Getting a baby to fall asleep and stay asleep at night can turn into an overwhelming adventure for new parents.  You are just getting to know your little one, and on top of it, you are doing it with hardly any sleep!  Newborns are a lot to handle during the day, so by the time night-night comes, everyone is exhausted and ready for bed – that is everyone except baby!  Why is it still awake and wailing away?

 

There are a couple simple steps you can take to help your baby sleep through the night as a newborn and help promote a good nights’ sleep for years to come.  A lot of it has to do with routine.  I have been doing the same thing every night for the last 3 months with my newborn and she is sleeping on average 4-6 hour stretches at night, and sometimes a whole 7 hours without any frustration!  Will what I am doing work for you?  I can’t be sure, but I think there is a good chance it will.

 

Spend an hour keeping baby stimulated before bed.  If you have a wee one, that can be holding baby on your lap and singing, rolling around on the floor, or playing peek-a-boo.  With older children, play a game that will keep them thinking, or try to have some positive one-on-one time that keeps everyone involved.  This is a great time to bond with your child before bedtime, and it sets a good attitude before the nighttime routine.  If everyone is feeling positive before going to bed, it will be a smoother transition.

 

Every night at the same time, I do a final feeding before bedtime.  I take as long as my daughter needs to enjoy her meal.  Either breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, or if your child is older, give some nourishment to your child, even if it is a small glass of water and a cracker.  This gives you some time to have face to face with your baby before going to bed and help it to stay asleep longer.

 

After having a nice snack, it is time to make sure baby is freshly diapered and ready for sleeping.  Put nighttime attire on and move to the area where baby sleeps.  If you co-sleep or allow baby to sleep in bed with you, make sure you have a spot that belongs to just baby and get baby comfortable.  Otherwise, lay baby down in the crib or bassinet.  If you are swaddling baby, make sure to get swaddled up before getting comfy.  Try to make sure that baby is still awake but ready for sleep at this time.

 

This is sometimes the hard part.  If baby likes a pacifier, make sure to have one available.  If your baby likes to be rocked in the rocking chair for a little bit, do that before laying baby down.  When children get older, they might want a story before bed.  The challenge of this step is setting boundaries and sticking to them! If you rock in the rocking chair, do it for the same amount of time each night.  If you read stories before bed, pick an amount and stick to it each night.  Many times when the nighttime routine is changed, the child has a difficult time falling asleep.

 

Spend a couple minutes with baby after laying it down giving kisses and love.  Now it is time for baby to fall asleep on its own.  Leave the room and allow baby 15 minutes to fall asleep before checking in on it.  Even if baby starts to cry, try to stay away.  This can be gut wrenching for some.  If you feel you must check in on baby, try to do it without baby seeing you, or try to not make eye contact.  Remember that your baby is safe and knows it is cared for.  Eventually baby will fall asleep. 

 

That is how I do it each night and it works wonderfully.  I try to stay as calm as possible, even on the nights that I have to go back 2 or 3 times to reassure baby.  When we have a difficult night it is usually due to our nightly routine not being followed.  Some other things to consider is making sure that baby doesn’t always sleep where it does at night.  If your child falls asleep while playing on the floor during the day, don’t rush to take it to its crib.  It will be okay sleeping on the floor – you felt comfortable letting baby play there, right?  This way baby starts recognizing the difference between “sleeping” and “napping”.  It will associate the crib with a long stretch of sleep and other areas for napping.

 

Don’t be afraid of making reasonable noise while baby is sleeping.  So often I hear people saying, “shhhh, the baby is sleeping!” but the problem is, if the baby is used to complete silence while sleeping, any little noise will rouse baby from its sleep.  That doesn’t mean you should have band practice in the room next door, but don’t be afraid of doing normal activities while baby is sleeping.

 

No matter what routine you use, stick to it every night!  There will be some nights that are better than others, but don’t give in – you will be rewarded with a good night’s sleep if you stay with the program for years to come!