Easy Ways to Get Your Baby to Sleep

Nothing is more frustrating for a new parent than hearing your baby cry and being unable to soothe him. As a parent, you want only the best for your baby and it is so important to get your baby sleep, sleep your baby needs to be rested, calm and happy.

Here are three ways to get baby to sleep fast:

Calm yourself first

Babies are highly intuitive and pick up on their parents' moods and vibrations. If you are anxious, nervous or upset, your baby will be cranky and restless. Take a warm bath, listen to music or take a time out and go for a walk before attempting to comfort your baby when he or she is very cranky and won’t sleep. Your baby will feel the change in your mood and start calming down immediately.

Establish a bedtime routine

It does not matter if your baby is very young, it is never to early to get your baby into a routine to get baby sleep. This also means making sure your baby is on a feeding schedule. One of the worst mistakes parents make is letting their baby “graze” and eat whenever they want. A good rule of thumb for young babies who are breastfed is nursing every one and a half to two hours and for formula fed babies, every three to four hours. If your baby becomes cranky before those times, it is probably because he has gas or needs a diaper change. If you make sure your baby is nursing 10 to 15 minutes on each breast at a feeding or taking in the required amount of formula for his age, he should be able to last until the next feeding.

Play Lullabies

Music is proven to soothe and calm babies. In fact, hospital nurseries, especially the neonatal units, play music to calm babies. a fast way to get baby to sleep is to put on a collection of instrumental classic music lullabies. I have composed my own lullabies in my CD, Good Night Lullabies, and you can get two free lullabies to try by going to www.goodnightlullaby.com
Here is a very little known method to get baby sleep that you won’t read about in most baby books. Only experienced mothers are familiar with this trick. You will need a pacifier. Now, do not be concerned that your baby will develop nipple confusion, buck teeth or have a binky in his mouth until he is 5 years old. A pacifier is perfectly fine to use if taken away by 6-9 months old. For this technique to be successful, you should offer your baby a pacifier early on so that he won’t reject it later.

Here is the trick:
During the night, when you hear your baby starting to fuss, immediately go to him and offer a pacifier instead of feeding him. He will suck for a while and then will most likely spit it out and start fussing again. Go back in and offer it again. The goal is to prolong the time between nightly feedings and help your baby fall back into a deep sleep. Each night, the time between feedings should be increased until you eventually have a baby who sleeps through the night.

Caution: This should only be used with babies who are at the age and weight to sleep through the night. Do not use on a small baby who needs the nighttime calories.

Related Post:

The Benefits of Second Language Acquisition in Early Childhood