It is every mom's wish to have her baby sleep peacefully through the night, but it is rarely easy. Sleep experts weigh in and assist new parents by providing simple but effective strategies to help your baby go from sleep-deprived to sleeping in comfort.
Use light to help you set sleep patterns
Lighting is essential to biologically communicate daytime and night time to your baby. Babies are sensitive to this particular visual stimulation. During the day, you can introduce a lot of natural light in your home or the area where your baby is. At night, you can choose a blue or dim night lamp instead of a bright one. If you dim the lights or make the room darker at a fixed time of night everyday, the baby picks up on this cue efficiently.
Avoid too much stimulation before bed time
It may be extremely tempting, but playing too actively right before bedtime can discourage your baby from falling asleep entirely. It's best to make sure you spend a few minutes of down time with your baby by quietly soothing him with your touch before it's even time for him to go to bed. Save the animated talking with your baby for the mornings.
Stay close and get to know your baby's specific sleepy or drowsy cues
Babies have different personalities and ways of expressing themselves. You might find that your little one has a set of habits that signals that he is already sleepy. Some of the most common signs include yawning, excessive blinking, thumb sucking, and many others.
Have some standard nightly relaxation music
When your baby was still in your uterus, he was accustomed to the sound of your heartbeat and the sounds in your womb. Silence can be a bit disconcerting for him. Soothing lullabies and some white noise recordings can help put your little one to sleep.
Set a bedtime routine
Three to four months is the perfect time to introduce sleep training to your baby. And the best way to go about this is by establishing a bedtime routine. Babies eventually become creatures of habit. Setting up a warm bath, a massage, and ample quiet time are just some of the best activities for a bedtime routine. It's a common misconception that babies shouldn't be bathed at night because they might get cold, but a warm bath can actually be a signal for baby that it's time to go to sleep. Having a trusty set of products such as the JOHNSON'S® Bedtime Range and Routine, can also help soothe and calm your baby so he can fall asleep faster and stay asleep for up to one hour longer.
JOHNSON'S® Bedtime Range is comprised of Johnson's bedtime™ baby bath, Johnson's bedtime™ baby lotion, Johnson's bedtime baby powder, and Johnson's® bedtime baby oil.
It also helps to track your baby's sleep patterns and have a ready access to useful information on baby's sleep. For this, JOHNSON'S® launched the Bedtime baby sleep app which is available worldwide. The smartphone app allows you to record your baby's sleep habits and get a sleep profile, play lullabies and ambient sounds, and access a lot of information from top sleeping experts.
