When we arrive with our newborn at home, we are aware that very long nights with a few hours of sleep await us. Newborn sleeping too much but they do it at a very different time from ours, since the process of adaptation to the world is slow and requires several things.
Often parents worry about whether the child will sleep well or if it is easy or difficult for him to fall asleep. Parents are the ones who should teach the baby to sleep just by establishing routines.
Newborn not sleeping during the day. Adapt the baby to daylight. When we are in the dark the brain releases melatonin, a key hormone to fall asleep. Children do not distinguish between day and night and their sleeping hours are very different from ours.
As it grows, we have to adapt it and educate it so that it knows how to be awake during daylight hours and so that it falls asleep at night time hours. If it is daylight, let sunlight enter the house and all the corners of the house are well lit. For the night, it creates a relaxing environment.
How To Put a Newborn Baby To Sleep
- The baby must incorporate the routines of day and night, and among the latter are the rituals to go to sleep: a story, some massages or pampering in his cradle or bassinet, a song or some soft music can be creating the right environment for sleep.
- Ensure good ventilation in the room at baby sleep time- turn off the light and moderate noise is essential for the baby to fall asleep peacefully.
- Feed him at night. For the little ones, it is advisable to breastfeed them or a bottle just before the parents go to sleep, about 10 at night, to lengthen the hours of sleep.
- Although the baby has been sleeping for two or three hours, try to feed him without bothering him a lot, take him in his arms and wake him enough to suck, he will eat a little and fall asleep again.
- If it is, do not turn on the lights and keep the atmosphere warm and quiet. In this way, you can endure more hours without waking up and, incidentally, you can sleep a little more.
- Give him the last meal around 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m., so that he learns to go to bed early. This is good for the baby, who gets enough rest, and for the parents, who can find a quiet time to be together.
- It is not necessary to make him sleep in arms since he will take this habit: it is necessary to lay him in his cradle – still awake – and accompany him for a little while – before he falls asleep.
- Before bedtime, it is important to help the child relax, and for that, nothing like a good bath. It is an excellent opportunity for the baby to relax and, if it has done at about the same time, of little will he understand that after bath time it is time to sleep. The person in charge of putting the baby to bed should also be relaxed and willing to give the child the attention he needs.
- In the crib, to prevent the baby’s face from being covered during sleep, it is advised that there are no pillows, pillows, rolled and fluffy clothes, dolls, toys, etc. The crib mattress must be firm, adjust well to the Cot without leaving free spaces, and be covered by a fine adjustable sheet.
- The bedding should be adequate: it is important not to wrap the baby too much and not to put blankets that could drown him. If sheets are used to cover it, they should be below the baby’s armpits, with their little arms on the outside. The American Academy of Pediatrics, suggest the use of sleeping bags for babies and blankets to wear (in which the baby’s head and their little arms are left out). Because they are better alternatives than the common blankets since they avoid the risk of the baby being left with the head covered by the bedding.
- Do not take it to the parents’ bed: this can be done as pampering at some time during the day or when the children are older and there is no risk of creating the habit of sleeping in the large bed. Avoid it especially when he cries at night. Wait to calm him when he wakes up. Babies have the habit of telling us that they are awake crying. It is good to teach him to calm down alone. So we recommend that you wait two or three minutes to go see what happens or to pick him up when he starts crying in the middle of the night. They will learn to calm themselves and lengthen the hours of sleep.
- Maintain the rules of sleep even when someone stays to take care of him or when he goes to sleep, for example, at the grandparents’ house.
- After 6 months of age, if you wake up during the night, you have to teach yourself to fall asleep again as babies at this age sleep for 6 to 8 hours in a row. If he does not cry, it is better not to go to your room. If he cries, you have to explain that you have to sleep and try not to lift it. This process requires a lot of patience. Do not turn on the lights when he cries at night. If your baby wakes up in the middle of the night or during sleeping hours and cannot sleep, just try to disturb him as little as possible. Do not take it in your arms, take it in a room with light, and do not make much noise. Try to reassure him by whispering a little and stroking him. If necessary, you can take it in your arms but with a lot of tranquility and patience.
You learn to sleep, therefore it can be taught. That is why it is so important to be consistent in the routines so that the baby is acquiring habits that will then accompany him as he grows.
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