Bedtime routines for quality sleep results
I told you I had more to say on this subject.
Lately, Buddy has been straying from his daily bedtime. It's been getting later and later and the day before yesterday he cried for over an hour before falling asleep (a sign of being overtired).
If there's one thing I refuse to have is an overtired child. So, yesterday I resolved to get him back on track.
I realized that in the past week, BG has been "helping" me put him to bed. Essentially, this means that she's inadvertently been winding him up instead of down, therefore making him overtired and cranky.
Buddy's new bedtime routine is as follows:
A long bath full of toys and splashing around; dinner, a bottle, a book or two (if he lets me), then a lullaby and finally, bed.
I started this routine on Friday. After all this I fully expected him to scream his head off for another hour upon being put down (way earlier than is customary). However, being that he was already very tired, he fussed for five minutes and went right to sleep.
I read that the key to a bedtime routine is consistency because falling asleep is a learned behavior which then becomes habit. After a while of doing the same routine, baby will begin to associate the routine with the tiredness he/she feels and will eventually be able to soothe him/herself to sleep without assistance. I know it sounds like a lot of work and it is time consuming. But think of it as an investment; a really good investment. If you sacrifice the time now, your baby will learn the very useful habit that is sleep and when he/she is older, you won't have to work as hard.
My book lists some great bedtime routines:
If the kids wake up in the middle of the night, I usually give them about 10 minutes before I go to them. More often than not, they are tired enough that they don't fully wake up and they go back to sleep on their own. Going in at this point only serves to wake them up and over stimulate them. By allowing baby to fall back asleep on his/her own, not only will you feel triumphant, you will also be proud of baby for learning the ever important lesson of self soothing.
People who know me call me the sleep Nazi... because I will not miss naps for an outing. Because I will not budge on the sleeping routine. Because I get so upset when I see other kids at the grocery after 9pm.
But, being armed with so much knowledge, doesn't always make much difference. You can imagine my horror when I saw this:
Sleeping in the high chair is for those poor, little, sleep-deprived babies on America's Funniest Videos. It's for kids who do not have a sleep schedule. For kids who... er... for my kid, apparently.
I was floored when one second he was drinking his bottle and the next he closed his eyes and started snoring; right in the middle of a meal! After wondering where I'd gone wrong, I realized that Buddy had a fever. Poor little guy, it knocked him out! Despite myself, I let him sleep in there for half an hour before he probably felt me staring, and woke up. In spite of this cat nap, he went right down at night.
Moral of the story: Don't take yourself too seriously! As long as your kids are well rested enough, you'll all be happier for it!
Sweet Dreams!
**Reference taken from my favorite book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.
Lately, Buddy has been straying from his daily bedtime. It's been getting later and later and the day before yesterday he cried for over an hour before falling asleep (a sign of being overtired).
If there's one thing I refuse to have is an overtired child. So, yesterday I resolved to get him back on track.
I realized that in the past week, BG has been "helping" me put him to bed. Essentially, this means that she's inadvertently been winding him up instead of down, therefore making him overtired and cranky.
Buddy's new bedtime routine is as follows:
A long bath full of toys and splashing around; dinner, a bottle, a book or two (if he lets me), then a lullaby and finally, bed.
I started this routine on Friday. After all this I fully expected him to scream his head off for another hour upon being put down (way earlier than is customary). However, being that he was already very tired, he fussed for five minutes and went right to sleep.
I read that the key to a bedtime routine is consistency because falling asleep is a learned behavior which then becomes habit. After a while of doing the same routine, baby will begin to associate the routine with the tiredness he/she feels and will eventually be able to soothe him/herself to sleep without assistance. I know it sounds like a lot of work and it is time consuming. But think of it as an investment; a really good investment. If you sacrifice the time now, your baby will learn the very useful habit that is sleep and when he/she is older, you won't have to work as hard.
My book lists some great bedtime routines:
Before bedtime, reduce the amount of stimulation. This means quiet things down, dim the lights, light play, and slow movements.
The room should be quiet, dark, and warm (but not too warm).
A nice long bath and/or massage with smooth, gentle motions.
Dressing for sleep.
Swaddling if this is comforting to baby using a warm blanket out of the dryer.
Consistent quiet music, a lullaby, humming, or quiet singing.
Consistent favorite books, words, sounds, phrases, or poems.
Feeding.
Baby may be put down drowsy but awake (but do not wake baby up if already asleep).
And, finally, do NOT rush in at the first sound baby makes.**
The room should be quiet, dark, and warm (but not too warm).
A nice long bath and/or massage with smooth, gentle motions.
Dressing for sleep.
Swaddling if this is comforting to baby using a warm blanket out of the dryer.
Consistent quiet music, a lullaby, humming, or quiet singing.
Consistent favorite books, words, sounds, phrases, or poems.
Feeding.
Baby may be put down drowsy but awake (but do not wake baby up if already asleep).
And, finally, do NOT rush in at the first sound baby makes.**
If the kids wake up in the middle of the night, I usually give them about 10 minutes before I go to them. More often than not, they are tired enough that they don't fully wake up and they go back to sleep on their own. Going in at this point only serves to wake them up and over stimulate them. By allowing baby to fall back asleep on his/her own, not only will you feel triumphant, you will also be proud of baby for learning the ever important lesson of self soothing.
People who know me call me the sleep Nazi... because I will not miss naps for an outing. Because I will not budge on the sleeping routine. Because I get so upset when I see other kids at the grocery after 9pm.
But, being armed with so much knowledge, doesn't always make much difference. You can imagine my horror when I saw this:
Sleeping in the high chair is for those poor, little, sleep-deprived babies on America's Funniest Videos. It's for kids who do not have a sleep schedule. For kids who... er... for my kid, apparently.I was floored when one second he was drinking his bottle and the next he closed his eyes and started snoring; right in the middle of a meal! After wondering where I'd gone wrong, I realized that Buddy had a fever. Poor little guy, it knocked him out! Despite myself, I let him sleep in there for half an hour before he probably felt me staring, and woke up. In spite of this cat nap, he went right down at night.
Moral of the story: Don't take yourself too seriously! As long as your kids are well rested enough, you'll all be happier for it!
Sweet Dreams!
**Reference taken from my favorite book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.
My son was having a horrible time getting to sleep a while ago. So, i got hold of some info very close to what you wrote about setting a routine to soothe the child to sleep. Ours involves a vitamin, brushing our teeth, reading a book (or 2), saying "night-night" to the animals and putting THEM to bed, and finally some music. I took about 2-3 nights before it worked. But, when he got the idea, it works like a charm! Of course, some nights are still better than others, but if we keep it up i'm hoping to pare it down a bit so that instead of 25-30 minutes it will take maybe 15-20. I have high hopes for the future. We'll just see how the new baby changes it in September! (haha)
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