5 Kind Tips – How to get your baby to sleep

Ahh the elusive sleep! Sleep is something we have been lacking in our house since baby girl arrived 9 months ago. I have done many a crazy thing due to sleep deprivation. With severe reflux along with her multiple, initially undiagnosed allergies she was often uncomfy, which made her hard to settle and she regularly woke to feed or for a cuddle.

Now she is 9 months, we have her reflux a bit better under control and are avoiding all foods except for safe ones she is usually a bit comfier and we have been able to focus on her sleep a bit more. I’m a big fan of following what feels natural for you. I can’t leave her to cry and so I don’t. We are trying some kinder methods to help her to nap and sleep better. So far they seem to be helping so I thought I would share them.

5 kind tips for getting your baby to sleep

  1. Nap!  Napping is so important. The better they nap the better they sleep. With the morning nap we are now making an effort of keeping to around the same time depending on when she wakes and putting her down in the cot for it. She is also having an after lunch nap. We started by just getting her to nap anyway whether that was in her sling, in our arms or in the car. Once she was consistently doing this at the same time we started putting her down to nap without feeding her first. We wanted to do this so she got used to sleeping in her cot and to try and crack the waking in the night wanting a feed to help her go back to sleep.

  2. Making the room sleep friendly. We have done this with the use of . We go into the room with her, close them, put her music on and it’s a great sleep cue for her. The black out blinds mean we can make her room dark for every nap and during the summer evenings. Definitely a must have item to help with sleep.

  3. Following a routine. I mentioned this earlier for her naps. We try to follow the same routine for all her sleeps. The way we go into the room, the closing of the blinds and putting her music on. Before bed in the evening most nights we will have a bath and try and do quiet activities on the lead up to bedtime. We always have a cuddle before putting her in her cot and will start sharing books soon (at the moment she tries to eat them). Sometimes she goes in her cot awake, sometimes asleep. With older siblings we can’t follow a strict routine so we try and keep as much the same as we can. If we are going to be out and about we know roughly when she is going to be tired and will pop her in the sling or try and time a car journey.

  4. Make sure they are eating and drinking enough in the day. As I’m still breastfeeding it’s difficult to know how much milk she is having. This meant that when she was waking in the night I would feed her in-case she was hungry. Now I know she is eating well, 3 meals a day plus snacks and having 3 good feeds, first thing, mid afternoon and bedtime, I’m not as worried that she is hungry when she wakes. Instead of instantly offering her milk I’m now trying to settle her with a cuddle or a stroke of the head. Doing this has gradually cut down the amount she is feeding in the night. explains really well how to unlatch and stop the sucking to sleep if it is also a problem for you.

  5. Relax. If it works for you and you are happy with it then carry on doing it. Don’t listen to other people and how well their baby sleeps. Do what you feel is right for you and for your baby. Try and remember it won’t be forever. Well I hope it isn’t!

Do you have any tips on helping your baby to sleep? I would love to know them.

MaternityMondays

 

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post 

12 responses to “5 Kind Tips – How to get your baby to sleep”

  1. Jessica says:

    All these tips are so true! Although every baby is different, if these are applied you can generally get your baby sleeping better – not always but usually! x

  2. Becster says:

    Fab tips! We also have a blackout blind in our toddlers room which I think really does help with these longer nights. I’m also of the mind not to let babies to cry it out. I hate it and never done it – yes sure I leave my toddler to see if she self settles but if she carries on then I’ll go to her. They’re only little for a short while so make the most of it I say! #PicknMix

  3. A black out blind and a grobag are my two tips and routine routine routine – but I agree with all your others; fab advice. We’re going through separation anxiety right now and there’s nothing for it except a midnight cuddle #picknmix

  4. So pleased you found something that worked for you x I’m one of those annoying once whose babies both slept through from around 7 weeks! I put it down to genetics, black out blinds, routine and being a heavy sleeper so I never heard the teeny grizzles only the proper cries!
    Stevie xxx

  5. I think naps and rountine make such a difference. I’m not so rigid that the routine can’t be flexed but they really help. As my daughter was a reflux sufferer and cmpa I know it’s not that easy for all babies but it helps #picknmix

  6. Really useful post, people keep on telling me to leave her to cry but I can only manage leaving her for a few minutes and that’s only if it’s a half-arsed cry that means she’s just moaning as she settles off. If I know that she’s not going to settle within a few minutes then I will go and get her straight away, I just can’t leave her at all, I’d rather ‘make a rod for my own back’ and stroke her head or gently rock her to sleep, she’s only going to be a baby once. She is good, she sleeps in her cot and we’ve got a routine down now (she’s 5 months) she’s still waking a few times in the night but I’m hoping that she’ll settle down when she’s ready. It’s the naps we struggle with, I’ve tried to make it as much like our nighttime routine as possible but it’s not working right now, I think I’ll try and keep them around the same time like you suggested. That has worked for bedtime (which is 7 o’clock) so it figures it will work for naps too!

    Thanks for sharing

    X X

    #PicknMix

  7. Really helpful and kind tips. I completely agree with the black out blinds. This made such a difference to us. We visit ‘home’ in the UK a lot and Mum has seen the benefit of them too and has put them up underneath her curtains for when we visit too. It’s a happy house with a sleeping baby! #picknmix

  8. Great tips, I totally agree with all of them! It’s amazing how a daytime nap actually helps the baby sleep at night. We find following a routine to be hugely helpful as well! Thanks so much for hosting #PicknMix – I’m delighted to have found your lovely linky x

  9. Lucie Howard says:

    Routine is definitely key. We have a good routine and my lo (14months) sleeps well in the day, normally in his cot but will sleep in the buggy! We also have sleep cues, he has a music projector and a dummy! (only for sleep) He has a cuddly toy as he likes to hold something! It will also help when we take the dummy away as he will have something else for comfort. He sometimes wakes in the night as suffers badly with teething but usually a cuddle, his dummy and some teething stuff does the trick. We have never left either of our children to cry as I can’t stand it! We do pick up put down!

  10. I love these tips, I’m not a fan of controlled crying at all. ali commenting from Unique & Chic

  11. ah lovely tips, I have found lately that rubbing LM’s back a little helps her settle down to nap and routine so helps them – it has taken us a long time to get her into one but she is sleeping so much better now she has really settled into it. Thanks for linking with #MaternityMondays xx

  12. Definitely agree with all your tips – particularly being relaxed. Babies pick up on more than we think so getting wound up can only make things worse. #maternitymondays

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