Lagi Tips Tidurkan Bayi!

Baby Sleep Tips

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Sleep. Precious sleep.

Baby needs it. You need it.

Neither of you is getting anywhere near enough.

There's so much helpful advice around. So manyexperts who say follow me & all will be well.

Having religously followed one sleep "guru" ... to disasterous effect ... the biggest baby sleep tip I can share is that no single approach to sleep works for all babies.

Or all mums!

But from hard experience I do think there are some practical tips that help most babies sleep.


And you can follow these regardless of whether you're co-sleeping or letting them cry it out ... or frantically switching between the two ... yep, I've been there ... in complete desparation ;-)

If you're struggling horribly to get your baby to sleep I do hope these help .... and if you've got great tips of your own for getting babies to sleep do share them at the bottom of this post ...


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Baby Sleep Tips

1. Get Some Fresh Air ... Morning AND Afternoon

This one is just so major!

However much of a mess you feel ... and look ;-) ... get some fresh air early.

And try and get another 20 to 30 minutes outside between 2p and 4pm.

You'll feel better for even a short walk AND it will really, really help baby's body clock ... natural light actually triggers hormone patterns which are essential for rest and sleep.

Daily walks are also a great opportunity to hook up with friends and get some exercise ... 

2. Try to Tackle Colic & Reflux ...

Some "helpful" experts claim babies on their sleep routine don't get colic and reflux ... hmmm!

My experience was that you've not a chance of getting baby to sleep if they're in horrid pain.

I've shared a load of tips on relieving colic and reflux but these top 6 help most with sleep ...

• Wind baby lots during day to prevent colic at night  
• Don't feed right before sleep  
• Remember to wind baby until they burp after night feeds 
• Try an upright baby carrier for sleep during the day ... we had the Baby Bjorn but different brands, e.g. Ergo, Beco, Boba, Scout, Britax, Cybex seem more comfortable for different builds so do go and try them on or borrow one for a bit to see what you're comfortable with.
• Raise head end of a cot or crib slightly.

3. Keep Baby Entertained

Babies skills develop in great leaps & bounds ... without fun play time that really stimulates them mentally & physically they get grumpy & won't nap or sleep well ...

• Keep introducing new baby toys
• After 3 months lots of babies crave other people - get out & let them make friends
• Provide lots of opportunities for physical activity
• Bouncers are fab for pre-walkers to burn off energy ... we had the Fisher Price Jumperoo which we loved, loved, loved! My daughter would fall asleep in it mid-bouncing :-) Baby Einstein and EvenFlo do similar jumpers.  Or a cheaper alternative is a door bouncer, like this one from Graco.
• Once tottering take push along to park in morning to help tire them out   

4. Routines Help But No One Size Fits All ... And They Need to Change ...

We sooo tried to follow a routine recommended by one sleep "expert". It was a total disaster.

Once I threw the blinking book out and let my baby take the lead we fell into a completely different routine that worked brilliantly for us ... if you are going to follow a routine, this is the best advice I can share ...

• Try to get up same time every day ... however tired you are, it will help your sleep
• Some babies love classic 2 hours lunch time nap ... others hate them
• Babies who wake at 7 and nap at 9 seem to do well with a long lunch time nap
• Babies who aren't sleepy til mid-morning do better with 45 mins at 10ish & 2ish
• Some babies who like AM & PM naps switch to long lunch time nap at 12 months
• If older baby / toddler struggling to fall asleep at night ... get them up early and exhaust them in the morning so they nap early and then keep trimming their lunchtime / afternoon nap back 

5. Have an Evening Wind Down Routine that Helps You BOTH Relax ...

A calming bed time routine that slowly reduces stimulus and triggers baby to expect sleep is obviously a good thing ... but it has to be relaxing for both of you ...

• Baths should be fun ... have them early so baby not over stimulated just before bed
• Gentle music may help ... but some of the tinny "lullabies" will drive you insane; check out award winning Daddy Plays for something more relaxing for you both 
• Rhyme & rhythm calms even very small babies - read bed time rhymes of all sorts
• Some babies love massage ... Vimala McClure has a good introduction including tips for colic ... but if you're just not the type ... and a bit rubbish at it like me ;-) ... neither of you will find it relaxing ...
• Some babies do better in complete dark ... in which case black out lining on your curtain or black-out blinds helps
• BUT others do better with a night light

6. Some Babies Like Swaddling ... Other's Don't

People get all evangelical about swaddling ... claiming it's a cure all or completely terrible. 

The truth is some babies love it and some babies hate it ... a friend's baby needed the security of the swaddle to sleep, my daughter just wriggled free when I tried.

So the only thing you can do is try it out and see.

It's not as hard as it used to be as you can get swaddlers and swaddling sleeping bags. Ergo Baby and True Womb do fancy swaddlers but they're very pricey. Alternatively, Kiddopotamus and Summer Infant do cheaper ones which some people love. AndHalo and Aden and Anais mid range cotton ones ... the Aden & Anais ones are very pretty.

And even if you don't swaddle, do try sleeping bags as they stop babies from waking up cold. We liked GroBags which aren't cheap but which can usually be sold on.

7. Some Babies Need Noise to Sleep ... Other's Don't

White noise is another thing "experts" are passionate about. Harvey Karp ... of Happiest Babyfame ... recommends it at all nap times as it mimics the noise babies hear in the womb.

There's obviously no harm trying Dr Karp's advice but it isn't a miracle cure for everyone.

You can buy white noise apps of all sorts but making your own might be the best bet.

8. Sleep Will Go Out the Window at Regular Intervals

As soon as you get a tiny bit smug about baby's sleep, it will all go out the window ... as they hit some development stage or another you're totally unprepared for :-(

In my experience the only way to solve the sleep "problem" is to tackle the cause ...

• As babies start moving they wake themselves up getting arms & legs stuck in crib rails ... sleeping bags and crib bumpers will help a lot with this
• Growth spurts dramatically increase demand for milk ... if breast feeding, pump a little after every feed to stay ahead of the curve
• At 4-6 months babies may wake lots hungry - often a sign ready to start solids  
• Babies suffer teething pain way before teeth come - try these teething tips for relief 
• Late crawlers & walkers need extra physical stimulation to wear them out 

9. You'll Have to Learn When Your Baby is Tired For Yourself

When baby is getting tired you need to get them to sleep before they're exhausted.

Many tired babies will:

• Give a wide eyed stare
• Tug their ears
• Rub their eyes
• Lose coordination
• Grumble & grouch
• Cling

BUT your baby will have their own signs that you just have to learn from experience.

10. Get Sleep When You Can ... an Evening Nap Rocks!

We've all got this idea it's natural to go to sleep late in the evening and wake up around 7.

But this sleep pattern is only a few hundred years old. It was quite common in times gone by to nap early evening for an hour or so and then get 4 or 5 hours solid sleep later in the night.

And an evening nap rocks ... I promise you ... if you've got a baby who goes to sleep well in the evening but is then awake in the early hours after a late feed.