3 Tips That Will Help Your Baby Sleep Better
Posted on: 13 December 2015
New parents often wonder how they can get their baby to sleep better. When a newborn is restless it can leave parents frustrated. Here are some tips you can use to encourage good sleeping habits that will ensure that you and your baby get enough rest.
Watch For Signs Of Sleepiness
While yawning is a classic sign of sleepiness, babies, especially newborns, also display other signs that they want to sleep. They may start rubbing their eyes and crying. When your baby is overtired they may also display clinginess and hyperactivity. Often new parents will think their baby is hungry, this may be true but these are also signs that your baby wants to sleep.
Car Seat Naps
Sometimes your baby may fall asleep in the car seat. It may seem like the right thing to do is to take the baby out once you reach home and rest them in a crib, but doing this might wake your baby. Babies that do not get to finish their naps can get very cranky and take a long time to settle down afterwards. If your baby falls asleep in the car seat your best option is to lift the entire seat out of the vehicle and rest it on the floor while the child sleeps. It is okay for the baby to continue a nap this way. However, do not let the baby sleep in the car seat all night.
Limit Feeding Followed By Sleeping
It is natural for your baby to want to fall asleep right after a feeding. This is okay most of the time but you should not let it become so entrenched in your child's routine that they cannot fall asleep unless they are fed first. It is best to let your baby learn to fall asleep on their own without needing to be fed. If you notice that feeding and napping are becoming too much of pattern, you can break it by reading a story to your baby in between feedings and napping. The time in between feeding and napping is also a good time to change diapers.
Being a new parent can be very challenging. It can be difficult to understand how to get your infant to sleep, this can leave you frustrated and with sleepless nights. When you learn to recognize the signs of sleepiness and encourage the right sleeping patterns getting your new baby to sleep will be a lot easier. To learn more, contact your pediatrician.
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