In my experience, having a baby can be a major bomb in your life. It has so much impact that even the littlest and shortest nap and relax moment in your day can be affected.
So what happens when you are getting ready to sleep, you are tired from work or from doing household chores and you are already sleepy, but your baby is not yet sleepy? That can be nerve wrecking. But don't worry, there are ways to make your baby sleep faster.
If your baby is just weeks or a month to four months old, they will still be used to dark and quiet environment. Try your best to imitate the ambience inside your womb, of course you wouldn't know how it was in there, but hey, some say it is dark and quiet. So try to close the lights, turn off the TV and hug your baby until he or she falls asleep.
Once your baby reaches 5 months and above, when they start to roll and to move around the bed, then it becomes different. There are 2 scenarios that I can see here:
1. Your baby still wants to play and is not ready to fall asleep.
What you can do about this situation is to turn off the lights. Don't force your baby to lie down, just close the light but make sure you are there to guide your baby so that they won't fall off the bed or bump their head in the wall. Just wait, after a few minutes, your baby will get bored because she can't see anything that will grab her attention, she will lie down willingly. When she does, make sure to tap her thighs until she falls asleep.
2. Your baby is cranky and crying their eyes out.
This situation can be scary for any mom. When a baby is crying, you won't know what is wrong, she might be hungry, she might be uncomfortable or worst she might be in pain. But just to take away some of your worries, some babies are normally cranky during the late afternoon until the evening. The reason behind this, according to what I have read, is that they are looking for their mother's scent and comfort. Another thing that makes a baby cranky at night is when they are already sleepy but they can't find a comfortable position. When this happens you have to be patient and move your baby around and let her try different positions until she finds the one she is comfortable in.
You can also carry her and rock her, you can add a little singing and humming to make her sleepy. Make sure to try different positions too even if you are standing and carrying her.
Of course not all babies are the same, but feel free to try what works best for your baby. The bottomline is, you have to be patient in trying out what your baby wants, because you are their only chance of relaying what they want to say.
Here are some general tips on how to make your baby fall asleep that I have learned through experience:
• When she is playing and doesn't want to lie down, close your eyes every time she looks at you, so that she'll know it is time to sleep.
• Don't let her sleep until 5pm or later. This will ruin their night sleep if their afternoon nap is too long.
• If you are breastfeeding, once she moves give her your breast immediately, in this way, her sleepiness will not have a chance to escape her.
• Stick to a routine. Try to make her fall asleep in a fixed time everyday.
• Have a bedtime schedule. For example, make her sleep after taking a bath. So in the evening, when she takes a bath, she'll know it is time to sleep after.
• If she falls asleep while you are carrying her, don't put her in your bed immediately. Lie down with her on top of you for a couple of minutes more to let her sleep deepen before you put her down.
There you go, those are some general tips that I learned in making Asti fall asleep. I hope I was able to help you get your baby fall asleep.
Here is what we look like a while ago when I made her sleep.
Haggard but happy mommy.
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