5 week old baby will only sleep on me: Help! My baby will only sleep in my arms

Опубликовано: March 10, 2023 в 7:26 am

Автор: alexxlab

Категории: Baby

Help! My baby will only sleep in my arms

“My six week old baby will only sleep in my arms, whenever I put him down, even when he has fallen asleep, he wakes almost immediately.”

I receive emails and facebook messages every single day from new mothers who are confused that they cannot simply pop a newborn down to sleep. Of course it’s stressful to be ‘the one’ who is holding your baby most of the day but it’s even more stressful to wonder, am I doing something ‘wrong’? Or to worry, am I creating ‘bad habits’?

It may help to know you are not alone and that it is very normal for newborns to want to be held against your warm body, close to your comforting heartbeat – in fact, many experts call this the ‘fourth trimester’ . What this means is that human babies are born immature so they really need some extra time to adapt to being ‘on the outside’ while their little bodies and nervous systems develop some more. This isn’t a time for ‘training’ or ‘teaching’ your baby to ‘self-settle’ or to worry about whether you are making the proverbial ‘rod for your back’ but a time for getting to know your baby and helping him feel secure outside the safe womb world.

Just for a moment, put yourself in your baby’s bootees and consider how overwhelming the physical and sensory changes must be for your newborn: imagine yourself soaking in a warm bath by candlelight, listening to the sounds of hushed voices drifting from another room or soft music playing in the distance. Now imagine standing on a buy street corner in the middle of winter, with the headlights of a car shining in your face and loud traffic noise all around you.

In the watery world of the womb, your baby was weightless and warm, he was comforted by the rhythm of your heartbeat and the gentle rocking motion of his “mother home” as his body was gently massaged by the uterine wall and contained by the boundaries of your own body. Now, from this dark warm world of muffled sounds, the newborn must get used to new sensations: air moving across his skin and into his lungs, lights, direct sounds, smells and stillness.

Another thing that makes it difficult for your newborn to fall asleep without help is that for the first few months, your baby will enter sleep from an active sleep phase, he will also have a strong ‘startle’ reflex that will wake him as his tiny body jerks and his arms flail uncontrollably. So, it’s perfectly fine to cuddle, rock or breastfeed your baby to sleep – you can make changes gradually as your baby grows or whenever this becomes unsustainable. And if you want to put your baby down when he has dozed off, one tip is to hold your him until he is in a deeper phase of sleep before you pop him down – when his arm flops it’s a good sign that he is in a deep sleep.

Looking for gentle, respectful ways to help your baby (and you) sleep without compromising breastfeeding or the beautiful bond between you and your little one? See my book Sleeping Like a Baby (it’s available on Audible too, if you don’t have time to read). You can download the first chapter FREE HERE.

Instead of worrying about what you are doing ‘wrong’ because your baby needs to be helped to sleep, you can ditch the pressure and remind yourself that ‘this too shall pass’. It will, all too soon and you may even miss those delicious newborn cuddles. Soon, when you feel your baby may be ready to settle in a cot you can snuggle him until he is relaxed then give him the opportunity to snooze by himself. For now, when you feel ‘all touched out’ call for help.

Hand your baby to a partner, friend or willing family member – you are not imposing, most people love baby cuddles. And try not to feel offended if your baby settles more easily in another pair of arms – it is probably just because he can’t smell your milk!

Meanwhile, by offering what I call ‘womb service’, you can help your baby adapt to being ‘on the outside’.

Womb Service:

Womb service involves recreating the sensations your baby experienced while he was safely carried inside you. To help you remember the important aspects, I have called these the five Ws:

Warmth
Wrapping
Wearing your baby
Water
Womb sounds

Warmth

Inside your body, your baby didn’t experience cool air blowing on his tiny body or entering his lungs and these new sensations can be quite disturbing. So, at first, warm the space where you are going to be with your baby (16–20˚C will be a comfortable room temperature for your baby), and take care not to have fans or air-conditioners blowing directly onto him in warmer weather. If you are popping him into a cradle to sleep, he will be more comfortable (and likely to sleep better) lying on sheets that have been warmed slightly. You do need to take care not to overheat your baby, but you can warm his sheets slightly with a heat-pack before you place him into bed – test the sheets with your forearm to make sure they aren’t hot.

Wrapping

Just as your newborn was tucked snugly inside your body, supported by the uterine wall, you can provide a sense of security by swaddling him. With his limbs tucked securely against his body, just as they were in the womb, this will help your baby feel safe as well as inhibiting the newborn reflex known as the ‘startle reflex’, this is a primitive survival response that produces spontaneous, jerky movements and can be disturbing for your baby, literally.

Wearing your baby

Inside your womb, your baby was lulled to sleep by your body movements as you went about your daily work. Now, the motion of being carried in a wrap or carrier against your moving body and your comforting heartbeat, as he breathes the familiar scent of your body, will help your baby feel safe. This feeling of familiarity will reduce stress hormones and help your baby relax – and a more relaxed baby will sleep more easily. Wearing your baby may have a balancing effect on his irregular rhythms of waking and sleeping, and is also thought to help him regulate his developing nervous and hormonal system, promoting day waking and night sleeping. Best of all, if your baby falls asleep in the sling, you will have two hands free to do a few chores, or you can go out and enjoy a walk.

Water

Help your baby recall his watery womb world by taking a bath together. Remember that in your womb, your baby was confined, not floating all stretched out, and his womb world was gently bathed in filtered light. By dimming the lights or bathing by candlelight with your newborn, you will help her recall the safety of her womb world and you will be able to hold her close and support her as she gradually relaxes and ‘uncurls’ her limbs. Bathing together is especially helpful if bonding has been interrupted by early separation or a difficult birth or feeding experience. It can also be lovely bonding time for father and baby.

Womb sounds

The calming, repetitive sounds of traditional lullabies recall the ‘womb music’ your baby heard before birth (your heartbeat, and fluids whooshing through the placenta). If you are feeling anxious or stressed, try humming, it will slow your breathing and help you relax so your energy will be more calming for your baby too. Baby music that incorporates elements such as the rhythm of a heartbeat or ‘white noise’ can have remarkable soothing effects, especially if played continuously through the night. Of course, your own singing voice is transportable ‘music’ that your baby is familiar with (he has been listening to your voice since before he was born) and it will help induce calm and sleepiness just as well as any commercial music –even if you don’t have a fabulous voice!

Pinky McKay is Australia’s most recognised and respected Breastfeeding and gentle parenting expert. She’s an Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), mum of five and best-selling author of the newly revised and updated Sleeping Like a Baby,.

Dr. Harvey Karp’s Effective, Preventative Approach – Happiest Baby

By
Dr. Harvey Karp, MD, FAAP

There’s a point in every parent’s journey when your little baby starts to sleep better…and you’re so relieved and so happy. But then…a bump in the road! Seemingly overnight your 3- or 4-month-old baby’s sleep patterns change for the worse. Why? When babies reach between 3 and 4 months old, their sleep cycles shift and their development is simply blooming, which can temporarily hinder sleep.

If your little one used to be a stellar sleeper and now—suddenly—they are not, sleep regression might be to blame. Sleep regression signs include:

Worsening sleep
Multiple night wakings
Less napping
More fussiness
Appetite changes

Why do babies experience the 3- to 4-month sleep regression?

What’s changed? Your little blob of a newborn is now a 3- or 4-month-old social butterfly. They fall into a light sleep and wake up…bored! It’s too quiet and too still for your sweet pea. Your company-loving 4-month-old will wake up and think, “Hey you! Come back! I want to play!” But your baby’s new-found social tendencies aren’t the only thing contributing to the 3- to 4-month sleep regression. Your baby may also be…

Learning to roll over. When that happens, you have to stop swaddling, which may mean your baby cries and wakes more often. (Of note: If your baby is sleeping in SNOO, they can remain safely swaddled until they graduate to the crib.)
Experiencing a growth spurt. And man, will they be hungry!
Teething or dealing with a cold. These types of mild discomforts can easily disrupt a baby’s sleep.
More sensitive to temperature or light. As babies become more aware of the big world around them, new sensitivities can arise.

How to Handle the 3- to 4-Month Sleep Regression:

Most parents are blindsided by the 3- to 4-month sleep regression and don’t know what to do. But if you learn to establish healthy sleep habits, you may be able to steer clear of most, if not all, of it. Here are more time-tested strategies for helping to avoid—and cope with—the 3- to 4-month sleep regression:

Continue to swaddle if you can. Swaddling babies safely helps bring on the ZZZs. Being swaddled is a similar experience to being carried in a sling, cuddled skin to skin, and being in the womb. The soft, snug caress of a swaddle can soothe babies for hours! (If your baby is rolling, swaddling needs to stop unless your baby is sleeping in SNOO. In that case, they can remain safely swaddled up to 6 months while in the bassinet.)
Tune into Baby’s wake windows. Having a sense of how long your baby can (and should) be comfortably awake between sleeps is key to having a well-rested and happy baby. Learn how to recognize your baby’s sleepytime cues and how to pinpoint their wake windows with our wake windows guide.
Turn on white noise. Although your baby’s natural calming reflex begins to fade around 3 to 4 months old, white noise continues to help with sleep. While white noise used to flip on baby’s inborn “on switch” for sleep, now the sleepy reaction comes from habit. Once you start using white noise in the background of baby’s bedtime routine, they’ll start to expect it and make the connection that white noise means sleepytime is here.
Try using sound with rocking. Using the right types of motion and sound can help your baby gently slide into the light sleep part of their sleep cycle without being easily roused. Since baby’s should never sleep in a baby swing, the only safe alternative is rocking your baby all night long in your arms (not feasible!) or using SNOO. SNOO ensures babies can rock all night without the risk of dangerous rolling. (Learn all about how rocking bassinets help babies sleep.)
Encourage more daytime eating. You can start to anticipate (and decrease) nighttime hunger by encouraging your baby to eat a little more during daytime feeds. It also may be smart to introduce a dream feed between 10pm and midnight. (This is when you rouse your baby without fully waking them to feed one more time before you go to bed. Sneaking in an extra feed has been shown to reduce night wakings.)
Get outside. Fit in plenty of outdoor time, complete with fresh air and (safe!) sunlight exposure will help your little one recognize the difference between day and night. Morning light especially helps your baby’s brain release melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness, at the right time for night-night.
Keep Baby’s room dark. A dark room does a great job at encouraging sleep. Plus, if your baby wakes too soon, the darkness works to help you baby fall back asleep.
Help your baby self-soothe. If you haven’t already, I suggest introducing your baby to my wake-and-sleep trick. Every bedtime, swaddle your baby, turn on the white noise, feed and burp them, and if your baby falls asleep in your arms before you lay them down in their bassinet, gently rouse them with a light tickle on their feet until they barely wake. After a few seconds, they’ll close their eyes and slide back to sleep. (If your baby fusses, pick them up for a feed or a cuddle, then repeat the tickle-to-wake routine.) Those few seconds of drowsy wake-time are the first steps to helping your baby learn how to self-soothe and sleep longer.

How SNOO Can Help Prevent The 3- to 4-Month Sleep Regression

Happiest Baby’s SNOO Smart Sleeper is a big help and parents’ best tool for preventing the 3- to 4-month sleep regression. SNOO teaches babies to be better sleepers by improving their day/night sleep pattern from day one and by using the rhythms they’re naturally familiar from the womb. (SNOO’s rocking, white noise, and swaddling are all part of the 5 S’s for soothing babies.) At the same time, SNOO quickly responds to your baby’s fussing before they fully wake up, which greatly contributes to everyone sleeping better. And because of SNOO’s patented swaddling system that prevents dangerous rolling, SNOO babies can remain swaddled longer worry-free. (Traditional swaddling must stop when Baby can roll.)

SNOO is so effective, in fact, that SNOO babies can often sidestep the dreaded 3- to 4-month sleep regression entirely! But even if your baby does go through the 3- to 4-month sleep regression in SNOO, you can easily help your little one by adjusting SNOO’s settings and “locking” SNOO at a higher level to promote sleep all night long. Just like you would rock and hold your baby more vigorously when they’re going through a hard time, leveling SNOO up similarly “ups the ante.” Because you can so easily customize SNOO, I like to think of it as a “spot cure” during any stint of wakefulness (a growth spurt, a cold), giving babies the extra soothing they need so that when they stir, they don’t wake up all the way.

For more help getting your baby to go to sleep—and stay asleep— check out:

What to Do When Your Baby Wakes Up Every Hour
How to Sleep Train Your Baby
The Baby Sleep Advice All Parents Need
Sleep Cues to Help Baby Sleep Longer

About Dr. Harvey Karp

Dr. Harvey Karp, one of America’s most trusted pediatricians, is the founder of Happiest Baby and the inventor of the groundbreaking SNOO Smart Sleeper. After years of treating patients in Los Angeles, Dr. Karp vaulted to global prominence with the release of the bestselling Happiest Baby on the Block and Happiest Toddler on the Block. His celebrated books and videos have since become standard pediatric practice, translated into more than 20 languages and have helped millions of parents. Dr. Karp’s landmark methods, including the 5 S’s for soothing babies, guide parents to understand and nurture their children and relieve stressful issues, like new-parent exhaustion, infant crying, and toddler tantrums.

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Have questions about a Happiest Baby product? Our consultants would be happy to
help! Connect with us at [email protected].

Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or
condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or
yourself, please contact your health provider.

How to wean a child from sleeping in arms

What to do if the child sleeps only in his arms? How to wean a child from this habit? How to transfer the baby to the crib? Is sleeping in your arms always a bad habit, how can a baby be taught to sleep in a crib, and how does sleeping in a crib affect the quality of sleep for all family members? In this article, we offer you to deal with these issues.

A baby has appeared in the house. A young family prepares for this bright event in advance – they buy a “dowry” – baby diapers, toys, pacifiers, a stroller, and, of course, a crib. A loving mother tries to create comfort in the “nest” of the crumbs, so she equips the cradle – she selects beautiful bed linen, bumpers and the cutest mobiles. nine0003

And here is the first night at home. Mom wants to put the sleeping baby in his cozy bed, but as soon as she brings the baby to her, he wakes up and starts crying. Mom calms him down, breastfeeds him, cradles him again, and makes a second attempt. This attempt ends the same – only now the baby is crying even longer and even harder. Then mom calls dad for help. Dad walks around the room for a long, long time with a tired baby, shaking him. Finally, the baby fell asleep. Whispering, the parents, barely breathing, carefully try to shift the child to sleep in the crib. And now, almost succeeded! But as soon as dad removes his hand from the crib, crying is heard. nine0003

—

The next day, young parents make a new attempt to teach their child to sleep in their beautiful bed. But all the numerous shifts end in the same thing – the crying of the baby and his instant awakening after he is placed in his crib.

On the third day, the mother does not even attempt to put the baby to bed: “the child does not like the crib”, “no matter what I do, it’s useless.” nine0003

After some time, the crib is filled with clothes, some baby things, and then it is completely removed to another room as unnecessary.

Parents have concluded that the crib must not be suitable. Since the baby does not want to sleep in it so much, we decided to wait until the moment when the child is ready for it. That’s when it will be possible to make a second attempt to accustom the child to sleep in the crib, and not just in the parent’s or in the arms. Common situation

nine0002 VIDEO LESSON

How to get rid of bad sleep habits?

Sleep only in your arms?

What to do if the baby does not agree to sleep in the crib and sleeps only in his arms, and at what age can you start sleeping differently?

A child is born completely dependent on his mother and not at all adapted to life in this world, he still needs his mother’s help in everything. This also applies to sleep issues. nine0003

In order to help the baby fall asleep, the best thing a mother can do is to reproduce the “uterine conditions”, those conditions in which the baby was very recently. To do this, the mother can:

swaddle the baby, that is, create a little tightness,
cuddle up, picking up
shush or turn on white noise
shake

After all, before the baby was in just such conditions: constant movement, subdued light, tightness, noise. And it is precisely such conditions that associatively will help him calm down. Therefore, falling asleep and sleeping a child in her arms for up to 3-4 months is quite acceptable, while the so-called fourth trimester of “wearing out” continues. nine0003

The most important thing for parents in the period up to three months is to equip the baby’s sleeping place safely!

A safe place to sleep.

A safe place for a baby to sleep is a place where the baby cannot suffocate, burying his nose in soft bedding, where there is a fairly firm mattress and the complete absence of any unnecessary objects. After all, the crib should be associated with sleep, and not with games.

A safe bed is an empty bed! nine0003

Cot without soft bumpers, pillows and blanket.
Instead of a blanket, it is better to use a sleeping bag.
Hard mattress
No toys
Location of the crib: not by the window and the radiator, but close to the parent.

The position of the crib is the very moment from which you need to teach your child to get used to the crib. Up to the age of 6 months, the baby will fit a crib placed close to the parent without a side. Thus, on the one hand, the mother and the baby will have a single space, but on the other hand, the child will still be in his safe territory. nine0003

How to transfer the baby to the crib?

But how do you put a baby in a crib if he wakes up immediately when you put him out of your arms?

– Until the age of 3-4 months, the baby still needs the help of the mother when falling asleep, so falling asleep in the arms at this age is normal.

– It is better to shift the baby in a diaper or in a diaper-carrier with handles. Thus, it will be easier for the baby not to feel the temperature difference between the hand and the crib.

– Use “white noise” to fall asleep

– By the end of motion sickness, try to make your movements as smooth, calm, close to a static position as possible so that it is easier for the baby to get used to the static position of the crib.

– Do not transfer the baby from your arms immediately, wait until the breathing becomes deeper

– Stay close to the baby and the crib at the time of sleep, shush, sing a song softly, touch your baby. This is important because the presence of mom is very calming. nine0003

Gradually help your baby learn the skill of falling asleep on his own

Some distance from the mother when the baby sleeps in the crib is one of the causes of restless sleep in the crib, and if you let the baby feel the mother’s presence, his sleep will be calmer.

– Starting from 5-6 months, the baby can be taught to fall asleep on his own, reducing his help. One of the highlights of sleep training is sleeping in a crib. In order for the child to sleep peacefully in the crib, after mom or dad put him there, he must see and “be aware” of the place in which he ended up. In this case, awakening will not cause anxiety (“where am I?”), And the child will have much more opportunities to fall asleep without active mother’s help. nine0003

– The baby sleeps only in his arms, because he simply does not know that it is possible to fall asleep otherwise. The task of parents is to gently and carefully give the baby a new experience of falling asleep.

– The expression “The child does not like the crib” is not a correct statement. Toddlers in general are very conservative and “love” what they are accustomed to and familiar with. If a child is used to sleeping in his arms, he will love to sleep like that. If his parents helped him get used to not sleeping in his arms, but in a crib, he will love the crib, and not sleep in his arms. nine0003

– The most important moment in teaching a baby in a crib is the attitude of parents to the sequence of their actions. Consistency is their predictability and repetition from day to day. If parents act differently, it is much more difficult for the baby to understand what they want from him.

And the most important thing in the mood of parents is their inner peace, which is undoubtedly transmitted to the baby, helping him to sleep peacefully.

Frequent Awakenings Melatonin Cortisol Signs of Fatigue 9Ol000 ,5–3 years

Article author

BabySleep 9 team0003

BabySleep team

Sleep consultants, doctors, psychologists, breastfeeding consultants

Your baby sleeps little during the day or hardly falls asleep during the day, and you constantly ask yourself: why does the baby not sleep during the day? Is a good day’s sleep really necessary?

Learn how much sleep your baby should have, why naps are important, and how to put your baby to bed during the day in our Baby Sleep series.

Child’s crisis calendar

Does a child need daytime sleep? nine0149

Regular daytime sleep can be useful not only for the baby, but also for the mother, because it is important for her to have a lot of energy all day long.

Studies [1, 2] show that a child’s daytime sleep allows him to maintain a good mood throughout the day and sleep better at night – this is what all parents dream of! If for some reason the baby does not fall asleep during the day, usually his mood deteriorates, he can constantly be capricious, and his nighttime sleep can also worsen. The advice “sleep less during the day to sleep longer at night” most often does not work with young children. nine0003

Also, scientists found that the lack of daytime sleep in children aged 2.5–3 years reduced the ability to concentrate and solve complex problems [3].

Establishing a daytime sleep of an infant, from an early age you form healthy sleep habits in him, contribute to his development and help maintain a good mood during the entire time of wakefulness.

How much daytime sleep does a baby need?

As with adults, the rate of sleep in children is individual: some need more time to rest, some less. nine0003

Many mothers worry that a newborn does not sleep well during the day (the World Health Organization calls a newborn a child in the first 28 days after birth). But in the first three months, the baby both eats and sleeps “on demand”, and it is almost impossible to talk about a clear daily sleep schedule at this age.

It is much more important to try to make the newborn feel the difference between day and night, and not to allow too long daytime naps (more than 3-4 hours between daytime feedings). This helps to form the biological rhythms of sleep and wakefulness of the baby. nine0003

After three months, wakefulness gradually increases to 2–3 hours or more, and children gradually move on to three and then two naps. Usually a schedule is set up that includes morning, afternoon and evening naps.

It is important to remember that sleeping too late in the evening often leads to difficulty falling asleep at night.

Between 6 and 12 months, a baby usually needs two naps: morning and afternoon. Daytime sleep can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours – depending on how tired the baby is. nine0003

At 1 year of age, daytime sleep gradually decreases. Closer to a year and a half, most children need only one daytime nap to get a good rest.

After two years, many parents are faced with the fact that the child protests against daytime sleep. Indeed, between the ages of two and five years, the need for daytime sleep gradually decreases, and children begin to stay awake all day.

Causes of a baby’s poor daytime sleep

Does your baby seem to not want to sleep at all during the day? This problem may not seem as important as poor sleep at night, but it is still a concern for parents. By understanding the reasons for the difficulties with daytime sleep, you can come up with the right bedtime ritual and use it to always (or almost always) put your baby to bed during the day. nine0003

A healthy, well-fed baby who has just had a diaper changed may refuse to sleep during the day for the following reasons: It may seem strange to you, but the “window to sleep” – the period of time when the baby can quickly fall asleep – is very small. If you skip it, the child will have a “second wind”, he will refuse sleep, and it will be very difficult to put him down.

If your one-month-old baby does not sleep well during the day, first of all check if he is overtired and if his wake time is age-appropriate.

Overexcitation

Babies are very interested in everything that happens around them. Therefore, if they are busy playing just before going to bed, it is very difficult for them to stop, calm down and fall asleep. Switch the child to calm relaxing activities in advance – and it will be much easier for you to put him to bed.

Unfamiliar environment

A one-month-old baby may not sleep well during the day if you try to put him to bed where he is distracted by sounds, lights and unusual surroundings. In such conditions, it is difficult for the child to calm down and fall asleep.

Inability to fall asleep on their own

If the baby is not yet able to fall asleep on his own, it is difficult for him to fall asleep without help.

Features of age

There are periods when daytime (and often nighttime) sleep worsens for objective reasons related to the stage of development of the child. nine0003

Thus, the main reason for “bad” (or rather, not meeting optimistic expectations) sleep in newborns is their lack of a circadian rhythm; the concepts of daytime and nighttime sleep are not yet applicable to them. Therefore, in the newborn period, the baby can sleep for longer periods during the day, and at the same time, unfortunately, sleep less at night.

The second wave of age-related sleep problems usually occurs around 3-4 months, during the 4-month sleep regression associated with a change in the child’s sleep structure. nine0003

The next major sleep regression often occurs around 8 months. Why it happens? For a variety of reasons, including the peak of separation anxiety, the next leap of development, the reset of the third dream.

Any developmental leap can worsen the sleep of a small child. Only in the first year of life there are eight of them!

Each reset of one of the daydreams can also lead to temporary difficulties. Usually, the fewer dreams left, the more troublesome the transition period is. Especially many questions are raised by parents when switching to one daytime sleep. nine0003

Physical discomfort

Hunger, thirst, uncomfortable clothing, a wet diaper, too tight swaddling, an uncomfortable mattress can all interfere with sleep. Lightly sleeping babies can be awakened by sounds. Sleep problems also create colic, teething, allergies, any illness or discomfort, even the common cold.

How can I help my child get better sleep during the day?

So you know that a child needs a good day’s sleep. We studied the norms of sleep from a newborn to older children. And realized that so far your baby hasn’t slept enough. It’s time to change the situation! nine0003

Learn to recognize the signs of fatigue

Babies go from active wakefulness to fatigue very quickly. Their “window to sleep” is very small. Therefore, it is important to learn to recognize the very first signs of fatigue and lay down on time. If you start too early, the baby will not fall asleep, because he is not tired. But it is worth delaying – and he is already overtired, overexcited (children are excited from fatigue) and cannot calm down.

Set approximately the same time for sleep

Try to organize your day in such a way that every day sleep starts at approximately the same time. With newborns, this is hardly possible, but after 3-4 months, you can start to go in this direction.

Remember that the baby’s regimen must be flexible. Follow your natural rhythms, pay attention to the peaks and troughs of your activity, and try to build your sleep patterns around them. When the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness becomes predictable, the baby will be easier to calm down and fit. nine0003

Help to calm down

To set your baby to sleep, be sure to spend some time before going to bed in a calm environment. Sing a lullaby, flip through or read a book, or just hug your baby and hold him in your arms. Whatever you do, it is important to create a calm atmosphere in which the baby will relax. The less he is distracted, the better he will tune in to sleep.

After the age of one year, it is necessary to lay on a calm wakefulness before going to bed for more time, return from a walk in advance, feed the child while he is not overtired. nine0003

Help them learn that they sleep in a crib

Toddlers associate where they are with what they do there. So if your little one doesn’t want to fall asleep for a nap in the stroller, try putting him down where he sleeps at night. This will help him understand that it’s time to rest.

It is advisable to avoid violent games in the place where you sleep. Let the baby know that here he only spends a pleasant, quiet time with his mother before going to bed, falls asleep and sleeps.

Create favorable conditions for sleep

It is important that the room has the most comfortable conditions for sleeping. It is much easier to fall asleep and sleep in silence, darkness and a calm environment.

Learn to fall asleep on your own

Often the easiest way for a mother is to rock her baby to sleep or let him fall asleep on her chest. But then he will not be able to learn to calm down and sleep on his own. Newborns almost always need help falling asleep. But even he can sometimes be put in a crib ready to fall asleep, but not yet sleeping, and given the opportunity to fall asleep himself. Gradually, the baby will need less and less help to calm down, and by six months he will be able to learn to fall asleep on his own. nine0003

Follow these rules, show perseverance and patience, and daytime sleep will definitely get better! And you will notice that the baby’s mood has improved, sleep, both daytime and nighttime, has become calmer, and the number of awakenings has decreased.

If you need help, BabySleep’s sleep consultants will answer any of your questions in a one-on-one consultation.

Sources:

[1] BERGER, R.H., MILLER, A.L., SEIFER, R., CARES, S.R. and LEBOURGEOIS, M.K. (2012), Acute sleep restriction effects on emotion responses in 30- to 36-month-old children. Journal of Sleep Research, 21: 235-246. >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2011.00962.x

[2] Hall, W.A., Scher, A., Zaidman-Zait, A., Espezel, H. and Warnock, F. (2012), A community-based study of sleep and behavior problems in 12- to 36-month- old children. Child: Care, Health and Development, 38: 379-389. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01252.x

[3] Miller, A.L., Seifer, R., Crossin, R. and Lebourgeois, M.K. (2015), Toddler’s self-regulation strategies in a challenge context are nap-dependent.