Now that I’m pregnant with baby number two, like any experienced mom I’m looking back at our parenting style and time with our first to learn from our mistakes. The first thing we focus on, of course, is the sleeping! Like any newborn, Brielle slowly built up better sleeping habits, going from 1-4 hour sessions to 7-9 hour ones. By 15 months she finally achieved those 11-12 hour “sleeping through the night” stretches that are so amazing. For all those current or soon-to-be sleep deprived mommy readers, here are some quick tips to get your baby to sleep, based on what I learned.
- Make sure their tummies are full. Once I figured out that Brielle was a “snacker” and did better with cluster feeding, her sleeping habits eventually became increasing better since she her tummy was more full. With this comes one piece of advice: try to avoid the dreaded nursing to sleep habit! It seems easy to just have them latch on, nurse and gently fall asleep so you can lay them down. This habit becomes tiresome on mom and delays baby’s ability to develop that coveted “falling asleep on their own” skill.
- Develop a nighttime routine. Try to stick to a range of time that is appropriate for baby and routinely do the same things before bed. Books are always a good option but at the very least create quiet time with low lighting and noise. Eventually these familiar cues will help calm down baby and get them ready with what happens next.
- Use a wearable sleepsack instead of a blanket. Our hospital gave us a sleepsack which we used from the beginning to help keep her warm, comfy and safe at night. We continued to use them and grew into the different stages and styles of sleepsacks for safe sleeping opportunities. Being zipped into her sack became Brielle’s familiar nighttime routine, which also helped her get ready for bed.
- Keep the room temperature consistent. Brielle has slept in 68-72 degrees in our home, no matter if it’s the middle of winter or the hot summer. On those REALLY cold winters we’d put a space heater in the hallway upstairs to help keep all our rooms regulated or put our ceiling fans on low in the summer.
- Dress them appropriately. Baby feet are notoriously FREEZING so make sure they have socks. For cold winter nights, get comfy fleece zip up pjs and cooler summers she wore light cotton zip ups or two pieces sets once she was older.
- Use a sound machine to cover any household noise. SOTD readers already know of my LOVE of our Cloud B Sleep Sheep. There are four sound settings but we love the “waves” noise the best. We have used it since Brielle was a newborn and now at almost 21 months old, it still goes on every night. We don’t put it on super loud, but loud enough so that we can still occupy the home with a toddler and her 7pm bedtime. We currently have it hung outside her door so we can creep up and hit the reset button, if needed.
That last noise muffling tip brings me to a BIG point new moms need to realize when making their registry–DON’T FORGET THE BATTERIES! When signing up for your store registry, make sure you check off the “batteries are welcome” option on the sheet. Go even one step further and make sure to add Duracell batteries to your registry so it’s clear which type and brand you trust for the items you’ve added.
Besides all those daytime entertaining toys that have movement or musical components, I always made sure our batteries were charged and stocked in our beloved sound machine for those precious nighttime hours! Before we went on our recent Disney trip, I had a big packing list for me and “to do” list for Derek. Number one on his list was to change the battery on our sleep sheep so we weren’t without it’s magical powers while away.
Honestly, I don’t even know why I did that as the Duracell AA batteries we’ve used in our sheep have lasted a long time! In fact, they say they *last longer in 99% of devices vs. the next leading competitive brand, and I believe it from experience! The over prepared side of me wanted to make sure everything for our trip was new and stocked. Now my mind will be at ease for plenty of sleep sheep filled nights knowing that we have our Duracell batteries inside! While we’re done with our family after 2, it’s good to know that should we pass along our sleep sheep in future years to another family, they will be able to enjoy its use based on what’s powering the device!
Batteries are a great registry gift! My newborn daughter loves the vibrate feature in her Rock ‘N Play, which requires a D battery. Having a stash of batteries on hand is a must for a good nights sleep in our house!
So jealous of this new Rock n play that auto rocks! Our #2 will be rocking by the good old hand or foot manual method!
I’m expecting my 4th baby in September and my tip would be to give the baby a warm bath before bed.
Yes a bath is relaxing to a baby but in our receent toddler living life a bath is fun and exciting so its not as sleep inducing! Haha
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/605462443305914368
I would say make sure to bundle him/her up tightly and keep them close to you
Yep Brielle always loved a tight swaddle! Thanks for your comment!
tweet- https://twitter.com/groogruxking40/status/605463632068018176
I use a baby sling to keep baby close to me, and I put baby in a swing. My son loved his swing, and he always soothed right down when Daddy was holding him.
Daddy hugs are always good for baby sleep! :)
Tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/605468519195537409
Swaddling sometimes help keep baby asleep.
so true! thanks for visiting!
My tip is to keep a bedtime routine and try to stick to it.
agreed and this is especially true of my now toddler! loves her routines like her mommy! :)
My tip is to use a fan in the kids room. Allowing for a little extra noise can actually help your baby sleep better!
plus that helps to keep the temperature consistent! good tip!
My tweet: https://twitter.com/lil_lady_dz/status/605502871405101057
I make sure baby’s room temperature is comfortable, not too cold and not too warm
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/605515581798817792
One tip we have is when alllllllllll else fails a great way to soothe a newborn is a nice quiet drive around the neighborhood in the car.
So true! We’ve definitely resorted to this in the past too!
My tip is to use light blocking curtains, it helped both of mine sleep better.
Good point! We love our Pottery Barn ones in Brielle’s room so much that I got the same pair in purple for the new baby’s nursery!
tweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydpa/status/605735445830332416
Baby needs to have a full tummy,no gas and soft noises in the room while sleeping.
https://twitter.com/RayrayCrisman/status/605822234842660864
https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/605848816336568323
Do what works best for you and don’t let anyone else convince you there is a ‘right’ way to do it. It will ease your stress and that alone will help.
My tip is that when your baby is having a hard time falling asleep, try putting him or her in a rocker. My daughter falls fast asleep whenever she is being gently rocked. She also likes to be wrapped tightly in blankets.
https://twitter.com/yarbr012/status/605886936071348226
Consistencyis key for us, and reading baby’s tired cues (rubbing eyes, pulling ears, etc)
What has worked great for me is rocking our babies and singing them a soft lullaby.
thank you
Awe so sweet!
Tweet https://twitter.com/JalapenoMama/status/605954352516354048
You’ve got some great tips. My babies love music. So I always have soft music on for them to fall asleep.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/606320890075226112
amy [at] utry [dot] it
We love Cloud B Sleep Sheep as well! We turn on a white noise machine or a fan to help too.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/606655256223612928
My grandson loved having a water machine gurgling when he slept.
We couldn’t have lived without a baby swing to help get our child to sleep. It was either that or carry her around for half an hour!
I never had a swing for my first but have heard about it’s magic powers! Thanks for sharing.
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/607170320970170368
I try to make bed time as routine as possible and as quite as possible we take a bath with lavender in it and then I read quietly with them as I rock them!
Sounds heavenly! I’d fall asleep to that too! :)
I tweeted
https://twitter.com/my4boysand1/status/607312995979522048
Definitely my favorite way is rocking. Whether it’s reading a story, singing a song, or just being quiet and cuddling, I think it soothes both of us.
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
Plus, who doesn’t love that cuddle time?! :)
My tip is to make sure the baby’s room is very dark when they are sleeping, they will wake up less often.
my tip is a bath before bed and singing
Awe, what do you sing? :)
https://twitter.com/HappyTina0115/status/608330130914725888
I have a routine, black out curtains and a white noise machine.
babies LOVE routines after a certain point so I can completely relate to this! Thanks for sharing!
A routine definitely helps because the body has an internal clock and the baby adjusts to the routine. I think that a little background noise and rocking works best.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/PrettyHotPink6/status/609372804354478080
Times have changed, and it is no longer considered “safe” to let babies tummy sleep… However, my baby girl never slept more than 3-4 hrs at a time until my father was sitting and laid her on her belly… After that, I had her sleeping 10 hrs straight by 3 months old. (In her own room, temp controlled with fan for white noise)… She woke up hungry and happy! Not only did the tummy sleep help her (and me) rest better, it helped strengthen her neck and back, and she rolled over, sat, crawled and walked early – which I belive stemmed from her stronger core… If you do choose to try tummy sleep, make sure you have a good monitor and check them regularly until they are strong enough and aware enough…. I am so glad my dad taught me this old school trick! God bless everyone, moms and dads and babes!
Rock with your baby in a rocker just before bed, the motion calms them.
my tweet https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/610129301778731008
I think a routine has been huge for us. She knows it’s time for bed!
My babies slept better as newborns when they were swaddled.
My tip is to keep a bedtime routine.
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/612467070995931136
when my nephew was a baby u use to sing to him
https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/612710541774057472
Swaddling always seemed to help mine.
Tweet https://twitter.com/Lindiac/status/612718514026119168
Sometimes we would set our babies inside their car seat, put them on top of the dryer — and the rumbling would soothe them. :)
Tweeted! https://twitter.com/pixel_berry_pie/status/612803850156662785
My babies loved their baby swing.
Singing always worked for me!
tweet
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/613356454662307845
keeping a regular routine helps a lot!
i posted at tweet here:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/614620678466080768
My babies enjoyed a back rub while I held them.
Tweet
https://twitter.com/clc408/status/614758377781096448
try putting a clock near them the ticking calms them
A gentle rocking back & forth seems to work well for me. Thanks so much.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/614790092222255104
The key to soothing fussy infants is to mimic the womb. Swaddling, shushing, and swinging, as well as allowing babies to suck and holding them on their sides, are calming
https://twitter.com/Attea2d/status/614796213007839232
Swaddling is my favorite trick for getting babies to sleep longer.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com
tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/614818177801932800
Swaddling was a big help with my firstborn (my second hated it!). I also found that a late night feeding (11ish) helped them sleep through the night.
drive in the car
tvollowitz at aol dot com
I rocked and sang my babies to sleep
https://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/614889617419055104
I always had to rock my daughter to sleep.
kport207 at gmail dot com
Rocking the baby back and forth while gently humming.
Hope to win!
We always kept very quiet so we did not wake the baby
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/614948038298181632
The porch swing is very soothing.
https://twitter.com/smilekisses/status/615010119328227329
Swaddling can help the baby sleep.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/615047702930452480
I like to sing a nice song to my baby girl to soothe her.
My tweet https://twitter.com/AurelieRed/status/615095299372150785
My daughter loves her vibrating chair.
Don’t rush right in when the baby fusses. Give them a chance to sooth themselves back to sleep.
reading a book usually does it
I held my girls as much as possible and co-slept with them both. I know it doesn’t work for everyone but it did for us and I loved it. Thank you!
When they were really little, I always liked rocking them rocking chair or to put them in the baby swing :) Also, having some music or the tv on. :)
Tweeted :) – https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/615299678062546944
Rocking and shushing always helped my babies go to sleep.
Try to get the baby used to sleeping through noise. My granddaughter wakes up at the slightest sound because at home they have it absolutely quiet when she sleeps. A sound machine is a great investment.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/eswright18/status/615411887103016960
A baby swing is helpful to get a baby to sleep.
i sing to my baby in a whisper
Start with the basics and make sure the baby is full and dry. With my granddaughter, I’ve found she likes a certain way I hold her across my chest and I gently sway her to sleep.
I just was curious how long to the batteries last in the toy.
We use our Sleep Sheep every night (probably only for two 45 mins cycles until we go to sleep) and while I can’t pinpoint how long they lasted I know it’s been MONTHS since I asked my husband to change them.
I co-slept with my daughter at night and took naps with her during the day.
Doing the ear whisper!
We did co-sleeping with both kids, it worked great for us.
https://twitter.com/Stephanie64030/status/615659930448625664
we would hold them till they went to sleep
I was a snuggler and loved to rock my baby to sleep and rub her back
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/615697362770640896
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/615707600194306048
I would rock them to sleep or put them in a swing.
A Glider Rocking Chair works great.
My tips is to establish a nighttime routine, give baby a warm bath using a bedtime body wash and lotion and put them to sleep at a consistent time
tweet https://twitter.com/iamdadtastic/status/615759663124996096
I always would start decreasing stimuli a little before I wanted the baby to go down: like turning down the volume and dimming lights.
tweeted: https://twitter.com/tinawoo21/status/615760957143257089
Warm bath & massage.
I always liked to rock my kids in a rocking chai with soft music playing
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/615937184957394944
Rocking a baby is a good way to calm them down and get them ready for bed. I’ll also second the recommendation of the sleep sheep – we loved that!
I always use
Ingenuity™ Power Adapt Portable Swing
https://twitter.com/momsfocus/status/615995571732492288
The Chamomile Milk Bath by Sweetsation Therapy is amazing. I highly recommend it! It is awesome for adults or baby but it is marketed to baby. :-D
My tip is singing sweet lullabies to them
https://twitter.com/ardy22/status/616010400199507968
I remember consistency. Thank you
I nurse them or rock and sing to them.
Going for a late night car ride always puts the baby to sleep
https://twitter.com/davisesq212/status/616103068728332288
My best tip for sleep for the baby is soothing music with no vocals.