How To Make Your Baby Sleep Much Better?

Sleep habits are gradually created. Therefore, it is essential to create a routine, try to follow it and be patient in the process.

When babies are born, they do not have a specific sleep time until they reach the sixth month of life, approximately. They usually sleep every 3 hours and wake up crying. If you are a new mother, it is normal that you want to know how to make your baby sleep much better.

Newborns find it very difficult to tell when it is day and when it is night. That may be one explanation for why they sleep so little. But do not worry! After the first few weeks, you can teach him and he will slowly learn what the difference is. This way, you can create sleeping habits later.

Although it may seem difficult at first, over time you will make your little one enjoy the dream. We leave you some recommendations to help you sleep peacefully.

1. Learn to use the lights in your room

The lights work as that switch that turns us on, while the darkness is better known as the one that fuels the dream. Therefore, you must keep your baby in light during the day and in darkness at night to get used to it.

• In the day: let the sunshine into the house. Draw the curtains and open some windows.
• At night: dim the lights a bit before your baby falls asleep to get them into the mood.
• You can have small lamps as night lights, as long as they don’t brighten your room too much.

2. Take him to the crib before he falls asleep

Babies tend to fall asleep during the time of breastfeeding. For this reason, it is necessary to pay attention while they eat and remove the breast before they fall asleep. Ideally, you should breastfeed him, clean him up a bit, and arrange for him to get his best sleep.

For this, many moms choose to create a kind of ritual in which they gently walk their baby in their arms while caressing him and gradually making their way to where the crib is.

As soon as he falls asleep, you have to caress or rock him for a few more minutes in your arms and then carefully put him in the crib, when you are sure that he is well asleep. If you let him sleep in your arms and instantly place him in the crib, he will wake up and cry.

3. Avoid coming to their aid as soon as you hear a sob

Every time you hear a little sob it is understandable that you go check how he is and what he needs, but try not to pick him up every time you hear him make a sound. If you do, you will get him used to the fact that you will always come to his aid, whatever happens, and he will not want to be alone.

Instead of doing this, go check it out, don’t charge it, wait a few minutes and give it a chance to calm down a bit and go back to sleep. If this proves impossible, then yes, charge him up and help him calm down.

Meet: 5 primitive reflexes in babies

4. Be patient

Even if it seems like you’ve gotten used to sleeping for more hours at a time, there is a chance that your baby will wake up crying at night from time to time. It is normal and it is part of the process. Especially if you have overslept some afternoon, or if you have any discomfort or even fever.

There is no magic bullet to speed up this process. Therefore, you have to be patient, follow the pediatrician’s recommendations and keep sleep schedules as much as possible. Over time, the baby will adapt and sleep more hours, without so many interruptions.

According to an official document from the Spanish Sleep Society, it is recommended that babies sleep daily around:

• Newborns (0-3 months) from 14-17 hours. Except for the newborn of a few days old, it is not recommended that babies sleep more than 18 hours, since this could alter their cognitive or emotional development by limiting their interaction with their closest environment.
• Infants (4-11 months) of 12-15 hours.
• Young children (1-2 years) 11-14 hours. 

Likewise, in this document the experts state that it is necessary to “stay within the recommended limits: both excess sleep and deprivation of sleep are detrimental to the metabolic, endocrine and immune systems.”

Tricks to make your baby sleep much better

• Play with your baby during the day. This will help you expend energy and be less active when it is time to sleep.
• Caress him and see him introducing the dream with subtlety and affection, little by little. Take the time to rock him, pamper him, and help him relax.
• As he relaxes, walk slowly to a point in the house that has a dimmer light and less noise, this will help make it less difficult for him to fall asleep.

• Practice co-sleeping if you prefer, but always keep the pediatrician’s instructions in mind.
• You can give him a bath before sleeping, this will help him relax and sleep peacefully.
• Create and stick to a sleep schedule. That is, try to sleep him every day at the same time to help him follow a routine.
• Always make sure they are comfortable at bedtime. It should not be excessively warm or undressed. Nor should it have elements that could bother you around it.
• When he wakes up in the middle of the night, don’t immediately turn on the main light in the room or the light closest to his crib. Also avoid taking him out of the crib in the dark and carrying him under a light bulb, as this will make him fidget more.

What to keep in mind about the baby’s sleep routine?

In short, getting your baby to sleep much better is not a process of hours or days, but of weeks and months. Some may take longer, others less, the key is in the habits and customs that we create in them.

If you manage to establish a schedule for him to sleep and get used to following it most of the time, you will be on the right track. Of course, there will be times when it will not be possible – because you feel bad, because you are not at home, etc. – but the important thing is to maintain a flexible attitude and continue with the routine to overcome barriers.

Practice these tips on how to make your baby sleep much better and enjoy this beautiful stage of life.