Schedule / RoutineI hope you find these baby sleep tips for night waking helpful! When my son was first born, I had the whole night waking thing all wrong. There I was in the middle of the night with all the lights on, eating some crunchy snack, and watching horrible late night reality TV in the midst of feeding my baby.
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After all that, I would change his diaper and try putting him back to bed. For the life of me, I struggled to understand why he wouldn’t go back to sleep. Didn’t take me long to learn that I was doing the exact opposite of these baby sleep tips for night waking.
If you are looking for some quick and easy ways to help your baby settle to sleep easier after a night feed, try out these tips!
1. Keep it all business.
Keep your night time routine to the basics only. Night time is no time for a party. Getting a brief nighttime routine down works wonders. Ideally, we are talkin’ diaper change, feeding, burb, back to crib.
2. Keep all the lights off.
As a night shift nurse, I was accustomed to working in the dark to avoid waking patients. So as a mom, you think this would’ve clicked before someone had to tell me this tip. Use only a night light go through your nighttime baby sleep routine.
If you can use a red night light like this Gummy Bear one, even better! Red light doesn’t emit rays that tell your brain to wake up vs. a blue or white night light.
3. Change the diaper before the feeding.
I’m a huge advocate for laying a baby down awake but drowsy to help him or her learn to fall asleep independently; however, I never worry about this during night wakings. I always nurse / bottle feed my babies back to sleep in the middle of the night.
As soon as you go to your baby, change the diaper…sometimes I even skip it altogether!
If your baby is a newborn sometimes they will poop after a night feeding. In this case, of course, you need to change the diaper after the feeding, but usually after their digestive system settles down after the first month or two, you will be able switch the diaper change before the feeding or simple change the diaper ever other night feeding.
4. Avoid eye contact.
I’m serious 🙂 Avoid all eye contact, talking, singing, excessive motion, and anything else you can think of. Basically, avoid as much stimulation as possible with your baby during the night. Again, keep it all business.
5. Hands on chest.
After the feeding and burp, lay your baby down in the crib. If your baby fell asleep during the feeding, that’s great. If your baby is still awake or sleeping lightly, hold your hand on your baby’s chest for a few minutes.
Gentle pressure can offer comfort and reassurance for your baby to settle down a bit. Remember, it can take up to 20 minutes to reach deep sleep. So don’t be afraid to wait a few minutes until you sense your baby is settled. I’m not patient enough to wait 20 minutes, but I would say 5 minutes could do the trick.
6. Early bedtime.
I was totally surprised by how much babies sleep when they are little. I had it totally wrong trying to keep my son awake in order to wear him out.
An overtired baby sleeps less, not more, and an early bedtime can help a baby sleep better during the night.
Don’t hesitate to try a bedtime between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm to improve a baby’s overall sleepiness throughout the night. For more on finding a sleep schedule that works, check out For the Love of Sleep eBook.
You can also use these baby bedtime routine cards to help your baby settle in the evenings…
7. Use a diaper one size too big.
This is one trick I use from infancy through the toddler years. Whatever size diaper your child wears, use the next size up during the night. You’ll sleep better knowing your baby isn’t sleeping in a wet mess and so will your baby.
8. Start shushing.
Don’t be afraid to shush the baby. My husband is an expert at shushing. He always shushed our babies to sleep. White noise is very calming for babies, especially after hearing it for 9 months in the womb.
Shushing seems overly simple, and I would be totally annoyed if someone did that to me, but babies are different. They like it.
If you get tired of shushing {waives hand wildly} then you’ll love this baby sleep machine.
9. Follow your instincts.
Always do what you are comfortable with when it comes to your child and a sleep plan. If you end up doing something that you feel uncomfortable with, it will likely lead to inconsistency and guilty feelings. Ultimately, neither of those things will lead to better sleep in the long run.
Want more on baby sleep?
- My Top 10 Newborn Baby Sleep Tips To Help You Get More Sleep
- The Newborn Routine That Will Help Your Baby Fall Asleep Faster
- Top 7 Challenges + Solutions for Parenting a Newborn and Toddler
- 8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
Resources for baby sleep:
Please I need some help .. my 11 months old being doing that since she was a baby waking up every 2 to 3 hours every night to drink some milk.. I never get enough sleep.. I need help😒
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