Keith Whiting is the founder of www.DreamsAndLullabies.com a website devoted to children’s lullabies, baby songs and nursery rhymes. Read other articles and Sign Up for a Free Monthly Newsletter filled with important information and valuable advice on healthcare, sleep problems, nutrition, parenting, etc.
Almost every new parent has experienced the frustration of trying to get a fussy baby to sleep. For some it is an occasional problem for others it is a constant nightmare. You spend hours trying to get your baby to sleep, only to find, a few hours later they are awake and crying. You get them back to sleep, only to face the same thing a few hours later. After a few nights of this, you start to wonder if you will ever get a good night’s sleep again.
Baby sleep problems can have many causes and it’s important that you rule out obvious things like hunger, pain or illness. Assuming it isn’t one of those problems then try to set a series of bedtime rituals to calm your baby and get them ready to sleep.
Over stimulation is a major cause of baby sleep problems. Noise, television, videos, loud music, raised voices are things we all deal with every day. For adults we learn to live with and ignore these things, even though they may cause us stress. For babies everything is new, their ears are more sensitive than ours, and the only way they can handle stress is by crying, or in extreme cases getting sick.
Well before you want your baby to sleep you must reduce stimulation. Turn off the television, keep conversation levels low, close windows if you live on a noisy street and play calming music.
93% of parents surveyed report that playing calming music helps create a relaxing and calming environment, which not only calms their baby, but also helps to relax themselves, and helps solve their baby sleep problems.
Set consistent rituals for bedtime – music, bath, nursing, rocking etc. It isn’t necessary to do exactly the same thing every time but provide a set of rituals that will make it obvious to your baby that it is time to get ready to sleep and he or she will learn to associate the ritual with sleep. Once they are used to a specific set of bedtime rituals you will find they go to sleep easier and sleep longer.
In every culture and every country music is used to calm fussy babies. Whether playing baby lullabies on a CD or by mothers singing. Even animals vocalize to calm their offspring - a cat’s purr reassures her kittens and lulls them to sleep. Find some calming music, baby lullaby CDs are perfect, but it can be classical music, jazz, new age, or anything that you and your baby enjoy. Turn the volume down low and see your baby sleep problems disappear as both your baby and you relax, and your baby drifts off to sleep.
Leave the music playing once your baby falls asleep. Then if your baby wakes she will soon drift off again.
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