5 Healthy Sleep Habits
Sleep comes naturally. Or so we hope. For the times when it doesn’t here are a couple of things you can implement to help your little one sleep a little better.
Soothing Routine.
Create a soothing routine and implement this routine at bedtime each night. By doing so your little one will learn that as soon as the routine begins sleep is coming and will cue their bodies to naturally wind down for bedtime. Routines should consist of things that you can commit to. Don’t want to do bath time every night? You don’t have to! Think of simple things that you can implement: jammies, books, cuddles, songs, etc. It doesn’t have to be long… somewhere between 15-30 minutes from start to finish.
The best part? You can use a condensed version of your bedtime routine for nap time as well!
Teach Self Soothing Skills.
Have you ever come across the online videos of parents doing the sneaky ninja moves to creep out of their child’s bedroom without waking them?? I know, I know… those videos are so cute and funny. Until that’s you. Every. Single. Night. Then it’s not so funny anymore.
It is so important for your child to be able to put themselves to sleep independently so that you’re not spending hours at bedtime trying desperately to get them to sleep, or having to tend to them every single time they wake during the night. The key is to put them down drowsy, but not asleep. It’s normal to take 15-20 minutes for them to actually fall asleep! Teaching these habits right from the start is so important and will make your life so much easier when they get older.
If you need a little extra help you can contact me here. And if you need a lot of extra help check out the services I offer here to see how I can create the best plan to get your little one sleeping independently.
Hitting The Best Sleep Times.
Every human is born with naturally occurring circadian rhythms that help determine the best biological time for sleep. Wait, what did you just say?? In real people words: if you put your baby down at the correct time for their age it will be much easier for them to fall asleep and stay asleep! These biological times typically start to fall into place around the 4-5 month mark, so before that the most important thing is to pay attention to their sleepy cues and use those as your marker for sleep. Sleepy cues will look different for each baby but can include things such as: zoning out, rubbing their eyes, pulling on their ears, yawning, or even red eyebrows. If they have gotten to the grumpy, fussy, or crying stage they might be overtired and sleep can be a bit more difficult at this point. So really pay attention to and learn your babies individual sleep signals!
Sleep Environment.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is a great resource for the most up-to-date safe sleep information.
In addition to the recommended safe sleep practices, the best sleep environment for your little one is:
Crib: keep your little one in their crib as late as possible, ideally 3 years+, to help teach them the best sleep strategies.
Sleep Sack: avoid adding anything to the crib until 12 months+. Pay attention to the different TOG ratings on sleep sacks and make sure to choose the best one for your environment/temperature.
White Noise Machine: babies are used to noise in the womb so it makes sense that they cannot fall asleep or stay asleep in complete silence! Having a noise machine helps to soothe them to sleep, and can also help block any noise from outside their bedroom that might wake them. Keep the volume at conversation level, and avoid setting it on a timer - it can be a useful tool to help lull them back to sleep if they wake during the night as well!
Blackout Blinds. keeping the room as dark as possible, even for naps, helps release melatonin and get your little one ready for sleep.
Flexible Bedtime.
Wait what?! Flexible bedtime?? But how will I know when to put them down?!
Don’t panic! It’s actually quite simple. Bedtime will typically occur between 6-7pm. The most restorative sleep happens earlier in the evening, so utilize it! If your little one skipped a nap or it wasn’t quite long enough then they might be in bed closer to 6. However, the next night might be closer to 7… This is where those sleepy cues come into play again. Pay attention to that and their mood in the evening to determine what they need. Melting down at supper? Get them to bed! Keeping them up = overtired babies = no beuno.
Have you ever put your little one to bed at 5:30pm?! Sounds scary, I know… But trust me. It can work! If your little one had a really terrible nap day, this will be your saving grace. It doesn’t mean they will be up and ready for the day at 3am, I promise! Use this early early bedtime as the every now and then safety net kind of deal to get them back on track.
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