Sufficient sleep is an important way to ensure that a baby develops healthy sleeping habits. Sleep, particularly REM sleep, is essential to allow proper development, which occurs very rapidly in babies, reports Baby Center. However, babies tend to have irregular sleeping patterns; the Baby Center encourages parents to take steps to ensure that the baby gets the recommended amount of sleep to promote healthy sleeping habits.
Create a Routine
Creating a predictable routine can help encourage babies to fall asleep and stay asleep. The Healthy Children website suggests that parents expose their baby to a quiet and calm routine to signal that bedtime is coming. Elements of a good bedtime routine can include reading a story, taking a bath or listening to quiet music. Playtime and active activities should be avoided, according to the Healthy Children website, because they can overstimulate a baby and discourage sleep. The key component of the bedtime routine must be consistency because the same bedtime and bedtime routine each night promotes healthy sleep habits in babies, according to the Healthy Children website.
Put Your Baby to Bed While Awake
Teaching a baby to fall asleep on her own is a critical skill that will help promote healthy sleep habits. According to the Kids Health website, a baby should be put in her bed while she's awake so she can learn to put herself to sleep. Parents are encouraged to stay with the baby if she cries to offer comfort but to leave while she is still awake. The Healthy Children website encourages parents to let the baby cry or fuss for a few minutes before responding to encourage babies to go to sleep on their own.
Make Sure Your Baby is Comfortable
To help reduce the risks of SIDS, babies must always be put to sleep on their backs, reports the Kids Health website, in addition to sleeping without soft stuffed animals, blankets and toys. However, other ways will ensure the baby's comfort while in the crib. The Healthy Children website recommends finding what will soothe and comfort a baby, such as leaving a light on or leaving the door cracked open. Comfortable babies are able to fall asleep faster and easier. Parents are encouraged to meet the baby's needs before putting them to bed to encourage an easy transition to sleep.
Make Daytime Playtime, But Remember Naps
The Healthy Children website promotes daytime playtime to stimulate a baby and to encourage development. However, it is important to resist the urge to play with the baby when she should be sleeping. Daytime playtime will also increase a baby's awake time during the day so that she will be able to sleep longer at night, says the Healthy Children website. Daytime naps will still be a part of a baby's healthy sleep habits. The average amount of daytime sleep for a 4- to 7-month old, according to the Kids Health website, is between three and four hours. Naps are important for promoting healthy sleeping habits, because they help reduce afternoon and nighttime crankiness that make it difficult for a baby to fall asleep at bedtime.
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