How to get your baby to sleep a contribution from Simone, childbirth educator and our guest author from Maternal Journey
“I know your tired little baby, but why won’t you go to sleep?…..” How many times a day do you ask yourself that question?
The books all say, ‘look for your baby’s tired signs’, you know them, you’ve seen them, you know your baby is tired, no doubt in your mind, however your baby seems to not be able to ‘switch off’ and go to sleep!
The next mantra is, ‘then wrap your baby in a swaddle and put him down to sleep drowsy, but not asleep’.
Again, you try this for seemingly the hundredth time today and again as soon as you make that last move for the bassinet or the cot, your seemingly drowsy (but not sleeping) baby is wide awake again, ready for the next round.
If this sounds like a day out of your life, then be reassured you are absolutely not alone.
There is such a difference between being ‘tired’ or ‘drowsy’, than ‘sleepy’.
Getting baby’s into a ‘sleepy’ state (more than drowsy) is sometimes the key to them successfully being able to nod off. So when you see those tired signs you are so well accustomed to, wrap your baby, (if your baby likes being wrapped), and help your tired wee baby slip over into a sleepy state by:
- rocking
- patting
- ssshhhing
- singing
- white noise
- simulating those sounds and experiences of the uterus that work such a treat.
This is not ‘bad habit’ forming, this is about transition from the uterus to the outside world, just like any other of life’s learning experiences – for some it just takes a little longer!
