How to Put a Baby to Sleep

Creating a bedtime routine and a relaxing environment are key to getting your baby to go to sleep easily.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Diaper
• Pajamas
• breastmilk/formula
• heating pad
• lavender massage oil
• love
• patience

1. 
    
   This is how we start our sleep routine.

   Make sure baby's diaper is fresh, and change her/him into a warm sleep sac or comfortable PJs. Always changing your baby into bedtime clothes will help form a routine and signal that it's almost bed time, a key to starting healthy sleep habits. You can decide if a nightly bath will be part of your bedtime routine.

2. 
    

   Make the house quiet and dark. Walk around and turn off the lights, play some soft music or quietly sing, while you nurse or give you baby a bottle. This will help your infant to relax.

3. 
    
   Place a heating pad in the baby's bed.

   While feeding your baby, have someone (or you can do it before you start the feeding) put a heating pad in the bassinet/crib. This will get the baby bed all warm and toasty.

4. 
    

   Half way through the feeding, burp your baby. Then at the end of the feeding, let your baby lay flat on your lap for 20 seconds, then hold him up and gently burp him (alternating between letting him lay flat and then burping them works really well for getting out those air bubbles!). Getting the bubbles out of his tummy now will keep him from waking up later with painful gas.

5. 
    

   Lay your baby on his back on your lap or bed, and massage their tummy and legs with massage oil with a couple drops of lavender essential oil mixed in. Try not to talk to your baby or anyone in the room as it will be too stimulating for the baby. Quietly hum or sing if you like. Your baby will feel so pampered and relaxed by now, getting him to fall asleep should be a cinch.

6. 
    
   Mary Cassatt painted mothers with babies.

   Remove the heating pad from the baby's bed. Give her a kiss and set her down. The warmth of her bed will help her to feel cozy and fall asleep. It will make the transition from being held against your warm body to her bed go more smoothly.

7. 
    
   Admire your beautiful sleeping baby.

   Step back and admire you quiet, sweet little sleeping baby. They are so angelic and they don't stay this small forever, so soak up every sweet moment like this that you can.

Tips & Warnings

• I use a rice filled heating pad that I warm up in the microwave.
• If baby is upset and needs to be calmed down, try putting them in a sling and walking around, gently bouncing or rocking with them in it. while patting them on the bottom. The rhythm of both can be very soothing.
• If baby seems colicky, try helping them relieve gas. See my article "How to help a gassy baby"
• Putting your baby to sleep on their back can reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Don't put stuffed toys or pillows in a little baby's bed. Keep the dressed warm enough and the room warm enough that you don't need to use a blanket.

Resources

• How to Make a Heating Pad
• How to Lower Risk of SIDS
• How to Help a Gassy Baby

[JMKIT]

on 1/21/2008 That sounds so sweet! I like when you can rock a baby to sleep and they fall asleep snuggled into you.

[amandals20]

on 12/29/2007 Thanks for the heating pad tip. That is a safe way to warm up the bed and what a nice treat for your lil munchkin' It's making me sleepy just thinking about it, lol....