How to Put a Baby to Sleep

Becoming parents is surely a dream come true for most couples. However, with the excitement and happiness of holding the little one in their arms, parents are laden with a new set of duties and responsibilities. One among this is putting the baby to sleep which is considered to be the most difficult by parents as infants do not seem to have a fixed sleeping pattern. Though there are loads of books and Internet sites that provide information about putting babies to sleep, parents may not be sure as to which method they should adapt. Hence, here are some tips that will help new parents to understand their child's sleeping pattern and put it to sleep successfully.

Sleep Pattern of Babies

Before we move into the ways of putting a baby to sleep, it is important to understand about infant sleep patterns. Parents must understand that the infant sleeping patterns are totally different from those of adults. Adults go through non REM and REM stage during their sleep, however, the time spent during REM stage (rapid eye movement) is comparatively less than non-REM stage (deep sleep). Just like adults, even infants pass through stages of active and deep sleep while they are sleeping. The only difference is that, in case of children, the time duration of active sleep is higher than deep sleep. Hence, it is likely for little children to wake up during their sleep very often. Though this disturbs the sleep of the parents, they must remember that such infant sleeping behavior is for a reason. As babies cannot express their needs at such an early stage, their life can be in danger if they go into deep sleep. As they shift into light sleep often, they can wake up and cry, if they are hungry, feel too warm or cold, suffocated, etc. Hence, it is important not to teach your baby to sleep heavily during the initial few months as this can be dangerous to the infant.

How to Put Your Baby to Sleep

Let us take a look at some of the ways which will help you in putting your little one to sleep. Know more about getting baby to sleep through the night.

Relaxing Environment
Be it a little child or an adult, for a person to get proper sleep, one of the most important factors is to create a relaxing environment. So, the room where your baby is sleeping should be prepared in such a way that it feels relaxed. You can either switch off the lights completely or switch on the baby light so that it does not panic in the dark, when it wakes up in the night. Fill its crib or bed with comfortable baby bedding, pillows, etc. Though people recommend that soft toys should be kept in the crib, it is not always a safe thing as too many things in the crib may cause suffocation to the child. Playing a soft music in the room can help you in putting your baby to sleep.

Bed Time Routine
Creating a bed time routine for your baby is the best way to put it into sleep. Some bedtime rituals that you can include are giving the baby a warm bath, telling stories, singing, nursing or bottle feeding, rocking it in your arms or a mechanical swing, etc. Most children love to go to sleep either while the mothers nurse them or when they rock in their arms. Once you continue the same thing for a few days, the baby gets accustomed to it and takes them as a cue for sleep time. If you are putting your baby to sleep in your arms, do not put it into the crib or the bed as soon as it closes its eyes. Little children are in their active sleep for a long time, before they enter a deep sleep and any movement during this time can wake them up easily. Hence, wait for an extra 10-20 minutes, before you shift your baby to the crib.

Using Cribs and Cots

If your baby is more than six months old, you might want it to learn to sleep alone in a cot or a crib. Even for this, you should follow the bed time rituals that are mentioned above. Once you have done this, your baby must be drowsy, but may not have slept completely. At this moment, lay the baby on its crib or bed and you can either stand near it or just go out of the room. Even if you are nursing your child, do not let it sleep during the feeding time, rather just lie the baby down, before it is fully asleep. Most children are likely to cry for the first few days, but learn to soothe themselves. You do not have to ignore the child totally, rather you can check the baby for a few times during the night to change the diaper, for feeding, etc. In this way, it will learn to sleep on its own and will also be assured that you are nearby. Sometimes, babies have a habit of sleeping with bottles. If you want to break this habit, you can take the bottle away from the baby before it is fully asleep and place the baby in its crib or bed.

These techniques will not only help the child to sleep properly, but will also help the parents to get a good night's sleep. However, if your baby is being cranky and is not been able to sleep at night very often, it is important to consult the pediatrician to rule out any other health problems.