Newborn babies have no sense of night and day, so often in the first few weeks they will spend a significant amount of time awake during hours that mom would rather be asleep. Sound familiar? It’s incredibly frustrating for a first time mother, especially when she already has a load of other worries on her mind.
There is a fairly simple way to fix the nightowl routine. When my sister came over and gave me this advice I wanted to kiss her once it worked! The secret? Routines and darkness. Sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised how quickly you can forget this when sleep deprived.
Swaddle
For nine months your baby in a small space that grew more and more confined as time went on. Then you gave birth and the baby now had a whole wide world to adjust to. Room to stretch out. As they grow accustomed to this new world they have a habit of jumping or “startling” in their sleep. It’s something akin to the feeling of waking up while falling, that sensation we all have experienced. They take comfort from close contact with mom where the baby can hear your heartbeat and feel your skin. A baby also takes comfort from swaddling. It reminded them of the sensation of being in the womb again.
Swaddle your baby every night before laying him down to bed. Whether you use a blanket or purchase a swaddling wrap designed for this purpose, it will help prevent the sensation of startling, which in turn will help you both sleep.
Create a Dark Atmosphere
Yes, this seems fairly obvious, but again when you are getting no sleep you may not think of something so simple. The truth is, babies have no sense of night and day when they are born. It’s something that is learned over time. Helping teach your baby the difference speeds up the process and helps you get more sleep.
During the day, let the light shine in and do things to stimulate the baby. Turn on the radio or TV so they are used to hearing sounds. Vacuum the carpet. Make certain they begin to understand that daytime means wake time. You can worry about teaching them nap time once they are sleeping at night. Once bedtime comes around make sure that the room stays mostly dark all night long. A faint nightlight or even a touch of light seeping in through the doorway from the hall is more than sufficient to keep you from harming yourself by tripping. When you do the feedings at night, keep the baby in the dark and only speak in whispers. This will help them understand that at night they should be sleeping.
Create a Bedtime Routine
Every night at about the same time my son and I go into his room. I talk to him, change his diaper, lotion his skin, and put him in his PJ’s. Then we go out to the kitchen where I make his bottle and sing to him. Once the bottle is made we go back into his room, I swaddle him, turn off the light, and rock in the chair in the dark while I feed him. By the time the routine is finished and he’s done eating he is fast asleep. I lay him down and it’s done.
When he was still eating during the night I left him in the crib while I made his bottle, then came in, sat in the chair in the dark, and rocked him while I fed him. By the time he was done eating he was fast asleep. I laid him down and went back to bed.
This routine helped him learn that it was time for bed. By three months he understood this so well, in fact, that if we were not starting the routine on time he would start to fuss.
A Trade Secret
To be perfectly frank, I’m not certain how much of what I am about to type here is truth, but I’m sharing it because it seemed to work for me and a desperate mom is willing to try anything. In the article 25 Essentials to Prepare for a Baby I mentioned that Johnson & Johnson Bedtime Lotion was a must have. Here’s why. It is clinically proven to help babies sleep better at night. Of course, when I read this on the bottle I rolled my eyes and thought, “Based on what sort of statistics?” But it was a baby shower gift so I figured I would give it a go. Worst case scenario, it was just lotion. It could have been just coincidence, but that first night I used it during the bedtime routine was the first night my son slept without waking (except to eat).
Please keep in mind that this can still take a few days (perhaps even a week) to take effect. Keep patient and make sure you are getting sleep as well. A tired mommy does baby no good! Also, keep to a routine those first couple of weeks, napping when the baby does. It isn’t ideal, but at least your body will get the sleep it needs, if only in small doses.
stardavies
June 9th, 2011 at 9:44 AM
Since posting this article I saw that there was some concern over waking a baby to feed in the night. Here is what I found worked best for me:
-Do not pick the baby up until you have the bottle there and ready to eat. Picking them up before it is time for the bottle will make them more alert and harder to get back to bed.
-Sit in a glider or comfortable chair beside the crib. The further you have to walk to sit down or to lay the baby back down to sleep the more likely you are to startle them awake. I had my chair set up so that I could just stand up (without jarring the baby as much as possible), turn around, and lay him down.
-Try to pick the baby up from the crib with as little noticeable motion for him as possible. This is easy when the baby is swaddled.
-When standing from the chair after feeding have a good hold on the baby first, then stand with your legs and not with your back.
The less the baby feels, the more likely he or she is to go quickly back to sleep after eating. Most babies are capable of eating in their sleep, so it is not always necessary to wake them first.
February 28th, 2011 at 3:20 PM
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