Is your baby not sleeping easily? This results in one or both of you spending your nights pacing the floors, rocking away the night, and becoming an exhausted, grumpy parent. This needs to change quickly.
Do you believe you have tried everything? You have made sure the baby has their bottle, you change their diaper, you rock them gently in the rocking chair, and still they are wide awake, their little face scrunched up in tears. Here are a few things you might want to try to get your baby to relax and fall asleep.
The first thing you need to do is to keep in mind what makes your baby relax and go to sleep. Do they fall asleep quickly when you are driving the car? Do they drift to sleep in their little baby swing? We are not recommending you start taking off in the car, that is not a habit you want to get started on. The swing is a perfectly good place to put your baby to sleep and let them sleep if it works. Use the ideas you come up with to start simulating their sleep responses.
Most parents discover their baby will start to relax and quiet down when they are wrapped up snugly. Use a soft cotton swaddling blanket, and wrap your baby up with their arms and legs tucked securely inside. Many babies continue to wake themselves up by their own sudden movements. Having them wrapped up securely limits this response, and may get them to sleep. This is actually one of the feeling they get in the car seat which helps them sleep. A baby not sleeping in a moving car is usually very uncommon.
Another clue from the car is the noise. Driving down the road, often with a radio on, is filled with rhythmic sounds, the constant whirring of the motor, and the road noise. These sounds are very similar to the sounds inside their mother, and can help calm the baby, and let them drift gently off to sleep. You can use a CD of white noise, yourself making shooshing sounds, or music playing softly in the room.
What else can you learn from the car? The gentle bouncing and constant motion is very similar to the movement they felt in the womb, too. You can simulate the same thing with a swing, light bouncing or shaking in your arm, or in a rocking chair. Once again, this helps to give your baby the proper stimulation to fall asleep and relax.
The real magic comes when you combine these elements together. By using a baby swing, a bassinet with a rocking function, or even a mattress vibrator, you can get the needed motion without your hands playing a role. Add in the white noise CD, and having your baby wrapped up snugly in their swaddling blanket, and you may be surprised at how fast they calm down and sleep.
While you may believe it is your baby needing to learn a new behavior, they are telling you to change. A baby not sleeping does not have much control, but their parents can adapt, try new ideas, and find solutions with patience and love.