6 Ways to Ensure Your Baby Sleeps Better
Taking care of a newborn is an extremely stressful task for many parents. One of the main reasons for this is that a child’s sleep patterns are erratic. Ideally, you want your baby to sleep for as long as possible during the night, as well as taking naps during the day, but it rarely runs as smoothly as you’d like. Here we look at a few ways to promote restful sleep, from swaddling techniques to using baby massage to decrease stresses.
Introduce consistent nap routines
Choose a couple of times per day when you would ideally like your child to nap — say, for example, 10am and 4pm. When these times roll around, use a ritual, such as rocking and nursing your baby to sleep. If your baby gets used to regular nap routines during the day, he or she is more likely to sleep better at night.
Swaddling technique
By swaddling (wrapping in cloths or blankets) your infant, you are creating a sense of security for your infant to fight against the startle reflex — the natural survival response that results in sudden, jerky movements during sleep. By dressing the baby in loose clothing during wake time and then swaddling when it’s time to sleep, you’re creating a sense of safety and comfort associated with sleep which will make your infant more likely to rest better come nap time.
Use white noise
Repetitive, constant background noise, such as the whirring of a fan, or the humming of a refrigerator, can actually prove calming to your child and, thus, promote restful sleep. The reason is that these sounds remind your baby of the sounds he or she was hearing when in the mother’s womb. There are even CDs or podcasts available that mimic these sounds, providing white noise for your infant to sleep to.
Baby massage
The introduction of baby massage oils and techniques into your infant’s life has many remarkable effects, such as relieving colic (intestinal gas), chest and sinus congestion, and digestive problems such as constipation. If your child is more comfortable as a result, he or she is more likely to sleep better. Additionally, baby massage helps with the release of serotonin, which provides a sense of wellbeing in the child, which also works to promote deeper sleep.
Rocking and nestling
Sometimes your infant needs your presence in order to get to sleep. Techniques such as rocking the baby to sleep, or lying down and nestling the baby at nap time, are often the prudent course.
Reduce day/night confusion
Not only do you want your baby to sleep, but you want your baby to sleep through the night so you can get the best sleep possible in your own right. Unfortunately, may newborns confuse day and night, as when they were in the womb they would sleep while the mother was moving around, and would wake when the mother was still and asleep. To rectify this problem, you need to help your baby adjust by practising sleep techniques such as swaddling and providing white noise during night time, and avoiding these as much as possible during the day.