6 Useful Baby Sleep Tips for Sleep-Deprived Mothers

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During the first few months, a baby’s sleeping habits can turn our lives upside down.

Not only do babies need good nights to reset, but a sleep-deprived parent can create a stressful household.

Setting up a proper sleeping schedule is a healthy habit that each mother should impose.

Let’s take a look at some strategies that will help fix your baby’s sleep patterns…

Establish a routine

A bedtime routine can be a powerful method to put your baby to sleep.

Setting aside an hour each night, for relaxing habits such as reading a story or a warm bath, will help prepare the baby’s nervous system for relaxation.

This daily habit will benefit from setting the transition from being awake to being asleep.

Furthermore, having an established routine at a specific time will help the baby adjust as they follow a natural and consistent pattern.

Avoid eye contact

As strange as this tip may sound, it may be worth giving it a shot.

Locking eyes with your baby usually results in a speed up heart rate and rise of blood pressure causing your baby to become more awake.

Even if it might be difficult at times, keeping your eye contact to a minimum at night might just be that extra step to putting your newborn to sleep.

On the other hand, during the day you should make plenty of eye contact with your baby so they know it is time to be awake. Plus its a great bonding technique.

Know your baby’s sleep cues

Each child is unique, paying attention to the way your baby is trying to communicate with you, you will notice their specific sleepy time cues better over time.

Whether they are more typical cues such as yawning, jerky movements, and crying or some more uncommon signs like pulling faces or making a sleepy sound, each baby has them.

Keep an eye out for this behavior, it will give you the upper hand in knowing when it is time for bed.

I always like to think of baby sleep as catching the wave at the right time.

Imagine your out in the ocean on a surfboard and a wave is coming right at you and your getting ready to stand up on your surfboard to ride that bad boy.

You have to stand up at the right time to smoothly ride across that wave or you’ll miss it, fall and now you have to wait for the next wave to come through.

Baby sleep is just like catching that sweet (gnarly) wave of sleepiness.

Catch your baby’s sleep cues at the right time and you’ll be fast asleep dreaming of oceans and relaxation.

Try swaddling

This old trick has been used to put babies to sleep for thousands of years.

Proven to improve babies’ bedtime and reduce crying, this snug position provides security as it mimics a womb.

To improve sleep, a baby must be swaddled correctly.

Keeping it loose around the hips but snug around the arms is a secure way to create a calming cocoon ready for bed.

Furthermore, a snug swaddle will keep your baby from startling itself awake, thus disrupting its sleeping schedule.

Try white noise

in this picture:

Munchkin Sound Asleep Nursery Projector and Sound Machine with LED Nightlight

White noise is a mix of different pitches of sound blended together.

Even Though to some it might sound disrupting, a low pitched white noise is a great tool for soothing a baby to sleep. (I love it too)

Using the right white noise machine will limit the baby from waking up at night and soon the baby will even associate the sound with sleep.

Seek help

When all else fails, there is no shame in asking for help.

Registering for an online baby sleeping course like this one is a great way to find the toolset needed to set a proper sleeping pattern for your baby.

This sleep course is specifically for new and expectant moms to prepare you for newborn sleep. Whether your knee deep in exhaustion with your newborn right now or you are gearing up for your bundle joy very soon and want to be prepared for newborn baby sleep from the start, this course is for YOU!

Get more info here.