Why does my baby have trouble sleeping?
Babies wake in the night for all sorts of reasons. You are not alone if you are having difficulty getting your baby to sleep all night. Many mums find that their babies have sleep problems, particularly refusing to go to bed or waking in the night. Often, the two go together. As your baby starts reaching milestones in her physical and mental development, she may wake in the night to try out the exciting new skills she has learned, and be unable to settle back down. An unwell baby may have disrupted sleep patterns. Your baby may want to nap at different times during the day, which could make her bedtime later. She may even be reluctant to go to bed at night or start waking up during the night when she usually sleeps through.
What sleep strategies can I try?
Here are a few time tested tips and tricks which should help your baby to sleep peacefully and allow you some moments of sanity as well!
- Lay down a time table for the newborn:Follow a consistent daily routine with your baby. Have a more or less fixed time for getting up, feeding, bathing, playing, evening stroll and putting it to sleep at night. Though that does not mean that you have to live by the watch, drawing a rough timetable for the day will definitely help the baby — and eventually you!
- Have a bedtime routine:It could be as simple as changing the baby’s diaper, switching off the lights in the room, giving him his last feed for the day and singing a lullaby to him as you pat his back or rub his head. When you develop a routine, the child will gradually begin to understand that it’s time for him to doze off.
- Give your child a security object: Most children, research has proved, find it easier to sleep if they are holding to some security object. Be it a stuffed toy, blanket or the mother’s hand.
- Keep him active through the evening: The baby is more likely to fall to sleep early and sleep more peacefully through the night if he has had a tiring evening. Make him run around, play with him and keep him active all evening so that your lovable beast is tired by the time you take him to his bed!
- Lie down with him for a while: cuddle up with your baby as you put him to sleep. Lying next to him and pillow talking to him for a while before putting him to sleep makes him feel loved, safe and comfortable. Besides, the baby will get the feeling that you are going to sleep as well and will, therefore, be able to sleep faster.
- Check the baby’s bed: Make sure that the bed is comfortable. There should be no creases along the sheet and the bed should neither be too warm nor too cold for him. It should be dry, adequately soft and comfortable.
- Never ever feed the baby at night: Now harsh as it might sound, you have to teach a baby to stay hungry through the night. You do not eat through the night- do you? Let the baby also realize that there is no food coming after the last bedtime meal at night. The baby might howl for a few nights initially — but once he realizes that he cannot get the better of you by crying himself hoarse, he will learn to sleep through the night without any ‘midnight snacks’.
If your baby is constantly waking you up in the middle of the night, it can disturb your own sleep pattern and will find it much harder to operate daily tasks the next day. Women whose sleep is disturbed due to their baby are prone to depression.
So as your child grows, it is important to sort out their sleep problems as it may put pressure on the relationship between you and your husband and even between your child.
If your baby is disrupting your sleep and you’re struggling to cope, talk to your doctor and other mums who may be in the same boat as you.
If your baby is constantly waking you up in the middle of the night, it can disturb your own sleep pattern and will find it much harder to operate daily tasks the next day. Women whose sleep is disturbed due to their baby are prone to depression.
So as your child grows, it is important to sort out their sleep problems as it may put pressure on the relationship between you and your husband and even between your child.
If your baby is disrupting your sleep and you’re struggling to cope, talk to your doctor and other mums who may be in the same boat as you.
Source: How can I get my baby to sleep through the night?