You and your baby deserve a happy baby and healthy sleep habits. Babies need their sleep to grow and develop properly and if you are struggling with giving your baby his or her proper sleep, it may be time to consider trying a baby schedule. Baby schedules are a great way to help give your baby the best chance at a quality night of sleep and development.
Healthy Sleep Habits
Sleep is extremely important for baby’s physical, emotional and psychological development. It helps them learn how to fall asleep and remain asleep. Sleeping without a good sleep routine can be extremely detrimental to your baby’s health because sleeping without a routine can set them up for failure. A good, consistent bedtime routine is essential in helping your baby get the rest he or she needs.
How much sleep do you need? Babies require an average of six hours of sleep per day, four hours before bedtime. You should set an alarm on your watch or cell phone that will wake you up in the middle of the night. This bedtime routine will start when your baby is born and continue through about the first year of life. A good bedtime routine will help set your baby up for a good night sleep each night.
Successful Bedtime
The next step to having a successful bedtime routine is to keep it consistent. Like we mentioned earlier, most babies will begin to fall asleep during the night when they are only half asleep and a good nap is vital in this process. Babies will usually have a nap during the day and then turn around and sleep during the night. If your baby takes a nap during the day, you need to make sure that your baby gets his or her nap during the same time each day. It is best if your baby will have his or her nap around the same time each day. By doing this, your baby will be used to sleeping and waking up at the same times each day, therefore will not have any problems with sleeping in a strange place or even in your bed!
Following a healthy sleep habits for babies routine is important for the same reason as for their adult counterparts. Babies need to have their sleep cycles established from the time that they are born. If you do not follow a regular sleep routine, your baby could end up never being able to sleep. Eventually, this could result in the baby not growing up to their full size and this could lead to a lot of lost time for the parents.
Teach Baby To How To Sleep
You can teach your baby to have healthy sleep habits by using sound sleep advice. For example, if you are breastfeeding, you may want to talk to your baby’s pediatrician about infant bedtime routines. The pediatrician will tell you what age ranges are recommended to start sleeping with their parent, what type of sleep position they should sleep in, and how long they should wind down each night.
When it comes to bedtime and sleep cycles, many parents make the mistake of waking up the baby too early. This can be an extremely bad idea because it can cause the baby to feel anxious and scared. This can then lead to your baby waking up in the middle of the night, as well as the baby waking up crying. This can result in the baby not getting the quality sleep that they need. In order to help your baby to relax during the night and to get the most out of their night, it is important to get them on a good sleeping schedule such as a healthy and consistent nap schedule, as well as getting them a good sleeping environment, such as a comfortable crib or toddler bed.
Conclusion
Your baby will benefit from having healthy sleep habits from their mom and dad as well. They need someone to set a good example for them, and also someone who can listen to them when they are having a hard time. Having a baby comes with many new and different things, and you will soon find out that your baby is no different then any other baby in that they need love, patience, attention and understanding. With these types of characteristics, along with the benefits that come from having a baby, it is easy to see why having a healthy sleep habits baby will be beneficial to everyone involved.