From birth, each baby has its own character, some are calm, cry little and sleep a lot, while others cry often and only take short naps. Sleep needs vary from one baby to another. But when baby is particularly restless, falling asleep is often problematic. Here are a few tips to help calm your baby and make it easier to fall asleep.
Baby’s sleep ritual
To fall asleep well, baby needs to feel secure, he needs a familiar and reassuring environment, to sleep in his own bed, to be accompanied by an object he loves, often his cuddly toy, and to respect a ritual. The bedtime ritual often includes reading a story, a cuddle, a little rhyme or listening to soft music. At the end of the ritual, it is best to leave the room before baby falls asleep so that he learns to fall asleep alone.
But be careful, the bedtime ritual must not be an opportunity for the baby to put off falling asleep. Set yourself a time limit of about 15 minutes and stick to it. It is important to set limits for children from 6 months onwards, otherwise falling asleep will become increasingly long and difficult.
The first signs of baby sleeping
Watch for the first signs of your child falling asleep. At the end of the day, after the bath and dinner, certain signs betray the toddler’s need for sleep: baby cries for no reason, rubs his eyes, yawns, take advantage of these signs to put baby to bed before the sleep train passes... and you have to wait for the next one! If baby starts to cry when you put him in his bed, don’t panic, some children need to cry to fall asleep, these cries generally don’t last more than 15 minutes. Don’t force yourself to stop all your activities when baby is in bed, total silence is not compulsory, on the contrary, familiar noises are reassuring for infants and will help them to fall asleep.
Don’t suppress baby’s nap
If baby has trouble falling asleep in the evening, don’t cut out the afternoon nap thinking that he will sleep better in the evening. On the contrary, if baby is too tired, he will often find it more difficult to calm down and fall asleep. Naps are essential up to the age of 3, just make sure they do not exceed 90 minutes.
Limit the amount of noise in the evening. Create a peaceful atmosphere with soft music, subdued lighting, calming essential oils and limit conflicts between adults and with other children. If baby is very agitated, you can give him a light massage on the top of his head or on his tummy, which will have a soothing and reassuring effect!
Do not disturb baby while he is sleeping!
Do not watch your child while he is sleeping, you risk waking him up and worrying for nothing because sleep is divided into several phases, including a restless sleep phase and a calmer sleep phase. During restless sleep, the child moves, makes faces, breathes irregularly and may even moan. It is important not to wake up your baby during this period, because during this stage he is recording all the learning of the day and regulating his emotions. During the period of calm sleep, baby’s sleep is deeper, he doesn’t move anymore and seems more peaceful, this is the period when he grows physically.
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