The baby sleep tips that a sleep consultant lives by!
Manage your expectations!
Every baby is different and every baby can be different at different stages of development! Familiarize yourself with your child’s appropriate wake times and sleep times for their ages. As your child gets older and his/her developmental milestones are reached, they will be able to stretch that wake time longer and longer!
Routine, Routine, Routine.
In order to teach your baby the signals or the cues that bedtime or naptime has come, you need to do the same things before any sleep time each day. Whether that’s pajamas, book, rock, and feed. Or bath, book, and feed. Try to keep it consistent so that as time goes on, your baby unconsciously realizes that these are his/her cues to settle herself down and get to sleep!
Prioritize baby sleeping and napping at home!
Initially, you want to prioritize any sleeping that your baby does as you’re trying to adjust the schedule and get them to sleep well, to be happening at home. This way you have complete control over any noise, any light, or any interruptions. After the routine and the schedule has been established, we can tweak it a little bit. Maybe extend a nap here and there, push bedtime back a little bit for an occasion. However initially, we want to make sure that we are all on the same page, including
Lower baby room temperature.
Try to keep babies room between 68 and 70°. It’s much easier to sleep in a cooler room, even for adults! If the room is even a little bit too warm, it will cause them to wake up frequently as they will begin to sweat and get uncomfortable.
Use an overnight diaper.
At night, I would highly suggest using an overnight diaper. Something with more absorption power! Some examples are Huggies overnights or Pampers baby dry brands. The tip here is to size up one size from the diaper that your child is currently using during the day. This will allow for longer stretches of sleep because your baby will not feel as much wetness which may cause them to wake up frequently overnight.
By Heidi Brooks
Certified Child Sleep Consultant and Certified Lactation Counselor
@eatsleepdreamllc