Many people would attest how rewarding parenthood can be, but these same people would also say how difficult it is to take care of a baby. Perhaps the most difficult part of having baby is sleep – the baby's and yours as well. It is thus important to know how to deal with baby's sleeping problems so that you can keep your sanity throughout your child's babyhood.
Here are some tips on how to deal with your baby's sleeping problems:
1. One way to deal with your baby's sleeping problems is encourage a positive attitude toward sleeping at night – sleeping is an ordeal that cannot be forced into your baby, and in fact, forcing can just create more problems. The most that you can do is to stage a situation that is secure enough for your baby to be taken over by sleep. You should have a long-term goal in mind and that is to encourage your baby to have a positive attitude toward sleeping by instilling that sleep is something good to do, and not something that one has to do out of coercion or fatigue.
2. Help your baby get used to several sleep associations instead of just one; this will help you deal with your baby's sleeping problems. There are different cues for your baby to sleep, it may be a song you sing, cradling, rocking, the blanket or whatever thing or activity that accompanies sleeping. It may not be a good idea if there is only one thing that your baby associates with sleep – what will happen if that is absent (e.g. you cannot sing for a night, you had to wash the blanket)? The baby should be able to sleep without being dependent on one stimulus.
3. Another way to deal with your baby's sleeping problems is keep the baby calm during the day – some people recommend tiring the baby during the day so that he or she would sleep throughout the night. This can actually be counterproductive. Being calm and secure during the day helps the baby keep calm at night as well. If your baby is restless at night, make a list of situations that could have made him or her unsettled during the day. Try to eliminate these things and observe if things would improve during sleeping time.
4. Keep startling sounds away – you do not really need to make the nursery sound proof since you baby can actually block out noise. However, sudden episodes of sound can be very startling even if they are just squeaks or small squeals. Be sure to have your hinges and joints oiled, put the dog away, turn off the phone ringer when your baby is sleeping so that there would not be any suddenly disturbing noises around to cause baby's sleeping problems.
5. Leave a bit of your self – baby's sleeping problems stem from separation anxiety. You do not really have to be present the entire time your baby sleeps, but you can leave something behind that would remind your little one of you. Record your voice singing your baby's favorite lullaby and have it playing on a loop. Leave a piece of your clothing or a breast pad so that your baby can smell your presence. These things can help keep secure your baby and a big help to resolve baby's sleeping problems.
It is indeed important to keep your baby well-rested; otherwise, you yourself would not be able to rest. Knowing how to deal with your baby's sleeping problems is a very essential part of parenthood.
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