How to put your baby to sleep quickly
How to put a child to sleep in 5 minutes without hysterics? What to do if your baby protests before every bedtime and refuses to sleep? There is no one magic recipe that will instantly solve sleep problems. A child sleep consultant will tell you what really works.
Children and adults sleep differently, and many parents don't know about it. Therefore, they are unable to put the baby to sleep.
These recommendations will help you correct the situation.
If it is difficult to put your child to bed at night
Create a physiological regime
A predictable daily routine allows your baby to understand the difference between daytime and nighttime sleep. The regimen improves the quality of sleep, and good sleep, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the child’s health, physical and mental development.
Where to begin
- Check how many hours of sleep and wakefulness your child needs at his age, how many daytime naps he should have now and for what duration. Children's need for sleep is much higher than that of adults, so you should pay special attention to this point. This way you will get an idea of what aspects of the regime you should work on in your case.
- If you have a three-nap regime, finish the last one no later than 16.30-17.00. So, leaving at night will be at the most comfortable time for the child - between 18.00 and 20.00. Leaving early at night makes it easier to go to bed.
- Start daytime naps at favorable hours: 8-9 am and 12.00-14.00. During these periods of time, body temperature decreases, and fatigue has not yet accumulated excessively. For younger children, try an earlier time in the bedtime period; for older children, on the contrary, move it towards the end.
- If you are on 1-2 naps a day, organize your rest by the hour. When the baby wakes up at 6-7 am, the best time to start rest is at 9.00 and 13.00. Monitor your waking hours before heading out into the night.
- Remember that a child cannot establish a physiological regime on his own - this is the task of the parents.⠀
Learn to spot signs of fatigue
As children get older, they are able to stay awake longer without becoming tired. By the age of one year, a baby can spend on average 3-4 hours without sleep. This is a sign that the child is growing and developing. But at this age, children cannot yet understand for themselves that they are overtired, and it is important for the mother to control this moment.
Overwork occurs for one of the following reasons:
- Physical fatigue
- Baby doesn't get enough sleep all the time
- No ability to fall asleep independently and sleeps intermittently
The most common misconception about overtiredness and frequent advice from grandmothers to young parents: the child needs to be properly tired so that he falls asleep faster. However, with constant overeating, the level of the stress hormone cortisol increases. An overtired child will be capricious, protest, and simply won’t fall asleep. He will not be able to relax and tune in to sleep. This results in frequent awakenings in the middle of the night and early rises at 4-5 am.
When there is a lot of cortisol, the deep sleep phase is significantly reduced, your little one sleeps only in shallow sleep. You will also notice that he sleeps only in your arms, he sleeps with his eyes barely closed, and it is impossible to transfer him to bed.
How to distinguish fatigue from overwork?
When tired, the baby will:
- Yawn and rub your eyes
- Thumb sucking, hair fiddling
- The baby may drop toys, his movements slow down
Start laying if you notice one or more of the signs listed above.
If a child cries, constantly yawns at any time, cries incessantly, is capricious, or behaves aggressively, then he is overtired.
How to calm a newborn baby
A recently born child is just getting used to a new environment and conditions. It has been experimentally established that you can calm a baby up to 3 months if you recreate for him an environment that resembles the mother’s womb. The most common methods:
Swaddling.
It is believed that it imitates the position of the baby in the mother's tummy in the last months of pregnancy. Even though there was little space left in the uterus, the baby felt completely safe. It is necessary to swaddle the baby tightly enough and make sure that the arms are pressed to the body. This will help the child calm down faster.
An important point: swaddling is an option for calming a child before bed. But keeping the baby in a tight cocoon all the time is not recommended.
"White noise".
This not entirely clear definition describes the background sounds that surround us in everyday life: the noise of cars outside the window, the sounds of birds, wind and rain, the hum of a washing machine or hair dryer, the gurgle of water from a tap. The baby heard this entire orchestra through his mother’s tummy, and he associates it with a feeling of peace and security.
According to American neonatal rehabilitation centers, infants, on average, fall asleep 3 times faster if they hear the sounds of white noise. To imitate treasured sounds, you can use special gadgets or toys, which are available in a wide range on the modern market. If you don’t want to spend money, there is another option: enter the phrase “white noise for children” into a search engine and use one of the suggested audio recordings.
It is important to follow several rules for the safe use of this audio:
- Make sure that the source of noise is at least a meter away from the baby's crib;
- The sound power should not exceed 50 dB. Louder sounds will have the opposite effect and overstimulate the baby’s psyche;
- It is advisable not to leave “white noise” on throughout your child’s sleep, as this can cause unnecessary addiction. The optimal playing time is about 20 minutes.
On the side.
Parents often use this position to relieve their baby from colic. But it can be a great option to calm him down and put him to sleep. Place the baby on your lap or hand so that he lies on his side, gently supporting his head. By holding your baby in this position, you can slowly rock him from side to side - this will help him fall asleep even faster.
Sucking.
The sucking reflex has a calming effect; while still in the tummy, the baby often pulled a finger into his mouth. Here parents have several options: attach to the breast, and during feeding the baby will calm down and possibly fall asleep; give a bottle with a special mixture or use a pacifier. The latter option has both supporters and categorical opponents.
How to put your child to sleep if he is overexcited
- Dim the lights and turn on white noise to distract from extraneous sounds.
- Skip bathing as your child is already overtired. Wash it and start styling.
- Do everything without fuss and excitement, otherwise your tension will be transferred to the baby and he will not relax.
- Take a break if your baby won't fall asleep. The main thing is not to turn on the light. Leave the dim nightlight, take it in your arms and walk around the room, sing a lullaby.
- If your baby usually falls asleep on his own, if he over-walks, he will need more time to calm down and fall asleep. You can help him - one-time help will not ruin the skill of self-sleep.
Adjust the lighting
Light and darkness are responsible for the functioning of the body's circadian rhythms. Darkness promotes the production of the hormone melatonin, which is responsible for sleep and falling asleep. Light is an irritant and makes the child not sleep. Therefore, it is important to darken the nursery for all sleep, including rest during the day.
- When your baby is awake, open the curtains and go for a walk outside.
- Before going to bed, turn off overhead lights and electronic devices in advance.
- If your child wakes up at night, do not turn on the light or take him into another room. The light will be a signal for him to awaken.
Organize a permanent place for your baby to rest, which he will associate with sleep.
It is best if it is a separate crib in the parents' room. If your baby refuses to sleep in the crib, check whether you are making one of the following mistakes:
- Do you use it only during rest or also when your child is awake for games?
- Is it just sleeping or is there other entertainment in the bedroom?
- Does your baby fall asleep on your chest or in your arms and only then do you move him to his crib?
For infants, use a side cot. For older children, a regular crib with sides is suitable. Do not forget about the safety rules: there should be no pillows, blankets, soft bumpers or toys in the bed.
Teach your baby to relax on his own so that he gradually begins to fall asleep without your help.
If the baby falls asleep on the breast, move the feeding first to the middle and then to the beginning of the ritual. Or feed in the light. Every time your baby closes his eyes and falls asleep, remove the breast. This will let him know that feeding and sleeping are not connected. The same applies to rocking, carrying, and pacifiers. Let them be part of the bedtime process, but not the way to fall asleep.
Introduce a bedtime ritual. It will relax the baby even more and set him up for rest. The main thing is to repeat the entire sequence of actions every day. For example, bathing and washing, massage, changing into pajamas, a fairy tale, a lullaby, feeding, turning on white noise and a farewell phrase.
Place the baby in the crib after the ritual and feeding, sleepy, but not completely asleep. This is the only way he will learn to fall asleep on his own.
How to calm a newborn?
Of course, the best way to calm a newborn baby is to feed him. But it is important to understand that crying is the way a child communicates about any of his problems, not just hunger. In the first two weeks, it is impossible to make any mistakes - everything you do is correct. Offer your baby your breast as often as you feel necessary.
Food is not the only way to soothe a newborn.
Starting from the 3rd week, try to calm your baby down not only with food . If the baby is gaining weight well, if after feeding he falls asleep happy, but wakes up crying half an hour later, he is unlikely to be hungry again. Breastfeeding or bottle feeding for any reason may subsequently cause the baby to:
- Falls asleep only with breast or bottle in mouth.
— He eats little by little all day long , and tends to do the same at night, which means he wakes up more often.
- Eats often and little by little , which means it does not reach the fattier and more nutritious “hind” milk, which contributes to the baby’s sleepy state. “Hind milk” also balances carbohydrates (which “fore milk” is rich in), which means it reduces the likelihood of gas and colic, which also has a positive effect on restful sleep .
If very little time has passed since the previous feeding, and the baby is not happy, do not rush to feed again : check the diaper; make sure that the child is neither cold nor hot; remember when he slept - maybe he was awake for more than 2 hours?
VIDEO LESSON
Baby sleep from 0 to 3 months
More details
Ways to calm a newborn.
Try one of the following ways to calm your child:
1. Rock in a stroller or crib, walk around with your baby in your arms. Newborn babies still remember the sensations they experienced in the womb when their mother moved. Rocking is familiar to babies and therefore soothing. But you should not rock the baby too intensely. In this case, the vestibular apparatus is stimulated too much, and the brain simply turns off its response to external stimuli. At this moment, the child goes into a stressful sleep, which allows him to protect his delicate nervous system, but does not bring complete rest and recovery, which is so necessary for the child’s body.
2. Turn on soothing music for newborns, “white noise”. Or simply turn on the water in the bath and bring your child closer to the stream of water. Monotonous, quiet, slow sounds are very effective and help quickly calm a newborn.
3. Boo, sing softly
4. Give a light massage with your fingertips, stroke the baby
5. Swaddle - many children at this age feel more comfortable and calm this way. This gives the baby a slight squeezing sensation - the same as they experienced in the stomach and calms the baby before bed. Choose clothes and diapers based on the fact that it is important not to overheat the baby. By the way, some children do not like swaddling from birth. And don't insist.
6. If the baby is older than 6 weeks and there are no problems with lactation, offer the baby a pacifier . Opinions and recommendations regarding the use of pacifiers are constantly changing based on more and more new research. But, in particular, there is an opinion that the pacifier not only satisfies the baby’s sucking instinct, but also reduces the risk of sudden infant mortality in the first 6 months.
7. Combine methods . Swaddle your baby, turn on white noise, dim the lights, and rock your baby in your arms. Several methods together will help calm a newborn baby more effectively than just one.
8. If nothing works, feed again (if the baby made a couple of sucking movements and calmed down, it means that he was not hungry after all, and is simply calming down with the breast or bottle)
If nothing helps calm your child
In a situation where one way to calm a newborn baby does not work within 10 minutes , try another . If you have “reached the boiling point,” let someone else continue to calm the child - dad or grandmother. If you are home alone and your baby continues to cry, place your baby in the crib and give yourself 2-3 minutes to catch your breath. Remember that the mother’s emotional state is perfectly read by the baby.
PhysiologySleep NormsSleep SignsFatigue Circadian Rhythms
Mode ConditionsSleepDreamOnMove
