Baby bedtime routine: Create a calming sleep environment

Admiring your peacefully sleeping baby can fill your heart with love. However, the challenge arises when your little one struggles to sleep through the night or during crucial nap times. To tackle this, it’s essential to grasp which aspects of their sleep routine you can influence and those you can’t. A baby bedtime routine will help your baby signal that it’s time to wind down for sleep.

Understanding Your Baby’s Sleep Needs:

In the initial two months, your newborn’s hunger takes precedence over their sleep. Breastfed babies may feed every 2 hours, while bottle-fed infants might have slightly less frequent feeding sessions.

Babies, typically sleeping 10 to 18 hours a day, often nap for 3 to 4 hours at a stretch. However, their obliviousness to day and night means they may be wide awake from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Around 3 to 6 months, many infants can manage a 6-hour sleep stretch. Yet, just when you sense a sleep routine forming, developmental stages, usually between 6 and 9 months, can disrupt things. For instance, as babies link bedtime to solitude, they might cry to keep you close.

Establishing a Soothing Baby Bedtime Routine

Parents often initiate a baby bedtime routine as early as 6 to 8 weeks old, incorporating a blend of regular activities. The keys to a successful routine include:

1. Balance Activities:
   • Engage in active games during the day and quieter activities in the evening to prevent overexcitement before bedtime.
2. Consistency is Key:
   • Maintain the same sequence of activities every night to create familiarity and a sense of order.
3. Calm and Peaceful Atmosphere:
   • Ensure each activity, especially those towards the end of the routine, promotes a calm and peaceful atmosphere.
4. Bath Time as a Calming Activity:
   • Many babies find a bath before bedtime soothing, helping to relax them.
5. End with a Favorite Activity:
   • Conclude the routine with your baby’s favorite activity, preferably conducted in their bedroom. This creates positive associations with bedtime.
6. Maintain Bedroom Conditions:
   • Keep the nighttime environment consistent. If your baby wakes during the night, ensure the room remains with the same sounds and lights. When attending to your baby’s needs at night, keep the lights low and minimize talking to avoid overstimulation that might hinder them from settling back to sleep.

Help Your Baby Develop Self-Soothing Skills for Bedtime

From 6 to 12 weeks old, start teaching your baby to self-soothe by calming them until they are drowsy but not fully asleep. Gently place them in their bed at this point, allowing them to drift off independently. Avoid waiting until they are entirely asleep in your arms, as this may lead to a habit that’s challenging to break later on.

This approach helps your baby learn the skill of self-soothing, eliminating the need for rocking or cuddling to sleep every time they wake up during the night. If your baby struggles to settle, consider adjusting their bedtime earlier rather than later, as fatigue can hinder the ability to fall asleep.

Prioritize Safety to Reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Risk

Whenever placing your baby down for sleep, whether it’s at night or during daytime naps, follow these recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics to minimize the risk of SIDS:

1. Always lay your baby down on their back to sleep.
2. Utilize a firm sleep surface, avoiding the use of car seats and other sitting devices for routine sleep. If your baby falls asleep in a stroller, car seat, or swing, try to transfer them to a flat surface.
3. Ensure your baby sleeps in the same room as you but not in the same bed.
4. Keep the crib free of soft objects or loose bedding, including pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and bumper pads.
5. Do not rely on home monitors or other commercial devices marketed to reduce the risk of SIDS.
6. Avoid using wedges and positioners.
7. Offer a pacifier to your baby at nap time and bedtime.
8. Prevent covering your baby’s head and avoid overheating.
9. Ensure your baby receives all recommended vaccinations.
10. Engage in skin-to-skin contact with your baby.
11. Provide supervised, awake tummy time daily.
12. Refrain from smoking.
13. Opt for breastfeeding.
14. If you feel tired, avoid breastfeeding in a chair or on a couch to prevent accidental sleep.
15. During pregnancy, seek regular prenatal care.

Exploring the “Cry It Out” Method – To Use or Not?

One popular form of sleep training, the Ferber Method, is designed to teach your baby how to self-soothe and go back to sleep if they wake during the night. Developed by Dr. Richard Ferber, this method is also known as “Progressive Watching” or “Graduated Extinction.” It’s generally recommended to start this training when your baby is at least 5 or 6 months old. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

1. Place your baby in their crib when they are drowsy but still awake after completing the bedtime routine. Leave the room.
2. If your baby cries, wait a few minutes before checking on them. The waiting time can vary, typically starting between 1 and 5 minutes.
3. When you re-enter the room, console your baby without picking them up, and limit your presence to 2 or 3 minutes, even if they continue crying. Your brief presence reassures them that you are nearby, encouraging them to eventually fall asleep independently.
4. If crying persists, gradually increase the waiting time before each check. For example, if you waited 3 minutes initially, wait 5 minutes the next time, and extend the intervals to 10 minutes or more in subsequent checks.
5. Adjust the waiting times on the following nights, increasing gradually to encourage self-soothing.

While this method may be challenging initially, many parents notice the improvement in their baby’s sleep pattern by the third or fourth night, with substantial progress within a week.

Tip: If you decide to try the Ferber Method, ensure you are well-rested before starting. The first nights may involve closely monitoring your baby’s cries, checking the time, and entering and leaving the room frequently.

However, it’s essential to consider your own comfort with staying away while your baby cries. Some studies suggest that, despite making it through the initial nights, parents often find this method too stressful. Consistently ignoring a crying baby may prove difficult for many parents, hindering the effectiveness of the approach.