<<back to SLEEP topics

How can you help your baby fall asleep faster?  How can you settle your toddler down for bed when he struggles to stay awake or is wound up at bedtime?  Is there a best position for babies’ sleep? How can you prevent SIDS?

Sleep is a crucial part of your baby’s development.  However, nighttime waking will happen and how you handle it may determine how long your baby stays awake.  You must be committed!  Patience, kindness, and firmness when helping your baby return to sleep are important.  Bedtime routines are also a great way to prepare your child for sleep after being active and awake during the day. 

Bedtime routines help your baby fall asleep faster.

Routines make bedtime easier for both parents and growing babies.  It’s a good idea to begin creating a bedtime routine that helps your baby relax.  While newborns don’t usually understand a routine, starting one early will make bedtime much less difficult for you and your baby as she gets older. 

Start the bedtime routine at the same time, in the same place, and with a calming activity each night.  This will begin to signal to your baby that it’s time for bed.  If your child is older, talk with her and decide on a quiet and calming activity that you can do together before it’s time to go to bed.

Great ideas for bedtime routines:

• Turn the lights down low.
• Give your baby a warm bedtime bath.
• Cuddle and rock your baby.
• Read or sing to your baby.

Be consistent with the bedtime routines – if you go back and forth between letting your baby cry and attending every peep, she will not learn to sleep on her own after waking in the night.

It’s also helpful to put your baby in bed when she is sleepy but awake.  Placing your baby in her crib when she is still awake helps her learn how to put herself to sleep. 

Links to help you find bedtime reading:

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has a web site devoted to books, songs, and games for you and your child.  This link will take you to their “Recommended Books for Growing Minds” site, but from this page you can also link to many other fun activities you can play with your baby to encourage reading and thinking skills.
http://pbskids.org/lions/books

Reading is Fundamental has a web site filled with book suggestions for children of all ages.  You can browse by age, category, author, or browse the entire collection.  The web site also includes fun activities for kids and parents.  Reading is Fundamental is an organization dedicated to developing and delivering children and family literacy programs.
http://www.rifreadingplanet.org/rif/?pa=library&action=browse_all_main

Avoid these things before bedtime:

• Avoid active or excited play before bedtime.
• Don’t feed or allow your child to drink or eat a lot just before bedtime.
• Scary stories, movies, or cartoons can cause your child to fear sleep or darkness.
• Don’t put your baby to bed with a bottle (see Baby bottle tooth decay).

When your baby struggles at bedtime—“I don’t wanna go to bed” 

Keep telling yourself, “This is just a stage my child is going through, and it will be over soon!”  It’s best not to get frustrated or angry when your child doesn’t want to go to bed.  Remember to be kind as you stick to the bedtime routine and enforce the rules.

There are often reasons why your child cannot sleep or does not want to go to bed. These include:

• discomfort, such as teething pain or illness (see Introduction to Dental Health)
• stress, such as family changes, moving, illness
• separation anxiety: “Where’s Mommy?  Where’s Daddy?” (see Sleep Disturbances)
• body temperature: too hot or too cold
• too much noise coming from the next room
• scared of the dark or of sleeping (see Sleep Disturbances)

Back to Sleep: Sleeping position is important!

If your baby is healthy, place her on her back when it’s bedtime, not on her stomach.  Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is significantly cut when babies are placed on their backs to sleep.  There are exceptions to this rule, so please check with your pediatrician to figure out the best sleep position for your new baby.  For more information on SIDS, click here.

When your baby wakes in the night

If your baby wakes crying in the middle of the night, check on her to make sure she is not in trouble or uncomfortable.  Responding to your baby’s crying lets her know that you are aware of her needs and care about her.

Here are some tips on returning your baby to sleep:

• If your baby needs feeding or a changed diaper during the night, keep the lights down low or off and make little noise.
• If your baby needs only comforting, simply reassure her that everything is okay through soft pats and calming words.
• Put your baby back in her crib or bassinet to sleep.

If your baby continues to cry, wait a few minutes before going back in and repeating these three steps.  Sometimes she will fall back to sleep on her own after just a few minutes. 

Although it’s easy to become frustrated, remember to remain patient and calm.  Your baby will eventually respond if you are consistent, firm, and loving.

For more information, visit:
Star Sleeper Web Site
This interactive web site is a collaborative effort of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, and Paws Inc.  Garfield the cat helps educate kids and caregivers about the importance of sleep.
http://starsleep.nhlbi.nih.gov

You can also visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s National Center on Sleep Disorders Research web site for additional information.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/sleep