How to get your baby to sleep in 10 easy steps:
Rock your baby to sleep
But don’t rock your baby to sleep
Use a pacifier
But don’t use a pacifier
Use a swaddle
But don’t use a swaddle if your baby is Houdini
Comfort your baby if they cry
But don’t go in their room
It’s safest to have baby sleep in your room
But also have baby sleep in their own room
There ya have it, now your baby is probably sleeping through the night 🙄
I’m convinced that babies, toddlers, and the elderly are eerily similar. Babies don’t sleep. Toddlers have no filter. Old people don’t sleep AND have no filter. Same same. It pains me when people I’m surrounded by people that talk about their lack of sleep. Like physically hurts my soul because I personally love sleep so much.
My “baby” is now 3 years old, so that little part of a mom’s brain that clicks on to allow you to forget how sleep deprived you were in the newborn phase is in full effect. I’m what one would maybe call a sleep stickler when it comes to my kids. Hey, I don’t mess around with sleep, especially with the turdlers who get craaaanky when tired. I spent countless hours reading websites and blogs and books for tricks and tips on how to get my kids to sleep consistently when they were babies.
There is so much opinion and research out there on how to “get your baby to sleep through the night”. I personally looked up both opinion and research and muddled them together to tailor my approach based on my own beliefs and each kid’s personality. My kids are becoming little expert sleepers. You know who doesn’t come with an expert opinion user manual, though? Adults! The worst sleeper I know is easily my mother. Well, tied with most of my 50+ year old patients, and my newborn mom friends 😉
Is this what my life will become? Sleeping on average 4 hours of incongruent sleep per night?! Hell nah, I ain’t doin it. Here are some reasons why we should practice healthier sleep habits:
Improved concentration and productivity
Heart health
Improved mood/mental health
Healthy immune system
Improved physical performance
Tips on how to improve healthier sleep habits (throughout the lifespan!):
Routine. Routines are key, for babies and elderly alike. Same shit every night for best results.
Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time. Wake up at the same time. If you can’t fall asleep in time to get your 7 hours (more for babies!), move up your bedtime by 15 minutes at a time.
Create a restful environment. Certain color lights and noises can help calm your body’s nervous system, while others can stimulate it. Think black out curtains, red hue light, and gentle white noise to improve your environment.
Calm yourself before sleep. Try to rid your brain of all the extra thoughts before laying down. Think journaling, think snuggling and rocking for the littlest sleepers.
Exercise. (Not right before bed, but you get the point!) For babies this looks like tummy time, and floor time. For old people think walking, biking, strength training.
I cannot stress enough how important sleep is! If you’re not sleeping well, you don’t have energy to devote to the other important things in life. Now, I know, despite some people’s best efforts, sleep just does not come easy. If thats the case, seek professional help! Maybe in my next life I’ll become a sleep coach…
You can’t fill from an empty cup, sleepers!
