Getting babies to sleep straight through the night is more than a notion for many parents. Newborns wake every few hours to feed. As they grow, feedings are less, but sometimes their sleeping patterns don’t change and they are still waking as they were when they were younger. Well, here are five ways to get your baby to sleep through the night. So, exhausted parents, take note, the experts are here to help!
1. Create and establish a stable bedtime routine.
It is never too early to establish a stable bedtime routine. Make sure that your routine is simple, sustainable, and that you do not stray from it. Small changes disturb the pattern and through your baby off kilter and you will have to try and start over all over again. Make sure to calm and swaddle. Make bedtime a positive experience.
2. Teach baby to self-soothe.
When baby cries in the middle of the night, check on them, but try and limit time in their sight. The longer you stay, the more they may think that it is time to play or eat. Teach them to self-soothe. To help with this you can purchase The Zen Swaddle or Zen Sack. These can help make it feel like you are right there and get baby back to sleep all alone.
3. Create a calming atmosphere at home.
Ambiance is everything, even for baby. Make sure to keep baby’s room comfortable in terms of lighting, temperature, and noise level. Try adding white noise machines. If they work for you to drown out outside noise, then they just might work for baby too!
4. Start weaning night feedings.
By weaning the night feedings, you will get baby used to not feeding every time they wake up. They will soon realize that no need to food, they can keep on dreaming instead. But of course, before you wean, make sure that it is doctor approved.
5. Be patient with yourself and baby!
Moving to the next phase takes time. So, be patient with yourself and baby. Before you realize, baby will be sleeping through the night and so will you!
