Having a new baby is an exciting milestone that is incredibly fulfilling in more ways that just one. With all of the joy, however, come just as many challenges. The biggest challenge of all is getting sleep.
Babies aren’t born with the same sleeping patterns as us adults. They usually only sleep stretches between 1-4 hours, 4 being on the extremely lucky side. These waking patterns are important for their development since without waking up during these periods, they wouldn’t receive the proper nutrition. Babies need to wake up in order to eat and eat they must.
There comes a time, however, after a few months that you will want to start testing out the waters of whether your baby can sleep through the night or not. When you feel as if they are ready, here are some of the tips to help them find their way there.
Limit Them Falling Asleep On The Breast
If you encourage your baby to fall asleep while feeding on the breast, they can start to form a sleep association. A sleep association summed up is becoming addicted to a particular action or object in order to be able to sleep.
When the babies associate falling asleep with breastfeeding then every time that they wake up they will expect and require breastfeeding in order to sleep again. After a while, you will find yourself very tired with a baby that can’t get themselves to sleep on their own. The best way to help them find the tools for finding their own way to sleep is to put them down to sleep when they are groggy after breastfeeding and almost asleep rather than already asleep.
Give Them a Big Dinner
A full belly will make a baby less likely to wake up sooner if their last feeding was inadequate. Make sure that your baby is getting all of the food and feedings that they need and they will be less inclined to wake up in shorter intervals to snack throughout the entire night.
If your baby is old enough for solids try starting with a little rice cereal as long as your doctor approves and recommends that they are ready. This extra amount of food may be just what they need in order to sleep longer.
Turn On White Noise
White noise is something that keeps them asleep longer, drowning out the extra noise of the world around them. In the womb, the sounds of your stomach gurgling and blood rushing were extremely loud and is a source of comfort for them.
At first it can seem a strange concept to understand, however, babies prefer noise over total silence.
