Baby's Sleep - Tips From My Baby Massage Courses
- Nichola Warrin
- Jul 21, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 26, 2020
One of the most talked about topics on my baby massage courses!
As a mum of two I know that one thing that no one can prepare you for before you have the little cherubs is the sleep deprovision. My eldest was 6 months before I could get her to sleep in her cot by herself for more than 2 hours! I felt like a walking zombie most days…I don’t know how I got through the days to be honest.
During my courses this topic comes up A LOT! We swap tips, story’s and advice to help and support each other through one of the most difficult phases of raising our little darlings.
One of the main things we all take from these chats is that every baby is different, and not every tip works for every baby. BUT I know parents will try every trick in the book to get the little ones to sleep better.
As we aren’t able to attend any baby courses at the moment Im going to share some of the advice which comes up in my courses:
Babies aren’t born knowing the difference between night and day, you have to teach them. When they wake up at an acceptable time in the morning (for me it was anytime after 6am) start of the morning off with happy smiles and cheerful chat. Open the curtains and get some light into the room.
Always get them changed in the morning. Even if they had a change through the night. Getting them washed and changed is a way of signally to them its morning time and time to get up.
Establish a bedtime and a routine. Find a time for bed which suits your baby. Its not always possible to stick to it, but try to as often as you can so that your baby will start to learn what bedtime means. I swear by a bedtime routine, mine was usually bath, massage, milk, lullaby and sleep. Keep the lights low, avoid playing, and keep it calm. This helps them to wind down and get into a sleepy state.
Dream feeds – Semi waking the baby between 10pm and midnight for a feed. Read up on this one, while it works for some it doesn’t work for all, but the idea is that you top your baby up which will stop them waking fully due to hunger and allow them and you to get a good stretch of sleep before waking again.
Night feeds. Try not to chat or play with your baby when they wake for a feed and if possible keep the lights off or very low. This way your baby with not get to stimulated will soon learn it’s still night time and not time to get up.
If this is something you are struggling with then take a look at nct.org.uk has lots of advice about sleep and also lullabytrust.org.uk has lots of advice regarding safer sleep.
Do you have any other tips that worked for you?
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