Babies thrive and develop best when they rest well. Sleep is so important for our babies to grow so parents can get enough preparation time to provide optimal care to their babies. Often babies need elders' assistance to sleep, whether it’s soothing, feeding, co-sleeping, etc. it’s so important that their little brains get the proper recess through sleeping. By learning the process of self-soothe, they can sleep longer. For new mothers, and working parents it's really important to have sufficient sleep. If the baby cannot have adequate sleep, everybody will get affected by sleep deprivation.
That’s where sleep training came into assistance for us. If you’re looking for tips and tricks to help your baby sleep on its own, and for sufficient time, you’ve come to the right place. Vidhi Beri, an eminent infant sleep coach in Kolkata can change the lives of the baby and her parents too from the very first night of implementing the sleep plan. Be sure your baby has gained enough weight and does not need to be fed multiple times during the night before sleep training.
1. Establish a Proper Bedtime Routine
2. Set the Favorable Environment
3. Swaddle
4. Practice self-soothing
5. Cry-it-out
Establish a proper bedtime routine
Infant sleep coaching can be started at any age. To execute it, consider starting a bedtime routine around 6-8 weeks old. It's a simple routine that may consist of a quick wash-up, feeding, singing a song, or reading a book, then off to bed. Only decide what works for your baby. She will pick up the consistency of these regular bedtime actions and it helps bring them into a sleepy zone.
Set the favorable environment
A quiet, dark, comfortable room is optimal for deep sleep. This is a useful way to start sleep training, and when they are adept at sleeping in this condition, you’ll be able to put your baby down almost anywhere. But for beginners, most babies experience a really difficult time adjusting to life outside the uterus. Recreating that same atmosphere they were just so familiar with for the past 9 months makes them sleep relatively faster than usual.
Do not turn on all the lights at bedtime to check the baby or in any need to see well. Your baby might think it's daytime and be more alert. Also, don’t get your baby all excited by talking and singing to them, it’s just best to be as quiet as you can.
Just ensure the temperature of the room is not too hot or too cold. Soon you’ll learn the soothing temperature at when your baby sleeps best.
Swaddle
The needs of the 4th trimester are the feeling of security and comfort. Swaddling your baby performs just that and more. It regulates the tendency of waking up from the startle reflex, keeps them cozy and warm, and prevents them from rolling. Even if your baby resists the swaddle initially, after a couple of minutes, they may just be blowing off some steam. Do not use big loose blankets as they can be harmful to the baby to sleep with.
Crying it out
Sleep is so important for the harmony of the house and despite the strong opinions about the Cry it Out method, in many cases it worked like magic. "Crying it out" is a baby sleep training method that allows your baby shed a few tears before running in and consoling them. This teaches babies how to self-soothe which proved as a crucial skill for babies to be able to fall asleep in any condition on their own. A certified infant sleep coach may educate the parents about the gentle cry-it-out method to promote healthy sleeping habits overall for babies.
Practice of self-soothing
This is really essential to help your baby learn how to “self soothe” and fall asleep on their own. It is only possible by following the steps above. Maintain the bedtime routine that has now been established for several days or weeks, and take the baby to a comfortable sleep environment. Your baby is swaddled and so relaxed now, also the crying-it-out process has been done properly. All these are perfect ways to fall asleep. Adopt any one or more methods, whichever you use to put your baby to quick and deep sleep,
Providing the perfect sleep environment is important to the success of the sleep training process. It is best to start off with a good foundation from an experienced coach when starting sleep training. Without the help of a certified infant sleep coach, parents would have never been able to do the correct cry-it-out method and be confident enough to succeed. Yet, establishing a good bedtime routine and providing a safe and comfortable sleep environment for babies is key to successful sleep training.
Vidhi Beri is a renowned Global Educator and Specialist in the fields of Holistic Health, Lactation, Maternal Health Wellness, Child Nutrition, and Children's Milestone Development with effective and well-structured maternity wellness programs offered to the new wave of freshly home-grown Indian mommies and babies, with her desi tadka of Ancient Indian sciences in her latest book, Decoding Motherhood, one of the best Maternity books India. Visit Vidhi Beri’s official website to know more- https://www.vidhiberi.com/.