many parents have found to be extremely useful. Rituals and changes that can make a big difference.
If you are sleep deprived the last thing you want to do is spend your waking hours feeling more stressed than you need to. Researching how to improve your baby’s sleep can really bring on a lot of stress. I feel anxious just thinking about all of those night’s I spent googling things. I remember feeling like I was the only person in the whole world who could possibly be awake at that ungodly hour. I was desperate for sleep and needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Reading about success stories and the things that have helped other parents gave me hope. It gave me something positive to focus on without compromising what I was comfortable with (I was never going to sleep train or let my baby cry to sleep).
Here are some of the things that really improved my baby’s sleep:
- We purposely made the house feel calmer about an hour before our baby’s bedtime. We would dim the lights, lower the TV and use a quieter and softer tone of voice. We wanted to send the message to our baby that this was the wind-down period of the day. We noticed that by the time our baby’s bedtime came around he was already halfway there as he was so relaxed from the atmosphere.
- Using a baby sleeping bag. This became a really important part of our bedtime routine. We put our baby in his sleeping bag for about fifteen minutes before his actual bed-time. When he fell asleep in our arms it meant that we didn’t have to lower him into a cold cot. The sleeping bag made him feel warm and toasty. It also meant that we didn’t have to use any blankets which he would typically kick off himself soon after he went to bed.
- A musical toy or mobile worked well for us. It became part of his association with sleep. When we played the musical toy lullabies he started to drift off because this was a little check-point for sleep. To this day we still use it (and he’s four).
- Make sure that the bedroom temperature is a comfortable one for your baby. Most baby monitors will display the temperature on the screen. The recommended bedroom temperature for a baby is between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius. If your baby is cold or overheated they will not sleep comfortably – just like an adult.
- Make the evening feed feel “different”. Encourage daytime feeds to happen in noisy playgrounds, play centres and public spaces with plenty of noise and distractions. In contrast, the evening feed should be slower, calmer and in a quiet and relaxing space. This is a powerful reminder to your baby that this is the feed before bedtime.
Written by Tracey Quinn staff writer at FFHQ who also blogs at www.loveofliving.ie.
