LITMIR.BIZ

      Wearing down in a sling.

Rocking or walking down. Try rocking baby to sleep in a bedside rocking chair, or walk with baby, patting her back and singing. To keep the motion going (and keep baby asleep), ease her into a cradle and continue the rocking motion at a rate of about sixty rocks per minute. This is the heartbeat rhythm your baby was used to in the womb.

      Swinging down. Try a bedside baby hammock. For most babies, motion, not stillness, signals sleep. Remember how your baby used to sleep during the day when you were pregnant but kept you awake at night when you lay down to sleep. When you were up and around, the motion of your body soothed her into sleep. When you were still, she woke up.

      Wind-up swings for winding down babies are a boon to parents when their arms are wearing out. Some infants find the mechanical swing less interesting, if not downright boring, compared to being in the arms of a human being. So, off to sleep they go. Yet some babies are notoriously resistant to mechanical mother substitutes and will protest anything less than the real Mum. Before you actually spend money on a swing, you might want to borrow one for a week or two to see if the spell of the swing will work for your baby. You may discover that you are uncomfortable with mechanical mothering and decide that your baby is better off in your arms.

      Driving down. If you’ve tried all the above transitioning techniques and baby still resists falling asleep, place baby in a car seat and drive around until he falls asleep. When you return home and baby is in a deep sleep, carry the infant car seat (with the sleeping baby) into your bedroom and let baby remain in the car seat until the first night waking. If he is in a deep sleep, you may be able to ease him out of the car seat into his own bed.

      Using props. Called transitional objects or “cuddlies”, these are favourite toys that help children more easily transition from the familiar and interesting waking world to the world of sleep. Transitional objects should be cuddly, but safe. (See “Sleep Safety”). Rolling over on plastic toys may awaken baby.

Transitional touch. If baby starts to stir as you try to slip her out of your arms or ease away from her in bed, offer the laying on of hands. Place your hand on baby’s chest or tummy and leave it there until she drifts back to sleep. This extra touch is especially important in babies who have a hard time transitioning from your arms into the Moses basket or cot. They need this transitional touch to stay fully asleep. It can save you a trip back to the rocking chair, to soothe an awakened baby back to sleep.

      The scent of mother. Leaving in the cot a breast pad or t-shirt mother wore all day may help baby transition from the whole mother at night.

      Music to sleep by. A parent softly singing a lullaby is the classic sound cue for babies to go to sleep. Quiet instrumental music is another traditional favourite. Here are some creative ways you can use sound to soothe baby to sleep:

       I saved one song, our sleep song, for when it was time to go to sleep. She learned to associate that song with falling asleep.

      need more sound advice?