This post describes the tried and tested tricks that parents use to help baby drop off to sleep. Some can be incorporated into your nightly pre-bed ritual but some should be kept for emergencies. Experiment and see which work for you.
• Nursing. During the fist year it’s very normal and developmentally appropriate for babies to be nursed to sleep. Breast feed or bottle feed her until she drifts off naturally.
• Swaddling. This is a traditional technique for making a baby feel secure. To swaddle your baby, spread a cotton cot sheet out flat, with one corner folded over a little. Lay your baby face up on the sheet with her neck resting against the fold. Wrap the left corner of the sheet over her body and tuck it beneath her. Bring the bottom corner over her feet, and then wrap the right corner around her, leaving only her head and neck exposed. Don’t cover your baby’s face with the sheet, since that could cause her to overheat or suffocate. Beware of overheating your baby; the aim is to make her feel secure rather than to keep her warm. Avoid using a blanket for this and make sure you don’t wrap your baby too tightly, or his circulation could be impaired.
Swaddling creates a slight pressure around your baby’s body that gives most newborns a sense of security because it mirrors the pressure they would have felt in the uterus. For some babies it becomes the trigger for sleep, but it can irritate others. You should stop swaddling your baby once she is about a month old because after that it can interfere with mobility and development. When your baby begins to kick off the covers, it’s a sign she no longer appreciates being bundled snugly (Bates et.al.. 2007).
(more…)
