Getting your little sunshine to sleep well all through the night is likely the hardest task most parents face.
As if that isn’t hard enough, you soon realise you have little or no time to rest well after your long stress-filled day.
Of course, there are quite a number of reasons why your baby may continuously keep you awake through the night. She may need to feed, or want more comfort, and reassurance during the night.
Sometimes, it could even be teething, which can upset your baby’s sleep patterns and routine.
Besides, it took your baby a while to figure out the difference between night and day. So, even though babies’ natural preference is to sleep, you should keep in mind that they don’t really know how to stay asleep.
Babies usually continue to wake up most times at night for many months, even when they are not hungry.
So if you find it difficult to cope with how your baby keeps you awake, not to worry. Not every Mom knows the secret to getting their baby to sleep well through the night.
Check out these 5 ways to help get your baby sleep all through the night.
- DREAM FEED
The dream feed is usually given to a baby right before going to bed or while the baby is sleeping. It goes a long way to help babies sleep well at night.
Dream feeding is also called late evening feed or the 10pm-11pm feed.
The idea behind dream feeding is to fill-up a baby’s little tummy and help him/her sleep longer without waking up for further feedings. Always make sure your baby is well fed before going to bed or even while she’s not fully awake.
With dream feeding, you can be able to say goodbye to those late nights waking up and have so much sleep time for yourself.
- WAIT A WHILE
Jumping up from bed at every slightest noise you hear from your baby may not really be a good idea. Learn to wait a short while before going in.
On one hand, your baby could be well-fed before going to bed and still wake up at night. Regardless, that doesn’t mean you need to rush in to pick the baby up at the slightest noise, you just need to wait a while and soothe the baby.
More so, you can just give a gentle tap repeatedly on her back, no need picking him/her up.
On the other hand, if you run too quickly to their call, you may be robbing them of the chance to settle themselves at night.
Asides that, soothing your baby may not be as easy as it seems, especially when you find it quite uncontrollable to resist that little cry or noise she makes at night.
Nevertheless, babies need to whine and fuss a little bit in other to learn how to fall back asleep by themselves.
You might just be surprised when your baby goes back to sleep on her own one night even without you having to pet her back to bed.
- MAKE THEM TIRED AND BUSY DURING THE DAY
If your baby wakes up very frequently at night, try to tire them out during daytime especially in the evenings.
You can try going for long and fun-filled walks, play lots of games or do other activities to use up all your babies energy – so that by bedtime, your baby is fully exhausted and ready to sleep.
With this trick, your baby can have a long night without being interrupted.
- CREATE SLEEP TIME ROUTINES
The sooner you introduce your baby to a sleep-time routine, the more the chances of your baby having an uninterrupted sleep at night.
Although, the first few days could be challenging, be patient and keep on trying.
Also, sleep-time routines can help your baby feel more relaxed, and the more relaxed your baby is, the more your baby is likely to fall asleep quickly and longer.
Not only that, such a pattern or routine for your baby can help him/her understand it’s bed time and will help to establish a good habit that will keep a baby calm for a longer period at night.
This routine could include telling a bedtime story, singing songs or lullaby, as well as giving a warm birth.
With this, your baby can start recognizing the signs for bedtime.
- SET YOUR BABY’S DAY NIGHT SLEEP CYCLE
Since babies learn a lot as early as from birth. Try to teach your baby that night time is for sleeping and day time is for fun. When it’s dark, be more low-key. You can feed your baby in a semi-dark room, reduce all active activities, and keep light low plus noise soft.
Gradually, your baby will learn that daytime is for fun and night isn’t, and might as well learn to sleep more at night.
Although young babies are known for sleeping and waking up at awkward times, this is because they are yet to understand the 24-hour day and night cycle.
However, it can take several months before babies fully adapt to the 12-hour day and 12 hour night time.
Until this happens, babies are unlikely to settle and sleep for a lengthy period at night.
Above all, always know that a good sleep helps to relax your baby’s brain. And also, a good night of sleep is a good morning start. Most importantly, let your baby’s room be as neat as possible, avoid dirty bed sheets and stained clothes at night. More so, have it in mind that no baby is the same, always try new tips and tricks to know what’s best for your baby.
