How to help baby become a good sleeper

BumpCaitlin

You are probably no stranger to waking up around the clock whenever baby does, helping to soothe her back to sleep. It will most likely take her 12 to 24 weeks to start sleeping through the night (it’ll happen- we promise!), but you can start developing healthy sleep habits today!

We called in an expert for the best advice on helping baby get to sleep on her own and stay asleep longer - so you can, too! Share your slumber-time successes or sleep goals you’re currently working on with your little one!  

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Bickey11

My biggest trick, which is tough to do, but does work, is to keep your baby stimulated until bedtime, or even a little later than when he/she normally wants to fall asleep. I've found, when were just sitting home, living life, doing homework with the kids, tv on in the background, keeping quiet, he zonks out early and then won't sleep until morning. But if we take him somewhere, the mall, grandmas a friends and let him visit and play with others and experience new sights, sounds and smells, and then take him home at 8 or 9 oclock, he falls asleep in the car, we come home, change him and put him right back to bed, he sleeps much longer. Don't let your baby fall to an early bedtime out of boredom. Even at home you can stimulate him/her with different toys, sounds, christmas lights, books, other kids jumping around like crazies. Give them lots of stimulation, and they'll sleep harder.

Bigboobsmcgee

And I completely disagree with PP above. An overstimulated, overly tired baby is never a good thing. It's very, very common for young babies to have super early bedtimes. Both of my kids have had 6:30pm bedtimes and have STTN. I would never recommend or encouraging routinely keeping your baby out late, letting them fall asleep in the car and then trying to transition from car to bed.

You need to do what your baby needs when they need it. Don't purposely keep them up, don't purposely try to make them tired, don't purposely try to formulate a schedule that works for you. Let them guide all that. Your LO will form their own schedule according to THEIR needs. It's a parents job to watch for cues and figure that schedule out.

The most important thing with sleep and kids in general is consistency. A consistent bedtime routine, a consistent sleep training program, etc.

Bickey11

What u state are opinions not facts. My kid isn't overly tired, he's just tired. My baby falls asleep everytime he's in the car, if transitioning from a car to a bed was a bad thing I could never leave the house. Don't be judgey I have 3 healthy happy kids 3mos -17 years in age, so far none of them are broken, and we've never had a strict schedule.

Schedules are great when u have one kid, but rarely possible when u have many kids who have activities outside of the home. Children are adaptable. In my experience people who have strict schedules for thier kids struggle anytime something interrupts that schedule and it's a meltdown for everyone. Life is not predictable. I don't say keep your child up till midnight. I said I make sure my kids aren't dozing off out of boredom. It happens and when it does he's up at 4a.m. if I entertain him and he stays up till 730-8 instead of 630-7 he sleeps till 7.

What I also don't say is that even though I disagree with your Opinion, I dont claim that my opinion of what works is a proven fact. And I don't say your opinion is wrong, just that I've had a different experience.

Like the question asked I'm sharing what works for me.

Vik9

Bigboobsmcgee said:

And I completely disagree with PP above. An overstimulated, overly tired baby is never a good thing. It's very, very common for young babies to have super early bedtimes. Both of my kids have had 6:30pm bedtimes and have STTN. I would never recommend or encouraging routinely keeping your baby out late, letting them fall asleep in the car and then trying to transition from car to bed.

You need to do what your baby needs when they need it. Don't purposely keep them up, don't purposely try to make them tired, don't purposely try to formulate a schedule that works for you. Let me guide all that. Your LO will form their own schedule according to THEIR needs. It's a parents job to watch for cues and figure that schedule out.

The most important thing with sleep and kids in general is consistency. A consistent bedtime routine, a consistent sleep training program, etc.

When did your LO start sttn? Did you follow a particular sleep sched?

Bigboobsmcgee

Bickey11 said:

What u state are opinions not facts. My kid isn't overly tired, he's just tired. My baby falls asleep everytime he's in the car, if transitioning from a car to a bed was a bad thing I could never leave the house. Don't be judgey I have 3 healthy happy kids 3mos -17 years in age, so far none of them are broken, and we've never had a strict schedule. Schedules are great when u have one kid, but rarely possible when u have many kids who have activities outside of the home. Children are adaptable. In my experience people who have strict schedules for thier kids struggle anytime something interrupts that schedule and it's a meltdown for everyone. Life is not predictable. I don't say keep your child up till midnight. I said I make sure my kids aren't dozing off out of boredom. It happens and when it does he's up at 4a.m. if I entertain him and he stays up till 730-8 instead of 630-7 he sleeps till 7. What I also don't say is that even though I disagree with your Opinion, I dont claim that my opinion of what works is a proven fact. And I don't say your opinion is wrong, just that I've had a different experience. Like the question asked I'm sharing what works for me.

Why are you so defensive? And calling me names like "judgey"? Goodness.

People can take bits and pieces from each of our experiences and opinions. I do things totally different with my kids, hence the "strong disagreement" with what you said. In your first post you stated things as though they were facts like "give them lots of stimulation, and they'll sleep harder" which is something I don't agree with. It's ok to disagree.

I also have 3 children ranging from 14 months to 19 years old. Big whoop. This isn't a parenting contest. You don't have to try to one-up me.

Bigboobsmcgee

Vik9 said:

Bigboobsmcgee said:

And I completely disagree with PP above. An overstimulated, overly tired baby is never a good thing. It's very, very common for young babies to have super early bedtimes. Both of my kids have had 6:30pm bedtimes and have STTN. I would never recommend or encouraging routinely keeping your baby out late, letting them fall asleep in the car and then trying to transition from car to bed.

You need to do what your baby needs when they need it. Don't purposely keep them up, don't purposely try to make them tired, don't purposely try to formulate a schedule that works for you. Let me guide all that. Your LO will form their own schedule according to THEIR needs. It's a parents job to watch for cues and figure that schedule out.

The most important thing with sleep and kids in general is consistency. A consistent bedtime routine, a consistent sleep training program, etc.

When did your LO start sttn? Did you follow a particular sleep sched?

@Vik9 My first child started STTN at 7 months (meaning he weaned himself off the MOTN feeding on his own at that age) and my daughter - 2nd child - started STTN at 9 months.

I didn't necessarily follow a sleep schedule and I didn't read any sleep training books. I literally just followed their lead.

I also found that early bedtimes worked great for both of my kids when they were really little (6:30 or 7).

Craiggles

We have a bedtime routine that we started when our LO was less than a week old. Bath time, fresh diaper, bottle & cuddle time (and sometimes another change after the bottle ☺) . when he starts to kick his legs, or, show other signs of fussing during the feeding, we stop to burp him & swaddle him up for bed. We then finish the bottle/do cuddle time until he is almost asleep & then put him down, offer a pacifier (sometimes he is too sleepy for it) & turn out the lights. I sit in his room for a few minutes in case the pacifier falls out & he fusses. If so, I put it back in right away & he is usually out in 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, i catch up on the news, social media,etc. He is starting to sleep for about 6 hours at a time.

f8

My baby is just 6 weeks, she seems to only sleep if she's being held carried or while feeding. Should I be worried about bad sleeping habits?

Bigboobsmcgee

f8 said:

My baby is just 6 weeks, she seems to only sleep if she's being held carried or while feeding. Should I be worried about bad sleeping habits?

Not at all. This is totally normal and your baby is still very little. Do what she needs.

brendasduke

I agree that babies set their own schedules, but I also agree that you need to try to stimulate them during the day. Mine (2 months) needs 14-15 hours of sleep, so she needs to stay awake for 9-10 hours! I have to find ways to fill that time to prevent fussiness from boredom. She breastfeeds frequently during the day, so that takes up some of the time, but the rest of the time, she isn't content to sit around doing nothing. She wants me to walk her around, bring her outside and lay her on a blanket in the grass, interact with her and do stuffed animal and toy "shows", dance with her, sing to her, and so on. It's hard to keep the ideas flowing. I tried to put her on a bedtime schedule, but it didn't work. I was trying to put her down at 7, but she'd wake at 8, go back to sleep till 9 and keep waking every hour till midnight then eat again at 2, sometimes 3, 4, 6, and 8 then get up for the day and take a bunch of broken naps during the day. This was not working for me. So what I started doing is trying to keep her up between naps for as long as possible which isn't usually more than 1-2 hours. To do so, I have to stimulate her between naps and wake her up early from long evening naps (longer than 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes after 5 pm). If I count from bedtime the night before to the bedtime the next night, including getting up for 30 minutes just for a breastfeed, I can figure out her waking hours. They need to total between 9 or 10 hours including all waking activities eating, bathing, etc before I try to get her to go down for the night. So now she takes 1 or 2 naps in the morning for about 30 minutes to an hour each then one long afternoon nap for 2 hours and 2 naps of about 30 minutes in the evening spaced apart by about an hour and a half. Then about 2-2.5 hours after that she goes to bed from 10 pm to 6 pm with one feeding in between ( sometimes between 2 or 4), eats again at 6 and sleeps until about 8. It's not bad because between 10 and 6 I can sleep, only needing to get up for 1/2 hour to feed her once. In short, trying to get her to bed at 7 pm wasn't working. She's a night owl and this is what works for us now.

brendasduke

It's nice to have the short evening naps actually. I prep dinner during the first one, then cook when my husband gets home right after feeding her and we eat during the second short nap, so I can actually sit down with my meal. During her long afternoon nap, I eat lunch and then try to take a short nap myself and during the first morning nap, I have some coffee and TV or Pinterest. I do laundry and dishes and clean bottles during the second morning nap. (Not spending much time cleaning, I know.) Of course, this schedule means NO alone time with hubby.

ondabianca

My baby is two weeks old. I haven't been able to get a schedule down yet...he tends to sleep and wake according to what he wants...I haven't realm been able to change either (When I thought he was sleeping too much during the day I woke him and he was so fussy and unhappy I didn't do it again). Right now he starts sleeping at night around midnight or 1am ish. He will sleep 3-4 hours, wake up to eat/change diaper and sleep again immediately after for another 3 hours (sometimes more sometimes less). Then he'll do that one more time before being up for awhile. He'll have stretches where he is awake during the day and evening then stretches when he is asleep.

I am worried how this will work in another six weeks when I go back to work...ideally I would like him to start the process of nighttime sleeping earlier but am not sure if I should start trying to get a schedule going now or just let him be. Obviously I'm a first time mom. Open to advice, anyone and all experience levels ffeel free to reply!

Bigboobsmcgee

ondabianca said:

My baby is two weeks old. I haven't been able to get a schedule down yet...he tends to sleep and wake according to what he wants...I haven't realm been able to change either (When I thought he was sleeping too much during the day I woke him and he was so fussy and unhappy I didn't do it again). Right now he starts sleeping at night around midnight or 1am ish. He will sleep 3-4 hours, wake up to eat/change diaper and sleep again immediately after for another 3 hours (sometimes more sometimes less). Then he'll do that one more time before being up for awhile. He'll have stretches where he is awake during the day and evening then stretches when he is asleep. I am worried how this will work in another six weeks when I go back to work...ideally I would like him to start the process of nighttime sleeping earlier but am not sure if I should start trying to get a schedule going now or just let him be. Obviously I'm a first time mom. Open to advice, anyone and all experience levels ffeel free to reply!

I think this is every parents fear - the schedule once you go back to work. The advice I can give is to NOT stress this now. It WILL work itself out eventually and there is literally nothing you can do with a 2 week old to get him in a schedule in order to prepare for when you return to work. Your baby will change so much between now and then so try to roll with it and let your baby sleep whenever he needs to. Don't wake him up. I promise you a schedule will form and things will eventually become more routine.

ondabianca

Bigboobsmcgee said:

ondabianca said:

My baby is two weeks old. I haven't been able to get a schedule down yet...he tends to sleep and wake according to what he wants...I haven't realm been able to change either (When I thought he was sleeping too much during the day I woke him and he was so fussy and unhappy I didn't do it again). Right now he starts sleeping at night around midnight or 1am ish. He will sleep 3-4 hours, wake up to eat/change diaper and sleep again immediately after for another 3 hours (sometimes more sometimes less). Then he'll do that one more time before being up for awhile. He'll have stretches where he is awake during the day and evening then stretches when he is asleep.

I am worried how this will work in another six weeks when I go back to work...ideally I would like him to start the process of nighttime sleeping earlier but am not sure if I should start trying to get a schedule going now or just let him be. Obviously I'm a first time mom. Open to advice, anyone and all experience levels ffeel free to reply!

I think this is every parents fear - the schedule once you go back to work. The advice I can give is to NOT stress this now. It WILL work itself out eventually and there is literally nothing you can do with a 2 week old to get him in a schedule in order to prepare for when you return to work. Your baby will change so much between now and then so try to roll with it and let your baby sleep whenever he needs to. Don't wake him up. I promise you a schedule will form and things will eventually become more routine.

Thanks so much! I think that's. Exactly what I needed to hear!

babyandnames

As per my experience baby can enjoy best sleeping if thier tummy is completely full.And they love mothers cuddle and voice .singing and keeping your baby really close helps.First few months may be 1-3 months is difficult for your baby to sleep for a long time
www.babyandnames.com

katoni

Am a first time mum i help please my 8 weeks old baby won't sleep in her own bed I don't know what to do 

4N6s

Have you tried swaddling her? @katoni

kalinkacs

We are trying to follow the routine every night and it seems to work. However I don't do it at exact same time- days are not the same, so I think it's better if the baby will get used to routine actions before bed but not to exact time

JayeSkylar

We always try to swaddle and put to bed after his last feeding. He's started sleeping 8 hour stretches a week or so ago. But since we brought him home we've always tried to feed him at like 8-12 swaddle him and put him to bed some nights I'd he absolutely needs it we'll give him a bath before his bottle.

kellyb1992

Our baby girl was sleeping through the night around 5 weeks.  Other than the obvious, keeping the lights on and loud noises during the day and limited sensory at night, I have 3 recommendations.

1. Get a good mattress. I got an amazing deal on a crib mattress, it's the Beautyrest Black Diamond 2 Crib and Toddler. She loves it! She decided she didn't like her bassinet pad, once we switched her over to her crib out of basinet she began sleeping through the night. 

2. White noise. We just use her air purifier or the Echo dot. 

3. Breastmilk during the day, formula before bed and at night. The theory: formula takes longer for babies to digest than breastmilk so they sleep longer. Again, just a theory. Feed your baby however you see fit, this is just what we did and maybe it contributed to her good sleeping, maybe it's just her personality.