New parents often wonder if they'll ever be able to get their precious little one to comfortably drift off to sleep. Babies are notorious for being difficult to put to sleep for the night and a wide range of techniques and products have been developed to help frazzled parents establish a good bedtime schedule for their tots.
Routines and Rituals
Establish quiet routines and rituals to transition your infant into sleep mode. Many parents give their baby a warm bath and then read a bedtime story, rock or nurse their baby to sleep. These kinds of things establish the idea in a baby's mind that he is preparing for bed. Doing these things at the same time every night and before daytime naps is a good way to reinforce the concept of preparing for sleep in your baby's mind.
Varied Associations
Teach the baby different associations with falling asleep. If mom always rocks or nurses the baby to sleep, dad will have a really hard time when he has to put the infant to bed if mom is sick or otherwise can't do her usual routine. Teach the baby that different people or different styles of falling asleep are OK. Establish a set of a few calm routines that she can associate with bedtime.
Transitioning the Baby
When bedtime arrives, it is a good idea to put the baby into his crib before he has fallen asleep, but when he is drowsy. He will then associate being placed in the crib with the act of falling asleep. If the baby falls asleep somewhere else, such as in a car seat or swing, wait until the baby is in deep sleep to move him from one place to another. If his eyes are closed but his mouth still making expressions and his limbs still occasionally twitching, he may wake moments after being put in his crib and demand attention again. In this case, it's better to wait the extra 15 to 20 minutes until he falls into deep sleep, with limp arms and legs and no signs of twitching or facial movement.
Sleep Aids
For particularly difficult babies, items such as stuffed animals that mimic a heartbeat or vibrating cribs that give a baby the sensation of being rocked can help calm an infant and help her drift off to sleep. Parents can also make their own soothers by recording their voice singing lullabies or creating white noise by running a vacuum cleaner or washing machine. A pacifier is another option for babies who self-soothe by sucking.
Individuality
Remember that your baby is an individual. What worked for other babies, even an older sibling in the same family, may fail with another baby. Try different ways to get baby to sleep and see what works best for him and for you.
