How to Get Newborn Baby to Sleep Fast?

If there is anything parents discuss most besides problems with feeding their children, it is putting the little ones to sleep. Gone are the days when a lullaby was just about enough to make the little one drift off to sleep. Now, you literally need a proper sleep routine for the night and it’s quite a task. OK, this is not meant to give out panic attacks for new moms or moms-to-be. It is just to let them know what to expect and get some tips to sail through this stage easily.

Newborns experience difficulty in adjusting to the new world they are brought into; hence they find it difficult to distinguish between day and night. This is why they sleep for a very short while in the beginning. But with a little bit of practice and effort, babies can easily be trained to these best sleeping position to sleep well. But remember the trick is to let your baby self-comfort as soon as they are a few months old so that not only can they sleep better and easily but also, if they get up in the middle of the night, they can go back to sleep on their own with minimal or no help from you. 

Tips to Help Your Baby Sleep Better

The main concern for every new mother is how to put a baby to sleep because newborns experience difficulty in adjusting to the new world they are brought into. Let’s look at some of the best sleeping tips to start with these...

1. Watch Out for the Signs:

   Just as you watch cues and know that your baby is hungry so too, watch out for signs that indicate that your baby is sleepy. Getting quieter, losing interest in doing things, yawning, getting cranky for no reason are all signs that tell you it’s time to call it a day

2. Bedtime Routine:

   You may think this is tedious especially at the end of every day when even you are completely exhausted but many parents vouch for it. Routine need not necessarily be complicated. It could be simple too: drawing the curtains, giving a short bath, dimming the lights and putting on very soft music/singing a small lullaby. These help your baby relax. You could use all or a few steps mentioned above but what is important is consistency in whatever you want to follow

3. Gently Rock/Swaddle:

   This should be followed only for the first few months. You can gently rock and swaddle your baby to sleep. Sleeping is easier when the baby is in motion. But don’t make it a routine once your baby is older than 6 months as it gets very difficult to rock an older baby to sleep

4. It’s Crib Time:

   Once your baby is slowly drifting off to sleep, gently place them on the crib so that they know that this is a place where they are going to sleep. It might be a bit difficult the first few times, but keep at it

5. Make the Room Comfortable:

   A good sleep, whether for adults or for children depends a lot on how comfortable the room is. Make sure the room is cooler, keep the lights dim and keep your baby a little away from the fan or the AC (if its summer) and ensure that the room doesn’t get too hot or too cold

6. Feed When Necessary:

   If your newborn wakes up in the middle of the night hungry, feed him/her before they start crying loudly. If you are alert and feed early on, they go off to sleep easily as their sleep is not completely disturbed. As your child starts growing up, reduce the time between each feed from the evening, i.e. if you feed every 3 hours, reduce it to every 2 hours. That way they are usually full and sleep for long stretches

7. Change the Diaper:

   Before feeding change the diaper because your child might drift off to sleep while feeding and you don’t want to wake him/her up just because you forgot to change the diaper

8. Check if Everything’s OK:

   If after everything’s done, your baby is still restless, check to see if s/he is still hungry or needs a change of diaper or anything else that may be bothering

9. Try Co-Sleeping if Needed:

   If your child is too young, you might want to sleep very close to them so that they feel comforted and sleep easily. But this has to be changed once your baby is over 6 months

10. Cut the Caffeine:

    It is a good idea to cut down on coffee when you are breastfeeding as it may affect the baby’s sleep pattern and keep them awake longer than usual

11. Calm & Relax:

    At the end of the day, try and be calm and relaxed. Young children are very sensitive to their parent’s feelings and frustrations. Listen to some soothing music (on the headphones, of course, and read this to put your baby sleep easily

New mothers usually face some difficulty in the first week because they are overwhelmed by everything new around them that completely hijacks their schedule and throws it haywire. But with time, when the baby and the mother get used to each other, everything falls into place. So, if you are a new mom struggling with your baby’s sleep pattern, relax…it will pass! Don’t worry too much over it. Good luck! 

Did you find these tips useful? Would you like to share some more tips on making your baby sleep with a fellow parent? Do mention in the comments section below; we’d love to hear from you.