Getting Your Baby to Sleep

What is it about bedtime? If you ask most new parents about the toughest time of their day, many simply roll their eyes and say, "Bedtime."

To get baby to sleep is a tough job! Naturally, babies hate sleeping since they find the world to be such an interesting place. With boundless energy, they want to explore the mysteries that surround them.

Your new baby can not tell the difference between night and day, nor can she understand logic or time. This can become a trying experience for you. What can be done? You can't shout or scold her, this will only escalate your situation. So the best thing you can do to get your baby to sleep is to make the environment itself conducive to sleep.

One of the ways to get your baby to sleep is to simply follow a set schedule. Daytime is for eating, playing, exploring, and fun. Nighttime is for sleeping. If you follow a set schedule so that the your baby is doing fun and stimulating activities, and exploring during the day, and then sleeping at night, she will begin to associate nighttime with sleep. Be consistent.

A few ideas to get your baby to sleep:

Placing the baby on her back in the crib to sleep. This will become familiar, thus slowly teaching her that going in the crib is for sleep time.

Nap time should be scheduled at a consistent time during the day. Being consistent will help to get baby to sleep longer periods of time at night.

Establish a bedtime ritual to help lull your baby into sleep. Stay silent while feeding or changing diapers. Don't "socialize" with your baby or talk with her as you do these things. This will help establish the tone that nighttime is for sleeping, not for play or fun activities.

A simple bedtime ritual can also help get your baby to sleep. For example, you can give her a warm and soothing bath then read to her, or spend a few moments quietly rocking. Because babies are creatures of habit, consistent bedtimes and these rituals will let your baby know that it's time to go to sleep.

Kat Goodman has been providing Just Baby Nursery Bedding (www.just-baby-nursery-bedding.com) with quality articles for the past year. For more information on getting your baby to sleep and other baby related topics, the children's resource section provides useful information to new parents.