How To Get A Good Night's Sleep With A Baby
| Health And Fitness : Top Health Tips YOU SAY YOUR BABIES KEEPING YOU AWAKE! Babies are nature?s way of showing, you what the world looks like at 3:00A. M. They don?t respect the difference between night and day. Whenever they have a crying need, it?s usually means food. Relax mom things really do get better. By the time theyre three to four months old, they?ll be sleeping for longer stretches. Sometimes up to six hours. But it?s that hike to get there. Most infants need some help learning to fall asleep by themselves. Then to put themselves back to sleep after night wakings. If babies don?t learn this valuable skill ,they may grow up to be children with sleep problems. Since so many parents lose that precious opportunity, to teach good sleep habits early on. Here are some helpful ways aimed at older children who are having problems falling or staying to sleep. Put YOUR BABY TO BED AWAKE, BUT TIRED. Parents need to get into the habit of, putting their babies in their cribs while awake. Get your baby into her sleeper, and feed her. Don?t let her fall asleep either nursing, or taking her bottle. You do want the child to be tired though. She needs the experience of falling asleep on her own. Hopefully she will do this when she wakes in the middle of the night. Encourage Self ? Comforting Behavior. Provide Some Security. Babies learn to associate certain rituals with falling asleep. Like rocking, cuddling, or even singing. They fall asleep when they feel safe. But then after your baby goes, into a deep sleep for one to three hours, he wakes screaming and crying. The security is gone. So children need to latch onto something, when they wake from the first sleep cycle. You could put a teddy in with him, a stuffed animal of some kind, or a binky. Just something he can grab on to when he wakes. This is called self comforting, and feeling safe. Then he can put himself back to sleep. Parents just make sure he isn?t hungry or wet, from the last time he was awake. Day Time Practice. Teach your baby self quieting skills.The ability to quiet herself when she gets upset. If she?s fussing, but it?s a situation you know she can deal with, leave her alone, until she?s quiet for a few seconds. Or if she gets frustrated with a toy or activity, wait until she self quiets before you re -.direct her to something else. In a survey half of the children who were taught self quieting skills during the day, no longer needed help with night time sleep problems. Set A Regular Bedtime. If parents would follow a routine, infants and children are much more likely, to fall asleep easily. This is because there is a biological clock in each of us. It controls when we get drowsy. Any one who has ever had jet leg knows, about sleep disturbances. There are two rules of thumb, when children go to bed. They are - don?t get out of bed, unless you have to go to the bathroom. Also don?t make any noise. You as parents need to enforce this. Otherwise you tell them to go to bed, but there?s nothing you can do to make them sleep. Wean Your Baby From That Parental Hovering. Parents get all bent out of shape. They listen to their baby cry at night. Then it gets louder. Mom jumps up and rocks until she falls asleep. This is the wrong approach. Choose a period of the day, when you can listen to crying for five minutes. Then go in a assure yourself and baby everything is okay. Next time do it for ten minutes, before going back in. Make the visits less and less frequent. The point is your reassuring yourself the baby is okay. You?re also letting the baby know this is not a punishment. In essence, you?re saying I?m still here. I still love you, but it is bedtime. It may take several nights of crying, before she realizes she?s not going to be picked up, or get a bottle every time she cries. Tell Yourself You?re Doing The Right Thing. It looks cruel, but it is for the baby?s own good. You need to keep reminding yourself of this. If not you?ll just weaken, and rush in. You?re helping your child to develop a skill she is going to need. . Give Early Risers A Second Chance. If you have an early riser, you might want to let her stay in bed. Even if she?s crying, until you?re ready to get up. Most kids that wake up early, fall back to sleep. Bedtime Rules. If you decide your child is going to sleep in his bed, no matter what. Then stick to it. Do not give in for any reason. Spend some time with your child before going to bed. A nice bedtime story helps them wind down. DON?T PUNISH A CHILD BY SENDING HIM TO BED. This is all your child needs. He begins to associate going to bed with fighting, or being yelled at. This will interfere with sleep. Try a time out chair instead. Watch The Caffeine. Children who chug a lug, several caffeine containing sodas, in the course of a day, can get a significant dose of this stimulant. This may cause sleep difficulties, the same way coffee does for adults..
 Questions about sleep:
|
|
Tweet this!
