Sleeping

The Seven Secrets of Sleep

Sleep starvation is a huge problem for today's parents. Parents today put themselves under immense pressure to be perfect and having a baby who sleeps well is seen as a sign of being successful parents - despite the fact young babies need to feed at night and take months to settle into a good night-time routine. Getting your baby to sleep through the night is every first time parent biggest concern. So here is my special 'Seven Secrets' guide to getting it right:-

Follow a bedtime ritual consistently every night. Babies and toddlers relish routine and ritual, they like to know what's coming next, they like certainty. Treat every hour between 7pm & 7am as night time which means dark and quiet with no talking and no games or activities. Baby will soon understand the difference between night-time and daytime. Never let your baby fall asleep in your arms or while feeding - always lay your baby down awake. Use 'Spaced Soothing' to calm baby and reassure him that you are there for him without having to pick him up. 'Spaced Soothing' techniques are explained fully in the 'Baby Secrets' book. Don't rush to your baby at every sound - many of the noises a baby makes are his attempts to fall asleep. Give your baby a late-night feed or 'dream feed' at the same time every night even if you have to wake him to do so. Continue until he is ready to sleep through the night. Set a base time for his middle of the night feed and never feed before it: stretch that time gradually until your baby sleeps through the night.

A tip for twin babies is to recreate the closeness they experienced in the womb. This can be done by placing them side by side but feet to end. You will know when it is time to separate them, they will wriggle so much they will wake each other.