Maybe I was blessed with a good sleeper. Or maybe we got lucky in guessing how to get our son to sleep. Either way, something we are doing has worked. My son just turned two and for over a year he has been a consistent 12 hour a night sleeper. He also takes a 2+ hour nap every afternoon. I do not think that I know it all about putting children to sleep, because I do know that every child is so different. However, I would love to share what 5 things worked for my family. This is what we will be doing with our second baby as well.
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Consistent Bed Time
When my son Jude was only a month old, we would put him down for bedtime at 7:00pm. During the day for naps, we would trust his body and timing, but for evening bedtime it would be 7:00pm. Two years later, his bedtime is 7:30-7:45pm. We found that putting him down consistently at the same time starting as a very young baby helped his body get into that routine and that timing stuck with him.
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‘Lovey’ to Sleep With
When Jude was born there were a lot of things I did not want him to sleep with. I didn’t want him to become dependent on things that may not always be available to him (in travel or staying anywhere else). What I did give him was a NuNu – which is the head of a stuffed animal attached to a small square of blanket fabric – and lay it right next to his head. The soft animal was a comfort for him. He knew it was bedtime when he felt the soft fabric on his skin. Now that he is old enough, he has a soft blanket made out of the same material as his ‘nigh-nigh’ blanket. The connection to soft fabric triggered that it was bedtime for him.
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White Noise
I was never a fan of white noise when I had Jude. I felt that it would hinder his sleep. Or make him rely on sound for comfort instead of being able to soothe himself. After about a year, my husband put a small fan in his room that gives off a humming noise. I actually think that it was a wonderful switch. The sound not only helps him to sleep but also blocks out the noises of the house outside his room. I don’t need to tiptoe around his door or wait to flush toilets and do dishes. I am not a fan of music white noise, but I do think that adding the hum of the fan has helped Jude sleep so well.
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Calm Down Time
This is more for the babies past 6-9 months once they have started moving around. It is important to give your child time to rest before bedtime each night. It is easy to give them snacks (especially sugar for the older ones) after dinner and watch them run around and play, but their little bodies need time to rest and cool down before bedtime. I will give Jude his last bit of food by 6:30pm. Then we limit activities to quiet ones like reading, bath time, and watching a show before he gets his pajamas on.
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Putting to Bed While Awake
This is one of those best practices that is so much easier said than done. Once your child is calm, it is good to lay them down while they are not fully asleep so they can learn how to put themselves to sleep without needing to be rocked or held. I was not always successful at this, and Jude still wants us in the room when he is falling asleep, but I know that this step is huge to master at a younger age.
I hope a few of these things that helped my family with our little guy will also work for you! What has been your trick for getting your little ones to sleep?
