Infants sleep a lot, 16 or more hours a day, but they do this in slivers of just one or two hours at a time, leaving you, the parent, in an exhausted, often irritable, brain fog. Developing a consistent 24-hour routine helps your baby fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Daytime Activities
Stimulate your baby during the day by talking, singing and playing with him in an environment filled with natural light and normal day-to-day noise. Put your baby down for regular naps, but don't let your baby sleep so long that he can't get to sleep at night. Naps are important because overly tired babies have a harder time falling asleep at night. The average 3-month-old will nap for about five hours throughout the day, according to KidsHealth.
Bedtime Routine
A bedtime routine is imperative if you want your infant to fall asleep at night. Softly singing or reading to your baby, rocking her, reading to her or bathing her at night can help relax your infant and set in motion the actions she will associate with sleep as she gets older. Put your baby in her crib while she is sleepy but before she falls asleep so she will learn to fall asleep in her crib.
SIDS, Co-Sleeping and Pacifiers
To prevent sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, your infant should sleep on his back in his own cradle, bassinet or crib and not "co-sleep" or share a bed with you, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Co-sleeping also makes it harder for your baby to fall asleep on his own, and your movements may wake him throughout the night. Giving your baby a pacifier may also help him fall asleep and may help prevent SIDS, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Feeding Schedule
Your infant needs to eat throughout the night. A breastfed newborn should feed every two hours in the first few weeks, while a newborn on formula may feed every three to four hours. Establish a routine feeding schedule at night. Giving your infant rice cereal in her bedtime bottle will not help her sleep better, according to a study by the Department of Pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Nighttime Awakenings
You don't have to rush to the crib every time you hear your baby stir or cry. Your infant may be still asleep or simply readjusting in bed and getting ready to fall back asleep. Wait a few minutes before picking up your baby. When you must pick your baby up to feed, change or console him, keep the room dark and quiet. Talk in a soft, soothing voice and move slowly and calmly so your baby stays sleepy and falls back to sleep faster.
