The truth is, our bodies do well on a schedule. We sleep better, eat better, feel better and their little bodies are no different. The first place to start is getting them adjusted to day and night. When they were in the womb, they were rocked to sleep by your movements. I'm sure you felt (or feel) less kicks during the day when you are most active, but at night they are little swimmers, moving and kicking non-stop. Well, now they need to learn daytime and nighttime. During the day, keep them out in the house where it is bright and loud. Put the TV on, play music, do the dishes, clean the house. Let them nap where you are and around everyone. Pack-n-Plays, Rock-n-Plays, portable bassinets are all great places to nap, which in the beginning will be most of the day. At night, start making it darker and quieter. We dimmed the lights starting around 7, lowered the tv, made sure the dog was fed and walked and would not bother us or make noise. Our bedtime (well, mostly Dad's because he went back to work) was around 9 PM. Usually closer to 9:30, but we try, lol. By 9, all of the lights in the house are off (night lights help a lot). DD sleeps in a wooden bassinet that rocks in our room with us. We go into the bedroom, start the humidifier, turn on the night light (which is part of our humidifier and makes starts on the ceiling) and feed her. There are many places that say not to nurse to sleep, and honestly I agree, but if she is tired or we are a little off schedule (like going out to dinner and getting home late), sometimes she falls asleep while nursing and I think it is ok. Just don't make a habit out of it. After her feeding, I hold her a little bit and rock her. I think this might be more for me than her, but we enjoy it. Then I put her in her bassinet with her pacifier. She was a major thumb, finger and fist sucker from day 1. The nurse got us a pacifier while we were in the hospital because she hated being swaddled because she couldn't get to her hands. We waited 2 weeks before we gave in to her, lol. But, it soothes her and self soothing is a great way to make bedtimes work.
What also works really well for us is that our bassinet rocks. There is a lock on it, but our LO has learned that if the brings her legs up and then pushes them down, that the bassinet will rock. My little smartie pants. Between this and her paci, she will put herself to sleep with little help from me. When she is very awake, we sill take turns sitting next to it and rocking it until she falls asleep, but most nights she goes down herself and falls asleep quick. I am not saying that you should go out and buy one of these, but it worked out very well for us. Just not sure where we are going to store it once she moves to her crib....
Swaddling is also a great way to get them to sleep. Some babies love it, some hate it. But, in the beginning it is very helpful. We had the most luck with ones that zippered because they were quick and easy. Our DD was also very petite. The Velcro ones were big on her and would tend to slide up over her mouth, which made me very nervous. She always managed to get her hands out of every one too. From blankets (even when the nurses did it), to the Velcro, to the zipper (which surprised the Hell out of me), she ALWAYS got her hands out to suck on them. We even tried swaddling with her arms out, but she would still get the swaddle undone or off her body. We stopped at 2 weeks and used sleeper blankets instead and she loves them. We use the long sleeve ones since it is winter and they fit her better and she loves that she can move her feet in them.
Once your baby learns night and day, starts to self soothe and learn a night time routine, they will start to create their own feeding schedule. I hate that everyone says to feed them every 2 hours. Yes, it is a good guideline, but in reality it is not true and tends to confuse a lot of parents. The more accurate statement, and usually the one you will hear from experienced moms, is feeding on demand. I love my Baby Tracker App because it lets me know when her last feeding was, how many dirty diapers she had in a day and how much pumped milk I have, but I never use the timer to tell me when it is feeding time. If it has only been 30 minutes to an hour since her last feeding and she is cranky, I will try other things before feeding her again. But, if it has been an hour and a half, she may be hungry again. Or, if she is sound asleep and it is 10 pm and It was been 2 hours, let them sleep a little more (if they are showing no signs of being hungry). Also, trust your boobs. They will tell you when it is feeding time, lol. Babies also can Dream Feed. This means that they can latch on and feed while not waking up. So don't pinch or undress your baby and force them to feed if it has been 2 hours. Try and if they don't feed, wait a half hour and try again. And at night, if you fall asleep because they are asleep and you go 4 hours without feeding, don't freak out. Just pick them up and feed. They may go longer, but that is a good thing. It teaches them that they can go longer and get as much as they need. My DD feeds twice as long right before bed than she does any other feeding during the day. She in preparing for a longer stretch. NEVER make your baby wait to feed, especially if they are hungry, but following a "every 2 hour'" rule is not an exact science. Don't let it stress you out.
Some mothers also find (especially later on) that a feeding schedule works for them as well. At 3 months, I still feed on demand. Some days we sleep a little later, our naps are a little longer, or we are more active and hungry earlier. Most of the time, she now goes 3 hours between feedings and drinks more during them, but sometimes it will be an hour and a half and she wants some more before a nap. I do what works for her, and me, but that may be something to look into if you think it is best for you and your LO. Also, I hear a lot of parents say that they like to give their LO a bath before bed. I find this hard for me to do, and a bath every day can dry out their skin *always use lotion after a bath, but avoid hands and feet and anything else that goes in their mouth). Some babies also hate baths. Luckily, mine is not one of them, but yours may hate it. About 3 times a week is fine. You clean the most important parts several times a day anyway.
Do you have any more advise on how to help moms and babies sleep through the night? Let us know! Leave a comment below!!
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