It’s never too late to begin a bedtime routine. We can’t control how long it takes our children to fall asleep, or how often they wake in the night. What we can control, is bed timing, an effective routine and sleep environment. These three factors make all the difference in how your little one sleeps. Children naturally need sleep to recharge their batteries and help their bodies and brains to grow. As adults, we still need good quality sleep to function normally and take care of ourselves and our children. The most healthy, restorative sleep is consolidated sleep. Even though good quality sleep is necessary to be at our best, it is sometimes not easy for little ones to transition to sleep.
Establishing a bedtime routine is important if you and baby are to get the sleep you both so desperately need. Start with choosing what to include in your bedtime routine. This can include: bath/washing hands, baby massage or physio, feeding, story and song. This is just one example. The key is to incorporate your baby’s needs into predictable routine that can be repeated each night.
Newborn note
Your newly born baby will doubtless do a lot of sleeping in the first few weeks. You will probably both spend a lot of time re-energizing and recovering from the whole birthing process, which can be exhausting for mom and baby. However, the sleep may be sporadic as most newly born babies will need to feed every couple of hours, so you’ll need to take advantage of when your baby is dozing and try to sleep at the same time. It is never too early to start doing a routine. Something like a story, feeding and pajamas can be a great start, although, it is not as crucial in these early weeks.
Calm and slow
Take time to introduce your baby’s bedtime routine and be prepared for things not to run smoothly straight away. If you’re in a hurry and are trying to force the routine on your baby without giving them the time to relax and settle before you put them down, then this may serve only to unnerve them and make them restless. Bathe your baby, cuddle them, read or sing to them, but don’t rush things and make sure your baby is calm before you attempt putting them down.
Do your best to let your baby fall asleep on their own
This is not always easy to achieve, but it’s helpful if you can manage to put your baby down to bed while they are awake, and let them fall asleep on their own. This will help them learn to cycle in and out of sleep on their own, since they will not rely so heavily on you to rock them or soothe them to sleep. This can also help your baby learn how to get themselves back to sleep if they wake up in the night and you are not there. If this is tricky for you, we are here to help.
Nap routine
You do not need to spend as long on preparing your baby for a nap routine as you would at night time, but a shortened version of the evening routine may work well for daytime naps. It could be the tail end of your regular night routine, like the same story and song.
Be consistent but adaptable
Your baby’s needs will change as they grow, and while you should try your best to stick to a routine once you’ve established it, you must be prepared to adapt it to your baby’s new needs. For example, if your child is now wishing to choose their own book, go ahead and allow that.
If you’re struggling to establish a bedtime routine with your baby, never be afraid to seek professional help from a baby sleep consultant. Practical advice and guidance is given by Better Bedtime specialists who understand the varying needs of babies, and who have studied sleep patterns and baby behaviour. Our in-person and email or telephone packages demonstrate how best to establish a bedtime routine that works for both you and baby.
Bridget Jensen is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College and is the Canadian Director of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants. Bridget’s calm and supportive demeanor are beneficial while working with families, individuals and workplaces all over Canada and beyond. She is dedicated to helping people get the rest they need, so they can feel at their best during the day. She is founder of Better Bedtime, a full-service sleep consultancy based in Waterloo Region. Services range from one-on-one programs for infants, children and adults to sleep sessions for the workplace.
