How to Put Your Baby to Bed
All babies eventually learn how to calm themselves and settle for sleep. Observe your baby to see when she's tired and follow a bedtime routine. If she has trouble settling, talk to her or sit with her for a few minutes. The less you do in the way of holding or rocking her until she's asleep, the more quickly she may learn.
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Instructions
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Remember that how your baby spends her day affects how easily she will be able to fall asleep at night. Overstimulation in the way of too much noise or activity can keep babies, especially more sensitive ones, awake.
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Observe your baby to see when she's getting tired. The signs might include crankiness, poor coordination or rubbing her eyes.
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Talk to her. Tell her it's time for bed soon so she can rest and feel good tomorrow. Let her know the sequence of events so she will learn to anticipate them: "You're going to have a bath, then we'll read a story, then I'll give you your teddy bear and tuck you in."
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Keep your bedtime routine quiet and soothing. Warm baths, soft music or cuddling with a book is relaxing. Sing a lullaby. Babies love the sound of Mom or Dad's voice.
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Put your baby in bed while she's awake. If she's nursing or having a bottle before bed, try to stop the feeding before she drops off to sleep so she won't wake up in the middle of the night and have no memory of how she got in her crib.
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Talk to your baby if she cries when you put her in bed. You can say, "I hear you crying." If she is very upset, you might sit by her crib or stand near her for a few minutes. Intervene as little as possible. Allow her the opportunity to learn how to calm herself and drop off to sleep.
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Tips & Warnings
Give your baby a transitional object such as a blanket or stuffed animal to ease the transition from awake to sleep time.
Recapture the day. Talk about what your baby did: "We visited Grandma. You had bananas for lunch. We went for a walk." This builds a gentle bridge between today and tomorrow.
Continue building the bridge by saying goodnight to your child's toys and telling her that they will be waiting for her in the morning.
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Comments
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Nov 22, 2005
You can also try singing a soothing lullaby to them - it helps them settle down. Don't worry if you don't think you have a great voice. They don't care.
