Nobody sleeps well if they aren’t comfortable, babies least of all. While making an infant comfortable won’t make them sleep through the night before they’re ready to, it will help them fall into deep sleep cycles and stay there longer, which translates to more rest for mom and dad. Take the following steps to make sure baby is as comfortable as she can be for bed time.
- Make sure he is fed before sleep times. New babies have very small stomachs. Combine that with a liquid diet and a metabolism that is busy helping baby grow and you have a baby who needs to eat every two to four hours. You do yourself a favor when you make sure baby has been fed before you lay her down to sleep.
Make sure he is warm, but not too warm. Babies usually need one more layer of clothing or blankets for warmth than adults do. Adding an extra blanket can make all the difference in how long baby will sleep.
Make sure her diaper is clean. While many babies will sleep through a wet diaper, it is best to lay them down with a fresh, clean diaper. - Make sure to swaddle infants. Babies should be swaddled snugly in their blankets until they are about three months old. This helps comfort them. As babies get older, loosen the swaddling. By about six months, most babies can be covered loosely.
- When it’s time to put baby to bed, make sure his clothing is comfortable. Some synthetic fabrics can be irritating to babies, especially when they are trying to sleep. Some babies even develop skin rashes from certain fabrics. Cotton is usually a good bet for baby’s comfort.
- Make sure baby isn’t over-stimulated. When baby is getting tired, and it’s time for her to go to sleep, it’s best to take her someplace dark and uninteresting. Some babies will stay awake long after they are tired if there is too much to look at. This doesn’t mean you can’t stay with baby and cuddle her, just that you should do it somewhere where you can turn the lights off and close the shades so baby will have less to catch her eye.