How to coax your baby to sleep? Methods to coax your baby to sleep

Babies who cry and refuse to sleep are also a headache for parents. So when it is time to go to bed, what can parents do to make their babies fall asleep peacefully? What are the methods and techniques to let babies fall asleep on their own?

Baby sleeping method

When the baby is 6 months old, try to let him learn to fall asleep naturally, and the less help from parents, the better. Because if parents always have to rely on patting, holding, rocking or feeding to coax the baby to sleep, he will wake up from deep sleep and return to light sleep at night when he feels that no one is coaxing him. He may wake up several times a night and ask parents to coax him to sleep in the same way. Imagine if this happens day after day, wouldn’t your body and mind collapse? Therefore, I want to help parents who have such troubles and recommend this effective method to cultivate babies to fall asleep naturally. Don’t miss it if you pass by!

If you want to coax your child to sleep easily, just rely on these 4 tips!

① When the baby sends out sleepy signals, the mother must receive them.

Just like adults, babies will also make some small movements when they are sleepy, such as rubbing their eyes, yawning, etc. At this time, parents should pay attention to these small movements of the baby, observe the baby's physiological schedule, and then set a suitable sleeping time for him. Because when the baby is sleepy, it is possible to cultivate his habit of falling asleep on his own, so that the effect can be achieved faster.

② Create a comfortable sleeping environment

• Light

Use the difference in light to help your baby distinguish between the environment when awake and asleep. You can draw the curtains during the day to reduce the light intensity, and at night you can turn off all the indoor lights, leaving only a night light, so that your baby won't be too frightened when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

• Bedding

A set of comfortable bedding can help babies fall asleep quickly, but be careful not to place heavy quilts around the bed that may cause suffocation to the baby, so as to avoid accidents.

③ Establish a regular bedtime routine

Before babies go to bed, they normally have a series of ending rituals, such as taking a bath, drinking milk, brushing teeth, telling stories, saying good night... Through these regular bedtime rituals, it is equivalent to giving the baby the instruction "go to bed after doing these things", thereby helping the baby develop the cognition of falling asleep.

④ Provide appropriate comfort and substitution

Not holding or rocking a baby does not mean there are no other soothing methods. Babies at this stage need the love and care of their parents, and a close parent-child relationship is also helpful for the baby's psychological development. However, the soothing method should still be aimed at helping the baby gradually get used to falling asleep on his own.

• Gentle touch

Before the baby falls asleep or when he wakes up occasionally, parents can pat or massage the baby's body to help him calm down and fall asleep quickly.

• Whisper in the ear

Most babies like to hear their mother's voice, so before going to bed, you might as well sing lullabies to your baby or talk softly in his ear, so that your baby can fall asleep in the familiar voice.

• Comfort items

When parents are training their babies to fall asleep on their own, they can buy them a few dolls as substitutes for their comfort. This way, if the baby wakes up in the middle of the night, it will be easier for them to fall asleep again by themselves by holding their favorite and familiar dolls. Of course, it is not recommended to have only one comfort item, because if the baby is overly dependent on a certain item, they may have to face the trouble of quitting dependence on comfort items again in the future. In addition, babies who have the habit of sleeping with milk can use pacifiers appropriately, but parents must pay attention and take them away immediately after the baby falls asleep to prevent the baby from being overly dependent on the pacifier.

How to teach your baby to fall asleep on his own

How to make your baby learn to fall asleep by himself, 5 tips to make your baby learn to fall asleep by himself Many mothers can't bear to hear their children crying. In fact, adults must set rules, and insist that the house is not quiet for a few days and let the baby sleep by himself. No matter how old the child is, he will understand what you say very well, and he will naturally change the bad habit of sleeping in your arms when he is held. You must be firm in your thoughts and gentle in your attitude. It will definitely work after a period of time. Have confidence!

1. Gradually fix the baby's sleeping time.

Although babies of a few months old sleep most of the time and need to sleep anytime and anywhere, mothers can consciously cultivate their babies to sleep at certain fixed times. Mothers should pay attention to the baby's usual yawning, rubbing eyes and other actions, and arrange fixed times, such as 10 o'clock in the morning and 2 o'clock after meals.

2. The environment for falling asleep alone is very important.

Before going to bed, make sure your child is well fed and in a good mood. Before going to bed, dim the lights in the room, keep it quiet, and play or sing a lullaby to your baby. You can choose some songs that your baby likes in 3/4 or slow 4 beats. Any slow and gentle songs will do.

3. Remember to say "Baby, it's time to sleep." every time.

Put your baby in his own crib. For the first few times, you can stay with him for a while, pat him gently, touch his head, back and other parts gently, and then softly say "Baby, it's time to sleep." (No matter whether he can understand it or not, insist on saying the same thing to him softly before going to bed every time, so that he will know in the future that when you say this word, it means it's time to go to sleep.) After a while, you only need to put your baby in the bed, tell him "Baby, it's time to sleep", and then walk out of the room, and he will soon calm down and fall asleep.

4. Divert the baby's attention.

Hang some interesting and beautiful things on your child’s crib, such as balloons and cartoon-shaped toys (don’t hang them too high, just keep them out of the way for him to touch them), to attract his attention. Let him play by himself, and he will fall asleep naturally when he is tired.

5. Sleeping on your side can give your baby a sense of security.

Let the baby lie on the bed without the mother's arms, the baby may cry loudly. The mother should not be heartless when the baby starts crying, and quickly hug him. Pat him gently and try to turn the baby sideways. The mother also sleeps sideways next to the baby, comforting and coaxing him. Generally, the baby will fall asleep after sleeping next to the adult for a while.

3 dangerous ways to coax your baby to sleep

Well-rested children may have more energy and prefer to play outside rather than lie in bed watching TV. Tired children are more likely to look for food when they are irritable. At the same time, adequate sleep can promote the secretion of hormones that regulate appetite and glucose metabolism in the body; lack of sleep can affect carbohydrate metabolism in the body, resulting in impaired glucose tolerance and affecting body weight.

Dangerous practice 1: rocking to sleep - why do children cry at night

If your baby is crying, please try psychological treatment. When your baby is crying or has trouble sleeping, some young mothers will hold the baby in their arms or rock the baby in a cradle. The harder the baby cries, the harder the mother will rock the baby until the baby falls asleep.

Little do people know that this practice is very harmful to the baby, because the shaking action causes the baby's brain to swing constantly in the skull cavity. The immature brain will collide with the harder skull, causing small blood vessels in the brain to rupture, causing "mild concussion syndrome", concussion and intracranial hemorrhage.

Dangerous practice 2: Sleeping with toys? Not recommended!

From the moment the baby is born, he should be actively encouraged to sleep alone and develop the habit. Even a newborn should not sleep in the same bed with his mother. If the mother is not careful after falling asleep, she may fall on the baby and cause suffocation and death. A survey in the United States confirmed this, that is, letting babies sleep alone can reduce the sudden death rate by 60%.

In addition, if the mother sleeps with the baby for a long time, the baby will develop a "mother complex" psychology. When the baby reaches kindergarten or even elementary school age, it will be difficult for the baby to be separated from the mother. As a result, the baby will be prone to school phobia and test anxiety in the future, which is not good for the baby's physical and mental development.

Cultivating the habit of sleeping alone usually starts at the age of 1. Babies of this age fall asleep quickly and have a certain degree of autonomy. Using these characteristics to encourage babies to sleep alone will make them more receptive.

Dangerous practice three: Sleeping on your stomach increases the risk of sudden infant death

Foreign experts have found that sudden infant death syndrome is related to sleeping posture, especially prone sleeping with face down, which is the most dangerous. The reason is that babies generally cannot turn over by themselves, and cannot actively avoid obstacles in front of their mouths and noses. Therefore, when the respiratory tract is blocked, they can only absorb very little air and lack oxygen. In addition, the digestive organs are not fully developed. When the stomach moves and the intragastric pressure increases, food will flow back, blocking the already very narrow respiratory tract, causing sudden infant death.

Experts have found that the safest sleeping position for babies is to sleep on their backs, which can keep their airways unobstructed and avoid sudden infant death syndrome to a certain extent. According to statistics, since the promotion of the supine sleeping method in the United States, the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome, which was once high, has dropped significantly, from about 5,000 deaths per year to less than 3,000. This is worth learning from for mothers.

Many mothers worry about their babies having accidents while sleeping, so they often hug their babies while they sleep. In fact, doing so actually increases the chances of accidents.

Sleeping with your baby in your arms makes it difficult for the baby to breathe fresh air. Instead, the baby mostly inhales the dirty air in the quilt, which can make the baby sick easily.

It may make the baby develop a bad habit of feeding as soon as he wakes up, making it difficult to form regular feeding schedules, thus hampering the baby's appetite and digestive function;

It limits the baby's free movement during sleep, making it difficult for the baby to stretch his body, affecting normal blood circulation. If the mother sleeps too soundly and accidentally blocks the baby's nostrils with the nipple, it may cause suffocation and other serious consequences.