Becoming a parent for the first time is the most fabulous and terrifying thing that will happen to you! Fabulous because you have a beautiful new baby, and terrifying because she doesn’t come with a handbook (or a volume control!)
While your ante-natal class will prepare you for the birth, what you really need to be prepared for is the first night at home with your baby. Your baby will start crying and may not fall asleep for hours! Once feeding is established, getting baby sleeping well quickly becomes the number one priority.
New parents are bombarded with contradictory advice......and don’t know what will help their baby sleep. Lots of parents choose to go with the flow and follow no advice, but sleep is too important to leave to chance!
Fortunately, there are a few simple guidelines that will help your baby settle more easily, sleep longer and sleep through the night sooner. A baby who gets plenty of sleep generally cries a lot less too.
A simple routine
Essential for getting baby to settle is recognizing your baby’s tired signs. If you miss the tired signs, your baby can quickly get overtired and be much harder to settle.
Common signs your baby is ready for sleep include jerky leg movements, yawning, grizzling, eye rubbing and facial grimacing. Swaddle your baby and put her back into bed as soon as you see ANY tired sign.
The Sleep Store recommends the simple routine of Feed, Awake Time (Play), Sleep. Using this routine will mean you avoid the temptation to feed your baby to sleep, and learn other techniques to settle her.
It also gives you much needed confidence that you know if your baby is hungry or tired.
