As a new parent, getting through your activities for the day will most likely not be as easy as possible for obvious reasons. Taking care of a newborn is one of the most tasking jobs. It requires all your attention for the most part, and you’re most probably reading this article right now to help you discover how it’ll become a bit easier for you to take care of your new child.
Some parents complain that it’s impossible for my baby to sleep if he’s not being held. No matter how much he seems to be in a night of deep sleep or how long I wait, he’ll be awake and begin to cry. This is the experience of many parents, and it’s relatable because many mothers complain of being unable to sleep at night for this reason.
In this article, you’ll learn techniques to help you put your baby to sleep without holding them. Follow closely, and you’ll know what to do concerning your child’s sleep training.
How To Get Your Baby To Sleep Without Being Held
In all honesty, you should not be overly worried. It is most probable that almost every mom can relate to your struggle. It is the way with newborn babies.
Perhaps your baby insists that you hold him every time, causing your arms to become tired from the strain. You will have to nurse or rock him to get him to sleep, only to have him wake up as soon as you put him down. It doesn’t help that you’re alone at home with other children who require your attention.
We all know that the infant stage will not be perfect. But, if you’re anything like me, you’re keen to know if there’s anything you can engage differently to make things better. Follow the sleep training methods below, and you’ll see much progress.
Start When Your Baby Is Still Newborn
One of the most important things to remember is that sleep is vital to your child’s health and growth. The sooner you establish good sleep habits, the better. Your baby won’t be very big when she’s born, so there are lots of ways you can get her accustomed to sleeping on her own while still new and tiny!
For example, getting your baby used to falling asleep without being held in the first few weeks after birth will help her learn how to go off into dreamland by herself. You can do this by putting her down in a crib or bassinet when she gets tired (after feeding or changing) rather than rocking or nursing until she falls asleep each time.
Once your infant has learned how to fall asleep independently, it will become easier for you as she grows older because it becomes natural for her brain’s circadian rhythm system (which regulates wakefulness) and its homeostatic processes (which control energy balance).
Associate Sleep With A Specific Location
You will want to have a crib mattress in your baby’s room. This will help them feel more comfortable, but you also want to ensure that there is not too much noise or light in this room. It’s best if it’s somewhere near yours so that you can go in and out of their room easily at night when they wake up crying or are hungry.
The key is to create a strong association between the crib and sleep. It’s not enough for your baby to go in there; he also needs to learn that this is where he sleeps. To do this, you must make sure that:
- The crib is comfortable and has a good mattress.
- The crib is in a quiet place, away from windows, doors, or light sources (such as lamps).
- The crib should be in the same room as you to hear your baby if she wakes up during the night.
Make Going To Sleep Peaceful And Slow
None of these things are necessarily scary to a baby. It’s just that they don’t know what to expect, and all these new sensations can be overwhelming.
Going to sleep peacefully and slowly is a great way to help your baby feel more relaxed and secure when they go down. Here are some ways you can slow down the process:
- Give your little one a warm bath beforehand (or put them right in their pajamas). A warm bath isn’t only relaxing, but it also allows you to dry them off before putting on their jammies thoroughly. This might seem like an extra step—and it will take longer—but it will make them more comfortable going into their crib or bassinet later in the evening. If possible, try doing this with another adult so that one of you can stay nearby while the other gets everything set up for bedtime!
- Put on calming music or sounds from nature (like rain) so that there aren’t any distractions from outside noises like cars driving by outside your window at night. White noise is great in this regard because babies respond to it positively.
Create A Routine
If you’ve ever been on a plane and heard the pilot announce that the flight will be delayed for two hours, your first thought was, “there goes my day.” But what if it were your daily routine? What if you left work at 5 PM every day and went home to see your wife and kids? Would this new piece of information change how you felt about getting home later than usual?
Your baby doesn’t know whether or not she’ll be held by mommy or daddy when she wakes up from her nap. She doesn’t know whether or not she’ll get fed when she’s hungry or play with toys before bedtime. But what if there was an expectation that each night would begin with bath time followed by reading stories and then end with cuddling until sleep overtook her?
Imagine if one day of this routine was changed: instead of reading books after bath time, dad reads them while mom gives her a bottle in their rocking chair because he has to go out late tonight. This could throw off a baby’s sense of security—she might start waking up earlier during naps because she feels like something isn’t right!
You can create sleep patterns and have a bedtime routine of sorts to help your baby to bed easily. This allows your baby to find sleep easily since it is already time to sleep according to your set sleep cycle.
Reward Good Behavior
You don’t have to reward your child with material prizes for good behavior. Praise, hugs and kisses, and other positive forms of encouragement are all great rewards that will keep your baby working hard to get what they want from you. Just make sure that whatever it is you’re rewarding them with is something that motivates them. If you try giving a bunch of computer time as a reward for doing their homework, but your child hates computers so much that it doesn’t even register as an incentive, don’t bother!
Rewarding good behavior is also a great habit for dealing with kids in other areas of life besides sleep training techniques (or any area where they might need some extra encouragement). Just think about how much easier it will be when they start getting older if they know what’s expected of them by their parents and teachers before those situations arise instead of having no idea what’s going on or why someone else has expectations for them (and maybe even consequences if those expectations aren’t met).
Conclusion
Many people who follow this advice will say that it takes a long time, but what they don’t tell you is that the payoff is huge. Your baby will be able to sleep without being held, which means you won’t need to get up every two hours to hold her anymore!
This can be a big help if you’re trying to get some work done or just have some quiet time while she’s asleep. Aside from the obvious benefit of making plans after work without having someone else’s schedule dictate yours (or vice versa), it will also help relieve some stress in the long run—which no one wants when they come home after a long day at work!
