When you watch your little one sleeping peacefully, your heart is filled with love. However, it is pretty worrisome to find that your baby is unable to sleep all through the night. However, as per many sites, babies have relatively shorter sleep cycles as compared to adults and they could be waking up over ten times at night. It is, however, the responsibility of parents to assist their baby in knitting these individual sleep cycles together. As per the findings of a study ‘Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood’, the following statistics need to be kept in mind.
- Just 16 percent of babies would be sleeping through the night when six months old.
- 50 percent of babies would be waking occasionally.
- 9 percent of babies generally woke most nights.
- 17 percent of babies would be waking up over once every night, and that would be ranging from twice to as many as eight times.
- 16 percent of babies who are six months old did not have any regular sleeping patterns.
- 61 percent of babies usually slept alone in their own room by six months old; however, 15 percent of them were always or generally brought back into their parent’s room when they woke up at night.
Let us explore a comprehensive sleep guide for babies.
Let Baby Sleep with You in Your Room
It is best to allow your baby to sleep with you in your room for at least, the initial six months or until the baby is a year old. The baby could sleep alone in a bassinet, crib or some other structure that has been designed especially for infants but it is a good idea to let your baby sleep in your room so that you could keep monitoring all night. This should prove to be a great idea as it helps in decreasing the risk of the much-dreaded SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. However, adult beds could be unsafe for infants. A small baby could be suffocated or get trapped in the space between the bed frame and the mattress, or in between the wall and space, or between your bed’s headboard slats. Moreover, a baby could face the risk of suffocation if his sleeping parent rolls over accidentally and ends up covering the baby’s mouth and nose.
Inculcating Good Sleep Habits
Consider following a consistent nightly bedtime routine. A baby cannot be settled to sleep if there has been overstimulation during the evening hours before bedtime. You could consider trying certain sleep-inducing tricks such as bathing, singing, cuddling, reading or playing soft music with a well-defined time when you are supposed to leave the room for the baby to settle down. You must initiate these activities in a softly-lit quiet room before the little one is over exhausted.
- During the day, you could involve the baby in active games but indulge in quiet games during the evening. This prevents your baby from becoming hyper or getting over-excited just before bedtime.
- The activities should be the same and performed in the same way and order every night.
- Towards the end of the evening plan only soothing and peaceful activity.
- You could give your baby a calming bath just before bedtime to cool down the baby and ease his senses.
- The favorite activity of your little one should be the last one for the day and must be done in the bedroom.
- Babies should be given the time to relax and settle down. Your little one may start fussing or crying before getting into a relaxing and comfortable position for falling asleep. Keep offering comforting words if the baby doesn’t stop wailing. Remember your reassuring presence could be just what your baby requires every night.
- Think of getting a pacifier for your baby if he or she has issues settling down at night. A pacifier could prove to be magical. Moreover, as per research findings, the SIDS risk could be minimized by using a pacifier.
Conclusion
You must devote time to understanding your little one’s communication ways and habits so that you could assist him or her in becoming a better sleeper. You must contact a doctor if any sleep-related issues arise.
