While sleeping is considered as one of life’s luxury, it has always been a struggle for parents to make their babies sleep through the night, especially the newborn ones. There are contributing factors why babies are having hard time staying asleep at night but there are also useful tips that may give solutions to this challenging phase.
Here are some of the factors that may have affected their night sleeping routines:
•They are hungry.
Infants and toddlers usually asks for milk in the middle of the night. It is only very rare that an infant would continuesly sleep from night til morning. When they feel hungry in the middle of the night, it interupts their sleep. Sometimes, other babies would even stay up longer even after feeding.
•Wants some cuddle and comfort.
Like adults, babies look for the most comfortable position while sleeping and they want to feel warm and secured like how they have always been inside their mother’s tummy. Newborns are also still in their adjustment periods trying to adapt to their new home.
•Wet nappies.
It is not a new thing to consider that a baby really dislikes being in a full, wet diapers. Aside from the fact that it would be so uncomfortable to sleep on, it is really a must for parents to somehow change wet diapers because it can cause rashes on babies too.
•Gassy stomach.
This simply means that there is an air inside the baby’s stomach. It is nothing serious to worry about, but to the baby, it might cause them discomfort or pain. It can also be cured by massaging the baby’s belly in circular motion, laying the baby on his back and move his legs in bicycling motion to help him feel relieved, and making sure that the baby could burp after feeding.
Now lets come to the tips that may help your babies improve their sleeping habits especially during night time. These are tips that has been passed on through time and has seem to be effective. There is no assurance though that your baby would cooperate that easily, or the results would show right then and there, but it still is sure worth a try.
•Keeping a comfortable and calm ambiance.
This is a big factor to consider. Who wouldn’t want to sleep in a clean, comfortable and peaceful beedroom,right? Like adults, babies tend to sleep more soundly if they are in a calm and comfortable ambiance.
•Sleeping in dim lights.
Family health experts warned that exposure to bright artificial lights or light bulbs affects the body’s production of sleep-inducing hormones called melatonin. Sleeping in dim light makes the body produce more melatonin, thus making it easier for them to fall asleep at night.
•Giving appropriate sleep during daytime.
Sleep is very essential for a baby’s development. Though, try your best to give them only the appropriate time of sleep duting daytime. Oversleeping at daytime makes it harder for human body to fall asleep during night time.
•Follow a bedtime routine.
Make a bedtime routine to follow. Could be bathtime after dinner, storytelling or singing a song, then sleeping. Once your baby tracks the routine and follows theough, his body sets an alarm which tells him that it is already bed time, not eating time, not play time, bedtime!
•Keep the baby active during daytime.
Think of fun and playful activities to do with your baby to keep them active during daytime. This makes your baby’s body excited to go to sleep after going through a fun-filled but a bit tiresome day. It helps them stay asleep for few more hours than usual if they go to bed after playtime.
•Put them to bed.
After carrying and soothing your baby, once he is already on the verge of sleep, put him to bed and let him fall asleep on his own. In that way, he will learn how to self-soothe and sleep on his own little by little, without your arms around him. Once he learn that, even when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he will fall asleep on his own without your help. Do not wait for him to fall asleep in your arms and slowly put him off, this might develop into a behavior that would be hard to get rid of in the future.
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