The 1 Thing That Will Keep Your Baby Asleep All Night
The Key to Keeping Your Baby Asleep through the Night!
Every pregnant woman has experienced being in public, having that random stranger who comes up and starts giving parenting advice.
Normally it’s the most basic mom advice that everyone already knows.
You didn’t ask for their advice, you didn’t want it, and you’re probably going to totally ignore it and do things your own way.
While I was pregnant I was working at a department store and this happened to me sooooo many times!
Even though I heard the same things a million times there was one story in particular that stood out. Something I had never heard and advice from a stranger that I actually used, and it actually worked!
The Best Sleeping Advice From A Stranger
I was behind the register and a mom of three was in the check outline. She had a toddler who was running circles around her, a crying baby in the stroller, and another on her hip.
The flustered mom told me a piece of advice that she had learned after having her kids. She told me she wished she had known sooner so that she could have tried this out on her kiddos.
Her advice resonated with me.
Now if you’re still reading I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, “okay, tell me already!”
Here it is… the piece of advice that saved me from being a sleep-deprived mom.
You need to lay your baby down just before they fall asleep. It is important for them to learn how to soothe themself to sleep on their own.
How To Actual Make This Work
It sounds a little easier than it is and it will take some effort. Nothing about parenting is easy.
The sooner you begin teaching your baby how to self soothe the better.
Now, you won’t be getting your beauty sleep right away, because newborns still need to eat every 3 hours.
What you can do right away is practice laying your baby down just before they fall asleep.
If they are sleepy enough and you lay them down at just the right time they should just drift off to sleep.
If they weren’t quite tired enough they might wake right back up once you lay them down. You’ll soon learn the best timing for your baby.
When they wake back up after being laid down try giving them a pacifier. The suckling rhythm should put them back to sleep. Research also states that using a pacifier at night helps to reduce the risk of SIDS.
If the pacifier doesn’t work it may take some experimenting to discover what works best for your baby.
Try rubbing or patting their back, running your fingers through their hair, just holding your hand on their chest so they know you are still near.
The Zen Sleep Sack worked wonders for us. The weight of the sleep sack tricks your baby into thinking it is your hand resting on them.
Once your baby is 2 months, you can’t start working on getting them to sleep for 5 hours at night. By the time they are 3 months hopefully, your little one really is sleeping 5 hours.
When your little one wakes up for their midnight feeding, try giving them a pacifier instead of feeding them.
If this doesn’t put your baby back to sleep and they are crying, they most likely are not ready and you should continue your midnight feeding.
Most first-time parents will mistake a small noise from your baby as a sign to instantly pick them up and start nursing, but give it a minute and wait to see if they doze back off on their own.
A few other helpful tips before bedtime.
- Change them into their jammies before feeding.
- Change their diaper before feeding.
- Make sure they get a really full belly.
At 3-4 months of age and you can start working on getting your baby to sleep for 7 hours at night. Use the same techniques as you previously did with the midnight feeding during your 3 am feeding.
Don’t Let Sleep Regression Ruin Your Hard Work
Around 4 months there is the dreaded sleep regression that you’ve probably heard nightmares about.
At this age, your baby’s sleeping cycle is beginning to change to be more like yours. They will go through deep sleep and light sleep.
It’s very important to have a sleep schedule down by this stage. Your baby will sleep their deepest earlier in the evening.
Watch your baby’s sleep cues to decide when the best time is to put them to sleep.
Early Sleeping Cues
- Going from expression to expression. Smiling and laughing followed by immediate frowning.
- Grunting, whiny coos, or soft crying.
- Rubbing eyes and/or ears.
- Throwing their arms around in a jerking motion.
- Scratching head.
- Getting super clingy.
- Wanting to nurse.
- Yawning.
Most sleeping cues are very subtle, but it is important to watch for these cues and get your baby sleeping before they become overly tired.
Hopefully, by the time your baby is 6 months you’ve all survived the sleep regression stage and your baby is getting better at self-soothing.
As your baby gets older keep working on slowly skipping night feedings.
The goal is to have them sleeping 10-12 hours by the time they are 1 year.
How is your baby sleeping? What have you found to be helpful?
For me laying my baby down just before she was fully asleep and teaching her how to self soothe was a game changer!
It was the 1 thing that let both of us sleep better.
Being the mom with a full night’s sleep will make all your other mom friends jealous, so spread the word!
A mom with a good night’s rest can conquer anything!
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