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Teaching Your Baby to Put Himself to Sleep

How do you get your baby to go to sleep and sleep through the night?

He may accomplish that milestone on his own, soon. Or he may need a little help from you to learn how to put himself to sleep, not just at bedtime but throughout the night.

Wake your baby when you put her down to sleep.

Most newborns and babies will cry if they are put down alone when they're sleepy. There's a reason. They desperately want to sleep, but they need a safe place to do that. And they're hard-wired to know that only your arms provide that safe place. After all, babies who were put down in a jungle to sleep were probably eaten by wild animals. The babies who protested until they were held by their parents were more likely to survive and pass their genes on to us. So human babies go into a panic when they're put down to sleep, and all that adrenalin wakes them up and makes it harder to settle. While there aren't yet good studies about the lasting effects on the baby, it can't be good for a baby to regularly experience the panic of crying for a parent who doesn't come.

So work WITH Mother Nature, not against her. Go ahead and comfort your baby to sleep. But once she's sleeping, when you go to put her down in her crib or bassinet, jostle her a bit when you put her down. Just enough to wake her slightly. I know, you've just worked so hard to get her to sleep that this will take real courage on your part. But just decide that you'll always include this little jostling as part of the process.

Usually, babies find it easiest if you start by rocking them. Yes, this is another sleep "crutch." But it's an easier sleep association to break than sucking is.


Help your little one learn to fall asleep lying still (in your arms).

Once she's used to falling asleep being rocked or walked instead of eating, the next phase is to get her to fall asleep without rocking. So you begin with rocking, but then, before she is actually asleep, you stop rocking, and just sit, holding her calmly. If she protests, begin rocking again. Keep repeating this. It may take 25 attempts, but eventually she will begin falling asleep even though you have stopped rocking. That’s a real victory.

Do this for a week or so until she's used to it as your new routine: getting sleepy while rocking and then falling asleep in your arms while not rocking.

Help your little one learn to fall asleep in his bed.

The next step is to wait until your baby is almost asleep in the chair with you holding him, then stand and hold him still in your arms in his sleeping position (on his back) until he is almost asleep and accepts the stillness. If he protests, rock him in your arms as he falls asleep, while you’re standing. Again, do this for a week until he is used to this routine.

Touch instead of holding, in her bed.

Eventually, you will be able to put your baby in the crib and hold her there while she falls asleep, because she will not need rocking any more. Then you move to touching, but not holding, your baby, while she falls asleep in the crib. Eventually, she will be able to fall asleep with you simply holding her hand. Keep doing this until she accepts it as your new routine -- getting sleepy rocking, but then being put into her bed lying on her back and falling asleep there, holding your hand. At some point, you can substitute a toy instead of your finger.

source: Aha! Parenting

Nutcrackers Daycare Academy We are a family owned and operated academy that provides children with a strong foundation to begin their lives. Our teachers are highly trained and extremely attentive to support your child’s desire to explore and discover. Our passionate staff values the relationships we have with our families and work hard to involve them in all our activities and decisions. Our facility provides an openness inside and out for a child to feel free to explore, create, and learn in a safe, loving and developmentally appropriate environment. Contact at 713-842-7796.

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