BABY SLEEP TIPS - SOME TRICKS FOR THE TRANSITION

Baby Sleep Tips - Some Tricks For The Transition

As a new parent, one of your priorities will be to establish good sleeping habits with your
newborn. Your baby needs to learn to sleep on his own; the transition from sleeping with his
mother to sleeping by himself takes some time. Of course, as add added bonus, if you get your
baby to learn to sleep on his own you will also get some much needed rest yourself. To instill
good sleeping habits in your baby, research and try to employ different baby sleep tips: try a lot
of things and see what works for you, and don't be afraid to trust your instincts.

Many baby sleep tips center on the idea of establishing routines and associations for your child
between nighttime and sleep. The sooner you child begins to associate bedtime with sleep, the
more likely he is to be able to go to sleep without a fuss. A period that is often overlooked,
however, in establishing day vs. night associations, is the period of "transition" - that is, the one
between being awake and falling asleep.

 Here are some transitioning techniques to try:
Try what is sometimes called "fathering down." Just before placing the baby into bed, the father
should cradle the baby in such a way that the baby's head rests on the father neck. The father
should then talk gently to the child. Because the male's voice is much deeper than the female's,
babies are often more soothed by it, and will fall asleep more easily after being exposed to it for
some time.

You can also try what is sometimes referred to as "wearing down." This is effective if your baby
has been active throughout the day and is too excited to go to bed easily. All you have to do is
place your baby in a sling or carrier - "wear him" in other words - for about half an hour before
his bedtime. Simply go about your regular household activities: being close to a parent and
slowly rocked about before bedtime will provide your child with an easier transition from being
awake to being asleep.

Finally, if you've exhausted other options, you can go for the tried and true method of "driving
down." Most parents are probably familiar with this as a last resort: place your baby in the car
and drive around for awhile until he falls asleep. This one, while inconvenient, usually works
every time, and if you desperately need some sleep it can be a godsend.

Obviously, you don't want to do things like drive around every night to get your child to sleep.
Nor do you want to have to carry him around in a sling. The idea, though, is to start with these
more drastic techniques and then slowly ease out of them. Keep in mind what a major transition
your baby is going through when he is tiny: he's never slept on his own before. He simply
doesn't know how to transition himself from being awake to being asleep. By employing these
transition techniques you will be slowly teaching him how to do so, and as they are gradually
removed your baby will learn good sleeping habits, which will ensure that both you and your
child get a good night's rest.