Just imagine your baby not sleeping in the late nights, and that is frustrating you a lot. It is not an easy task to make your newborn sleep for longer hours at night. There are some ways and products required like baby massage oil to make your baby feel comfortable. Such new things will definitely work effectively for your newborn. Following tips will provide you some assistance to get your baby close her/his eyes for longer at night:
Table of Contents
1- Dream-feed
We all know what feeding is. But parents should ensure about dream feed too to their newborns. This is the feeding that the baby should receive before the parents go to their bed at night. It will not wake up the baby at midnight due to hunger. The dream-feed should be provided until the baby is 4 or 6 months old. Besides, normally the dream-feed should be given between 9-9:30 pm.
2- Swaddle
Try to keep your newborn in a tight swaddle. During the initial days, a baby has a startle reflex. That makes them shake a lot as if they might fall. The fear of falling creates jerking movements. Such movements cause the baby to wake up. A tight swaddle will protect your newborn life from having jerking movements. Also, the snugness in the swaddle will let the baby feel comfortable. The smoothness will provide relaxation and might get him/her to sleep quickly.
3- Consider White Noise
It’s not good if the baby is listening to songs or other kinds of tunes when feeling drowsy. That distracts him/her a lot. The irritating noise will keep the baby wake up. Try locating the fan at a distance in the baby’s room. Do not place it right next to him/her. The air will be blown directly to it because that might also create distractions. Such white noises will not disturb the newborn much.
4- Restrict the span of naps during the day
We all know how much we are reluctant to wake a sleeping baby. But dear, you still have to! Sleeping longer hours during the day will reduce the span of sleep during late nights. This will lead to baby not sleeping at night because the craving for sleep is gone. Wake the baby if she has taken a nap for almost 2 hours. The maximum could be 2.5 hours.
5- Adhere to the eat, wake, sleep formula
Give feed to the baby when the cutie opens her eyes. This will provide instant energy, making her/him be awakening for longer. The baby will also play because she has consumed a lot of feed due to hunger after waking up. After getting tired, get the bed ready to make her fall asleep again. This cycle will maintain a healthy and disciplined routine of the newborn.
6- Consider pre-nap routines
Maintaining a constant schedule or routine will effectively help the baby sleeping at the right times. Use a pre-nap schedule. Get the newborn to its room and remove all kinds of light around the room, e.g., closing the blinds. Place the baby in a tight swaddle. Sing a peaceful song or turn on the white noise. Give some cuddling and kisses on her foreheads. This is necessary as it creates a strong bond between the baby and parents.
7- Don’t forget to change the diaper
Remember to change the diaper of the baby at least once in a day. Most importantly, check her diaper during the night after the feeding is completed. Changing the diaper and then re-swaddle the baby will indeed give relaxation and peach to the newborn.
8- Notice how your baby sleeps
When your newborn is tired, notice whether she sleeps for a shorter or longer span. Also, understand what she desires before sleeping, is it feeding or cuddling? If you let your newborn awake expecting that it will tire her will normally cause over-stimulation. So there are chances that the baby might face both concerns staying or falling asleep.
9- Don’t rush everything
After birth, we might build a habit of rushing and running towards the baby when she cries. That is because we care a lot, and there is anxiety in us thinking about why she is crying. Is it food? Is it sleep? Or is it any disturbance. We push ourselves towards the baby to keep her quiet and make hassle efforts to get her to sleep. The majority there are situations when the newborn wake up babble and then automatically go back to deep sleep. Try to give some space, some time to the baby. You will surely notice how independently she will resettle on her own. Try to maintain the process and do not disturb the cycle – eat, wake, and sleep. Just wait for 7-10 minutes, noticing if your baby settles independently.
10- Try not to catch eye contact with the baby
The majority of the newborns are easily stimulated. Catching eye contact with her might grab her attention and indicate to her that it’s playtime. Meeting the gaze of the baby inadvertently motivates them to come out of their sleep zone rapidly. The more the interaction between the parents and the newborn, the more she gets encouragement. So what exactly should you do? Go to the baby’s room and talk in a low voice with her. You might sing a peaceful song – twinkle, twinkle little star might do the work!
Conclusion
Getting your baby to sleep quickly is equivalent to a tough office job. Try to keep low voices, sing peaceful songs, use tight and comfy swaddle, and do not forget about dream-feed. Restrict the span of naps during the day. This will surely maintain a good and balanced routine of the newborn. Also, follow the cycle of eating, wake, and sleep regularly. It is the mother’s duty to feed after the baby wakes up.