Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
Babies tend to sleep a lot. But the sad thing is, they do not sleep during the times when you want them too. They will be all tired, groggy and sleepy all day long but come night time; they are alert and more active than ever.
Because of this, you may already be desperate to look for ways to lull your baby to sleep, and I totally understand that because many parents are experiencing the same thing as you (including me!). Don’t worry though, I have already done my research and here are a few of the tips that I have discovered along the way:
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Massage Him To Sleep
You do feel sleepy after a relaxing massage, right? Well, same goes for our babies. You do not have to be a licensed massage therapist to give your baby a relaxing massage though.
For this, you would only need massage oil and soft blanket. Have your baby lie on his tummy on the blanket and apply a small amount of oil at his back then spread the oil using gentle stroking motions.
Your baby may not fall asleep right away, but it will make him sleepy and more relaxed.
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Breastfeed Him To Dreamland
You also feel sleepy after eating a hearty meal, right? Since your baby can’t eat solid foods yet, the best thing you can do is to breastfeed him before their established bed time. This is what they call as “comfort feed”.
As much as possible, give him breast milk because it is a lot easier to digest than formula, allowing your baby to sleep more peacefully.
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Establish A Bedtime Ritual
Just like us, routines also work on babies. When you establish a bedtime ritual, your baby can be able to prepare himself for what may come next—sleeping! Some of the usual bedtime rituals that parents do include having a bath, dimming the lights, playing soothing music and giving babies a massage.
This will put your baby in the mood for sleeping time.
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Create A Sleep Soundtrack
As mentioned above, playing music is one of the most common bedtime rituals for babies. To keep him relaxed, make sure to play calming music to your babies. You can create a soundtrack for this by compiling lullabies and instrumental songs.
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Swaddle Him Up
If your baby is 3 months old or less, he still has what they call the startling reflex which easily wakes him up, preventing him from enjoying a peaceful sleep. This is also the reflex that is responsible for your lack of sleep.
The best way to address and prevent this reflex is by swaddling your baby. But keep in mind that swaddling can be tricky.
To safely swaddle your baby, place the blanket on the mattress in a way that it resembles the shape of a diamond. Fold the upper corner then place your baby on the blanket with his shoulder spread across the flat side of the blanket. Grab the top corner and put it on your baby, tucking it under his bottom. After that, fold the bottom corner up and tuck it in. After that, grab the remaining corner and spread it across your baby and tuck it in his neck.
An easier option of course is to buy a baby swaddle.
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Play White Noise
Your baby has been inside your womb for months, and in there, he is used to hearing different types of sounds. Even if he is already outside your womb, hearing this sounds will still bring him comfort. This is when white noise comes to play. This noise mimics the sounds that your baby hears inside your womb and today; various experts incorporate this noise in multiple sound tracks that you can play with your baby.
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Make The Environment Conducive For Sleeping
If you want your baby to achieve peaceful and deep sleep, you have to make the environment more comfortable for your baby. You can do this by choosing the best pack n play mattress, dimming the lights, aromatherapy, soft music and much more. In addition to these, you also need to keep the room cool and comfortable for your baby by setting the right thermostat – between 65 and 70 degrees.
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Use The Tissue Or Hand Trick
This trick is quite a genius! Maybe you have seen the video of babies falling asleep after their mothers or fathers have slid tissue across their face for numerous times go viral. Maybe you have thought that it is fake, right?
For your information, this trick does work! Try it, and you will be amazed! If you do not have a tissue, using your hands will also have the same effect!
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Be Wise With Your Light Strategies
Light plays an important role in your baby’s sleep. Brightness keeps him alert wide awake and alert while darkness may stimulate the production of melatonin causing him to sleep. Because of this, you should allow plenty of sunlight and brightness inside the house during the day. Two to three hours before bedtime, try to lower the lights. Once bedtime comes, dim the lights, or you can completely turn them off.
Putting your baby to sleep is one of the most challenging things you can ever experience. Lucky for you, there are plenty of tricks and tips that you can now use to lull your baby to sleep. But please bear in mind that not all of these tricks may work for your baby, so the best thing that you can do is to be patient with the process and try all of the tips mentioned above, so you will know which one will work.
If you have other baby sleeping hacks that you would like to share with us, please do share them in the comments section. We would certainly love to know more about your tricks!
About The Author
Josephine Lesley is the editor of Babykis.com – a great website with Tips, Guides and Reviews to help people who are parents, kids lovers about baby. I always wanted to share my knowledge for many readers. Follow me on Twitter.
