Friday, March 2, 2012

Getting baby on a sleep schedule


Between months 4 and 6 your baby will be capable of sleeping through the night but don’t be upset if they still wake up once or twice. If they do sleep through the night it can be around 8-12 hours. This way you can finally get some sleep after dealing with all those sleepless nights in the beginning. It can be very frustrating if your baby still wakes up a few times but they have their reasons. Your baby might just want some cuddle time with you or they may be trying to learn how to sit up and rolls over that they even do so while they are sleeping which can wake them up. Around 6 months you should try to get your baby on a regular nap and night time sleep schedule. You can tell when your baby is getting sleepy when they start to tug on their ear, rub their eyes etc. Try and get a schedule going that flows with your life style as much as possible. Pick a set name time or numerous nap times depending upon how long your little one stays asleep.

 My baby just turned 6 months old so we are starting to get a routine down. I can tell I will have a difficult time with it because one day he will take two or three 15 minute naps then the next day he will take a three hour one. His bed times are always different sometimes it is between 8-9pm other days its 10:30-11pm. I swear sometimes he knows when it is the weekend because he tends to stay up later on Friday and Saturday nights. What I am trying to do and what everyone should do at night I develop a routine that you do right before bedtime so your little one will know it is time for bed. I always give him a bath right before bed, but you could also read a bed time story or sing the baby a song, then end it with a kiss goodnight. Try to do things in the same order at the same time every night to get the routine down pact.

Some parents even resort to the cry it out method after a long period of trying to get a routine down does not work. This is not easy especially for those who really cannot stand to her their little bundle upset. You have to put them in their room every night at the same time. Let them cry it out for 5 minutes if they do not stop go in rub their tummy and speak softly tell them it is okay. Every night you should extend the time period by 5 minutes so 10 minutes then 15 minutes and so on. Eventually your baby will get the hint and they will just know it is time for bed.  It is not going to happen right away but just be patient it will happen eventually.

                                                             Pictures are of my baby boy :)

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