The internet is full of cute videos, however when you find something that claims to be both cute and helpful, it becomes an instant hit! Case in point, the recent viral video that showed a dad putting his baby to sleep in less than 60 seconds, using nothing but a piece of tissue! Yes 42 seconds to be exact and with a cute baby being magically lulled to sleep with only a piece of non-chloroformed tissue, what new parent wouldn’t want to learn this trick?
There is an old joke that goes “Last night I slept like a baby. I woke up three times, wet myself twice and cried myself back to sleep.” New parents know all too well the sleepless nights that a new baby can bring and although each baby is different, let’s take a look at three of the more common techniques for getting baby off to a good start.
1. Ferberizing:
One of the most popular getting-baby-to-sleep techniques, is the Ferber method, created by Doctor Richard Ferber.
Doctor Ferber believes that you can get your babies to make associations with falling asleep. So for example, rocking your baby to sleep, having them fall asleep at the breast or with a bottle, causes baby to associate these activities with sleep. According to Dr. Ferber, you have to teach baby how to fall asleep without theses cues. Using the Ferber method, you put baby down for the night and when he starts to cry you let him cry, first for 5 mins, then you go in and comfort him. When you leave and he begins to cry again, you wait for another 10 min before going back into the room. This continues with you extending the time you stay away until he falls asleep!
2. Co-Sleeping:
With co-sleeping, baby sleeps with you. In this scenario baby sleeps in the parental bed every night, not just occasionally. Some proponents believe that the baby is comforted knowing that mommy and of course food, if you’re breast feeding is never far away, thus helping them and you, to a better night’s rest. For baby’s safety, it is better to have a smaller cot attached to your bed, so that baby is not actually in the same bed as you but close enough.
3.Teach you baby the difference between day and night:
Even before birth you might have been able to tell whether your baby would be an early bird or a night owl? Was baby quiet during the day and overly active at night? Well you can expect about the same once she’s born, so what can you do to retrain that clock?
Some suggestions include, keeping baby active during the day, keeping the rooms bright and lively with lots of sounds and activities and then slowing things down at night, by dimming the lights and quieting things down. Create a nighttime routine that ends with her being put down to sleep. This should help her to understand that daytime is for play, whilst nighttime is for sleep.
Every baby is unique:
Now this is the most crucial thing to remember when adopting any technique for getting baby to bed. As one mom on the Today Show proved, the tissue over the face technique, did not work for her baby. The more she ran the tissue over her daughters’ face, the more her baby giggled pulled at it and Oh God, woke up! Instead of lulling her baby to sleep, it stimulated her! Ultimately, you’ll quickly learn what works for you and your precious little one
Links to all the techniques mentioned can be found below. Tell us, how did you get your baby to sleep through the night? We’d love to hear from you.
Ferber method; Co-Sleeping; Put baby to sleep video
Katyan is the owner of Kleon Media Marketing, where they build social media presence. She joins the Baby Babble Team as a Top Blogger and a Radio Presenter.
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