At the moment, you’re particularly dreading your evenings with your newest child, Amelia-Rose. Indeed, she has difficulty falling asleep when it’s time to go to sleep. You regularly spend more than an hour with her waiting for her to close her eyes for good, but nothing helps. Breathe and keep reading: you've come to the right place to find your answers!
Your best ally to put Baby to sleep: the pre-sleep routine!
Like any human being, your little Amelia-Rose needs to find her bearings. And that includes bedtime! You can create these patterns with the pre-sleep routine. This routine has two goals: to prepare Amelia-Rose for sleep and to reassure her, especially on an emotional level.
The routine should be established from the 16th week following the birth, or even before if necessary and/or possible. It’ll take the form of a ritual emphasizing relaxation. It’s indeed necessary to avoid stimulating your little one's brain with an activity that would keep her awake. This would strongly disturb her sleep! Choose a song, or even a story, to allow her to share a special moment with you, which will reassure her!
The sleep routine for young babies is usually short.
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Last feed of the day.
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Diaper + pyjama change.
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Short sharing activity (song to put baby to sleep).
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Laying baby down.
However, it can lengthen over time. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to include a story, which is THE great classic among children. One thing will not change, however: the super cuddle, which must be long and strong enough to promote the production of oxytocin, which will boost Baby's well-being for the night. As for the time of the ritual, let Amelia-Rose guide you. As a reference, it usually lasts from 5 to 20 minutes.
Put all the chances on your side on the level of Baby’s sleeping environment.
You already have a stable and repeated routine every night including a massage to put baby to sleep, but Amelia-Rose is always late falling asleep? Don't panic and start looking for herbal teas to calm and put baby to sleep. Instead, look at the environment of her room and/or her bed: what can be changed to help her fall asleep?
Noise
Is the decibel level too high? The question is: just like you, baby will have more trouble falling asleep if the environment is noisy. Make sure the room is quiet.
Light
Is the brightness of the room adequate? Too much light will necessarily affect your little one's sleep, making her believe that it’s not time to sleep since it’s "daytime". On the other hand, darkness can scare some infants. In this case, leave a night light on to reassure your little one.
Temperature
The temperature at which baby sleeps: is it warm enough? Just so you know, a continuous temperature environment of 18 to 20°C is the most optimal.
Bed
Is everything necessary there, or perhaps some things need to be removed? It's simple, no blankets, pillows or memory foam mattresses! Each of these can in its own way prevent your baby from breathing properly.
How can you help baby fall asleep alone?
First thing to help Amelia-Rose fall asleep alone: keep her schedule as stable and predictable as possible! This is the first technique to help baby fall asleep by herself. Same activities done in the same order every day, waketime and bedtime at the same hour; that's what she needs! However, adapt this schedule to her signs of fatigue: as soon as she yawns or is grumpy, put her to bed!
Also, while Baby is learning to fall asleep alone, stay close to him to reassure her. If necessary, cuddle her. Once you've learned the habit, you can slowly walk away! In the event that she stands up, put her back down without explanation and calmly. Repeat this as many times as she wants to get up.
If baby sleeps with you in the bedroom, gradually move her crib away from your bed night after night. This will gradually get her used to sleeping alone. You may also be able to reduce the amount, frequency and duration of your interventions. Finally, to facilitate the transition to an autonomous sleep, you can give baby an object that reassures her, such as a favorite stuffed animal.
As for the famous pacifier, it should be used with care: if baby needs to suckle to fall asleep and be reassured via a pacifier, the latter should not become a "crutch". If that’s the case, Baby will wake up as soon as it’s not in their mouth anymore; say hi to waking up for the umpteenth time to give back the pacifier that fell down!
If, on the other hand, she’s older and still not sleeping on her own, you can use the principle of positive reinforcement, i.e. give her a reward (sticky, picture) when she falls asleep on her own. But don't despair; with patience, you'll be able to put baby to sleep without crying.
En savoir plus: Combien de temps laisser pleurer bébé qui ne veut pas faire la sieste?
Conclusion: Falling asleep efficiently requires healthy habits to prepare for bedtime!
Finally, to avoid that you and Baby play the difficult bedtime game at night, good habits need to be instilled from an early age. A stable rhythm of activity day after day, or a pre-sleep routine that is similar every night if possible: these are all cues that Amelia-Rose can use to know when to sleep! Also make sure that her room is dark, not noisy, and at the right temperature. If you wish to encourage Amelia-Rose to fall asleep independently, it’s preferable to gradually move her away night after night, regardless of the method used. However, if she can't fall asleep because of her bed, discover our Polysleep Baby Mattress without further delay. You’ll see, it can work miracles!
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