Setting up a Good Sleep Routine
Helpful Hints to Encourage your Baby to Sleep Well
Encouraging your newborn baby to sleep is a process of elimination. It is a process
by which eliminating most factors preventing him from sleeping you will gain confidence
to help you deal with your baby’s normal behaviour when he is trying to settle.
It can take a newborn sometime up to 30 to 60 minutes to achieve deep sleep and
it is good to know that sometimes even after you have attempted to eliminate all
negative factors the behaviour and unsettledness your baby is experiencing is quite
normal.
The process of elimination goes something like this:
- Make sure you encourage your baby to feed well. During the daytime use up to one
hour to encourage him to feed. Wake him up if he is sleepy and put him back to the
breast having 5-10 minute breaks when necessary. Encourage good long feeds so you
know he is not hungry. If he falls asleep after a short feed and you put him to
bed only to have him not settle or wake too early you will think he is hungry and
snack feeding will become a habit.
- Check and/or change his nappy before you put him to bed. You will be certain he
is not wet or dirty. It is a good idea to get into the habit and not to be afraid
of putting your baby down to bed awake. If he can achieve sleep on his own from
an alert but relaxed state he will sleep better as a result.
- Wrap baby firmly with his hands away from his face. This will help to eliminate
him feeling insecure and will assist him in settling down. Newborn babies cannot
control their movements so if not swaddled he will keep himself awake by flapping
his hands around his face.
- Hold your baby upright over your shoulder for a few minutes. This position will
help him to relax and to bring up any wind he may have and at the same time you
will give him the reassurance he needs to help settle him down. He will be in a
calm state when you put him down.
- Tuck him into bed firmly. Newborns like to feel secure and the less they wiggle
around the sooner they will be able to settle. Put him down wrapped and then also
place a sheet tightly over the top of him tucked into each side of the mattress.
Make sure there is plenty of room between the top of the sheet and your baby’s face
so you don’t restrict air flow.
- Play some music in your baby’s room. Either a CD or the radio. Make sure the sound
is playing for the whole time your baby is in bed. Music or noise helps your baby
to settle. This constant noise within the bedroom helps your baby to switch off
from other stimuli and also eliminates him feeling alone and vulnerable.
- Leave your baby to settle and if he cannot achieve this and is crying return to
him and attempt to eliminate the negative factors you feel may be attributing to
this unsettledness. You could pick him up for a cuddle. This will give him another
opportunity to bring up remaining wind and will help him to calm with reassurance.
After a couple of minute and when he is calm put him back down and try again.
- If your baby is still unsettled return to him and try patting or rocking to help
him settle.
- As your baby gets older he will become familiar with bedtime as you consistently
use these same techniques and as he matures he will begin to settle himself with
not much assistance.
For more information on settling tips and how to teach your baby to sleep well see
the Maternal Matters website.
This website also contains information on Jennifer Hamilton’s, creator of Maternal
Matters parenting manual which is available through contacting Jennifer. Contact
details can be found on the website.
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