5 Quick Tips On How To Help Your Baby Sleep Better!

By: Melissa Brown from Sleep Shop OC

Do you want your baby to sleep better? What moms wouldn't? We asked sleep expert Melissa Brown to provide us 5 quick tips on how you can help your baby to sleep better.

I get asked every single day, “How do I get my little one to sleep?” And while my answer varies based on the situation, the baby and the parenting style of the parent there are some things that no matter what remain the same. I refer to them as sleep fundamentals.

While every baby is different and will sleep through the night based on a variety of things, there are little things every parent can do that will help with the process.

Sleep is so important for babies, especially their first year of life! They will nap anywhere from 3-5 times a day the first 7-9 months of their life. At around 7-9 months they will usually take around 2 naps a day and by 15-18 months most babies transition to one mid day nap. Its important that we offer them the opportunity to sleep throughout the day because the better they sleep during the day, the better they tend to sleep at night! 

The more consistent we can be with their sleep routines, the more sleep babies tend to get.

Here are 5 things that parents can do that will greatly help their little one get the sleep that they need: 

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1. Set up the right sleep environment.

You want to make sure that your baby’s room is ideal for sleep. It should be pitch black so that no light comes in from the outsides. This will help with naps but also to keep the light out in the early mornings so your baby doesn’t wake too early. Make sure you have a loud sound machine that goes the duration of the nap and bedtime, it will help block out noise and also brings comfort to the baby. You want to make sure that the temperature of the room is not too hot or too cold. A baby’s temperature fluctuates through different sleep cycles so you want to make sure the room feels just right.

2. Put your baby down awake.

Don’t rock or feed your baby to sleep. A baby that is able to learn independent sleep is not only able to put themselves to sleep but put themselves back to sleep when they wake through different sleep cycles.

3. Try and get your baby to eat full feedings.

Once a baby is old enough and big enough (and your get approval from your doctor) babies can take all of their calories during their daytime feeds and therefore don’t have to wake up to eat in the middle of the night. Full feedings help ensure that your baby is well fed.

4. Find your ideal wake time.

Depending on the age of your baby, you want to make sure you are putting them down to sleep before they get overtired. Babies wake time can range anywhere from 35 minutes- 3 hours based on their age. You want to find the ideal wake time for your child and follow their sleep cues to get them down for both naps and bedtime more easily.

5. Establish a sleep routine for both nap time and bedtime.

Babies LOVE routine and knowing what to expect. Make your routine sustainable, and get in all your cuddles before bed. The things you do will start to become sleep cues for your little one and will be part of the process of putting them to bed consistently and more easily.

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Melissa Brown is a Certified Sleep Consultant and has a Master’s in Counseling and Pastoral Care. She owns Sleep Shop which is a pediatric sleep consulting company and works with families all over the world helping them get their little ones on sustainable routines and sleeping through the night. She has extensive experience working with families during some of their most vulnerable times and has a back round in grief and bereavement counseling for families. Getting the chance to work with families and their new additions is such a joy and she loves walking alongside parents as they venture the peaks and valleys of parenting. She is a mother of 4, including twins. and believes that healthy sleep habits truly benefit the family as a whole. To learn more about Melissa and her work visit her at www.sleepshopoc.com.