One thing new parents should understand is that in the initial first two months, your baby would have no concept of night or day. Even though newborns require nothing more than sleep and milk (breast milk or sometimes milk formula) for the first few weeks, their sleeping habit which is intermittent, can cause distress to parents who would have to wake every 3-4 hours every night to feed the baby.
Although, there is little that can be done concerning the baby’s spontaneous needs, you as a parent, can help in illustrating the difference of day and night by means of more interaction with the baby during the day, thereby limiting stimulation at night. As simple as this habit is, it helps babies understand that day is the time for noisy stimulating activities and night is for resting and quiet time.
Limiting contact during the nights
Parents can also choose to reduce contact with the baby at night so as to help them build independence. A newborn can easily fall asleep most of the time because of their need for rest, therefore, if we avoid repeating some habits of "helping” them, they will slowly be able to equate lack of interaction to bedtime. Some habits like cradling, rocking and giving them milk to help them to sleep will only serve to make them dependent on these forms of comfort in order to fall asleep.
The outcome of these practices may not be seen immediately, but it will greatly help the child to get used to quieten down in the evenings and also slowly settle down for bedtime without fussing, crying or screaming for your attention.
Taking the cycle into your own hands
If your baby is one of those who love to sleep all day and are awake all night, then some “crisis control” is necessary. Below are some simple steps that can help your baby sleep normally at night:
Encourage your toddler by talking and playing with him in the day and also try to limit his nap to no more than two hours. Doing this will tire him out effectively by sunset, making him sleep through most of the night, only to wake up for milk and then promptly falling back asleep again. After repeating this for a few days, your newborn will get use to sleeping longer hours at night instead of in the day.
You can also place him in a noisy environment such as living room during the day to let him nap, so that he may be woken up by common noises that will prevent him from oversleeping. But at night, put him to bed in a quiet, dimly lit room to sleep. This will also adhere to the “day and night” cycle mentioned earlier.
Keeping in tune
Note that the most important key in creating a good sleep routine is to be consistent, most especially in the first few months. Once you follow the routine rigorously, your little baby will be adaptable enough to accept slight adjustments such as a slightly later bedtime.
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