Baby Sleep: The number one tip you need to know

The One Tip That Will Make Baby Sleep Better

The most crucial factor in my success with my daughter and my struggles with my son came down to putting Baby down to sleep when he or she is drowsy but not fast asleep.

For different babies, this will look different. In the case of my daughter, this meant around two-months-old, when she started to doze off on either my husband or me, I would take her, singing a bedtime lullaby and lay her down in her bassinet. Within minutes, she would fall asleep. With my youngest son, it hasn’t been quite as easy. When he gets drowsy, I sing a lullaby, put him in his bassinet. Every so often he gets fussy and I have to pick him up, calm him down, wait until he is drowsy again, and place him back in his bed. Usually, for him, it’s only a few times before he does, in fact, fall asleep.

Why is teaching them to fall asleep on their own so important?

The reason this is so helpful is this. A baby who learns to fall asleep on her own at bedtime will learn how to fall back asleep throughout the night.

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Cetaphil Baby and YummyMummy.ca. It contains affiliate links. All opinions expressed are my own. 

So how do you set yourself up for success?

Here are some sleep strategies that worked really well with our daughter, ultimately our first born son, and that we are trying with our two-month-old.

Avoid a ‘sleep – feed’ association. 

What I’ve found works really well is ‘feed – activity – sleep.’ This means that if your baby falls asleep while feeding, you need to slightly rouse them, breaking the association between feeding and sleeping. Changing the baby’s diaper or moving them from where they were nursing can help. In the day, it also helps to feed your baby as soon as he or she wakes. Then have play time, then cue sleep by calming the baby down before bringing him or her to bed.

Have a predictable bedtime routine. 

For young babies, I like the routine of bath, massage, dress them, sing a song, and it’s into bed. Bathtime is so great because it stimulates my son just enough that he leaves the bath exhausted. In his bath, I use Cetaphil BabyShampoo & Body Wash with organic calendula. We love it because the calendula has a calming effect. The wash is hypoallergenic, paraben free, and incredibly gentle on his skin. During the day, have a shortened version of this same routine to cue naptime.

Massage your baby to relax him or her.

For parents who don’t want to bathe their babies every night, a simple massage can be just as relaxing as a bath. Or a massage can be a nice way to relax a baby before his or her nap. Find great tips on baby massage here. We love Cetaphil Baby Moisturizing Oil for because of its calming effect. Also, it’s paediatrician-recommended. It smells so much nicer than conventional baby oil and isn’t greasy.

Always soothe your baby when he or she is upset.

One of the reasons parents steer clear of any sleep tips is they fear the source will recommend cry it out. Always console your baby and then try to set your baby down to fall asleep again. For great resources on baby sleep, I highly recommend The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Infants, The Baby Whisperer and Susan Urban’s Hold with Love technique featured in her book, How to Teach a Baby to Fall Asleep Alone.

Above all, forgive yourself and listen to your gut.

No two babies are alike so no blanket sleep strategy is the cure-all. Moreover, babies are only little for such a small period of time, if rocking, bouncing, and nursing to sleep make you and Baby happy, do it.

I hope you get as much from these sleep tips as we did!