How To Get Your Baby To Nap For Longer

The one thing that so many new parents are most concerned with is about sleep. When your new born comes along you will not sleep very much even though you wouldn't change it for the world sleep deprivation can be tough. I feel that the hardest part of becoming a parent for me was the first few weeks and the sheer exhaustion that overcame me. I cannot say this for all babies but getting them to nap is the easy part but making it last is where it can get complicated.


Being a parent is hard and so we could all do with more sleep, am I right? I thought that today would be a good chance for me to share all my secrets in getting my little lady to nap for longer, and in doing so she has become such a great little sleeper. So if you want your baby to nap for longer, please read on. 

A Good Routine Can Be Everything...

There are actually some many great benefits in getting your baby into a good routine as soon as you can. If you actually sit there and think about it, us parents, would really struggle without some kind of routine in our daily lives. So for instance, think about if your alarm does go off, how do you feel? If you're anything like me you will feel completely out of sync all day, mood swings are a given and you will probably feel that the day has been wasted due to that alarm. Babies are the same. They like a routine and they like to know what's coming next. As soon as you establish a routine, you will begin to understand their needs and actually give your babies a sense of security and in a way give them some comfort. It's human nature to want a routine and therefore, babies who have one, generally sleep better. In the first few weeks trying to get your new born into a routine can be hard. I remember all those cancelled date night or cocktails with the girl, just so I could do all I could to get my baby into a routine.

A Soother...

Whether it's a blanket, a teddy or a dummy. By using a soother will try and help your baby feel at east and settle into a longer nap. My daughter has a yellow blanket and won't settle unless she can snuggle her little nose into it, we also use a dummy to settle her down at night time. Love them ot hate them parents have been using these little gems for years. I'm not saying that you should use one at all, it's just something that we used that worked for us. I never really planned on using a dummy! I wanted to be able to power through and not let my daughter rely on one, but at just two days old, I completely caved and gave my daughter dummy. It was so awful to hear her cries her sobs and feeling completely useless! Being a first time mum is hard, perhaps I could have stuck it out, but do you know what I don't care and I don't regret giving her one. My daughter settles into a slumber so quickly now. There will be a time where we will ditch her dummy, and with a little hope it will be an easy transition for her.

White Noise is Surprisingly Helpful...

For a parent with a newborn baby in the household, sleep can seem like only a dream. Even if you’re past the waking up every few hours for feedings phase, your baby might still have some trouble falling asleep. When a nice warm bath doesn't work then it's time to think about other ways to get your baby to sleep. White noise has been a gem. White noise refers to sounds that mask other sounds that might occur naturally in an environment. I made a discovery after a particularly hard morning with her, she wouldn't settle. I tried a bottle, nappy change, cuddles and it was time for a warm bath. But it didn't work. So I started to dry my hair and poof, she was a sleep when she heard the hairdryer. I cannot tell you how happy see her snooze in her baby chair. There are so many benefits in using a white noise app to get your baby to sleep. The most obvious benefit of white noise for babies is the fact that it could help them fall asleep. If you notice your baby tends to fall asleep at noisy times outside of regular nap time or bedtime, then they might respond positively to white noise. There are a couple of different things that we use for a white noise for our little lady. The first is a Soothe and Glow Seahorse when cuddled, the belly gently glows and he plays over five minutes of music and ocean sounds. The music is comprised of eight gentle lullabyes and classical selections, along with soothing sounds of the sea. We also have a Slumber Elephant, which is a favourite of our when she is really struggling to settle. A soft, plush elephant companion is the perfect sleeping buddy for children of all ages. It has a calming starry sky display and a peaceful selection of sounds help relax and soothe baby to sleep.


Using Your Hands to Soothe...

Learning to self-soothe is as important a milestone as smiling, crawling or walking. But it's not always the easiest. In the early days, your baby can’t manage to voluntarily control their hands or movements enough to initiate his own self-soothing strategies – as they will be heavily dependent on you to help him settle to sleep.This is normal and doesn’t result in habits because before 3 months of age, babies don’t develop habits or expectations. That why I like to use my hand to help soothe her by stroking her face or tapping her tummy really lightly. 

Your Voice Becomes a Comfort...

Everyone knows that lullabies help babies sleep. As soon as a lullaby begins, a soothing sense of order infuses the infantile consciousness. The swaying rhythm is close to its own heartbeat, and the quiet melodious sounds a blessed relief from the world’s usual racket; the simple, repeating melody is also a source of comfort. Lullabies aren’t the only such source. Being rocked in a cradle has much the same effect. Being strapped to the side of a walking mother works well, too, A mother's voice is also something that can be soothing to a baby, once a baby develops hearing inside the womb they become familiar with your voice and it's therefore a comfort to them. So a little song or simple humming is a great way to soothe them into a slumber.

So, now that I have let you into all the secrets about all the ways you can settle your baby to sleep, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to share what I do if my daughter wakes during the night, which isn't often I have to be honest. My daughter has a strict routine and goes to bed at 7.30 after a bath, bottle, book and bed routine. Normally she settles quickly, but if she does wake during the night I will wait it out to see if she can self-soothe herself to sleep. No more than ten minutes. But if there is no way that she is falling back to sleep and is screaming or sitting up I will go to her. But I will try and go in with a soft approach and put her elephant night light back on, give her a dummy and place her yellow blanket across her, then pat her tummy. I will then try and leave and if I am lucky she will go straight back to sleep but if we have some trouble I would pick her up, give her a cuddle and slowly make my way out of the room. If you are consistent with your methods I am more than sure that these wake ups with become less and less and your little one will become a better sleeper, and sleep for longer.

What is your little like a bedtime? Are the a good sleeper?

13 comments

  1. Ha ha you need to come here it's a nightmare of sleeplessness. Thanks for linking up with #MaternityMondays

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    1. Oh no. Lets hope it gets better for you lovely! Thank you for your comments and hope you sleep sometime soon! :)

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  2. I agree that routine is key, we learnt that the hard way with our first :) #anythinggoes
    Sara | mumturnedmom

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    1. That is something that I have found is very important with Amelia. She knows when its nap time and bed time now! :) Thank you for your comments x

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  3. Fantastic tips, I struggled to get my baby to nap when she was newborn and then decided to put her in her cot for naps away from the noise and distractions and she will now have 2 decent naps a day which means a happier mama and baba! I agree with routines, so important to be consistent, makes a huge difference. Thanks for linking up to the #bestandworst X

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  4. I tried so many things to get my twins to nap for longer when they were babies. They'd sleep for 20 minutes then wake up. The only that worked in the end was to rock them back to sleep until they'd had around an hour. They soon slept straight through for that hour. Ah how I miss naps some days! Thanks for linking up to the #BinkyLinky

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  5. We rely on many of these to help our daughter to sleep at bedtime, but find them less effective during the day :( Either leaving her to feed on me or being in the pushchair seem to prolong naptime - woohoo! #binkylinky

    Helen x

    http://treasureeverymoment01.blogspot.co.uk/

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  6. These are great ideas. I like the using your hands to soothe. Sometimes just rubbing his head or tummy would help settle my baby, other times nothing would haha.

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  7. Great tips :) I think routine is key, then parents can start a wind down just before nap or bed time :)
    Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes
    Debbie

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  8. I can see this being a popular post as there's a lot of tired parents out there! I've always been lucky with my two as they inherited my heavy sleeper genes and can sleep through anything Just like me and my own mum!
    Thanks for linking up to #Picknmix
    Stevie x

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  9. I can see this being a popular post as there's a lot of tired parents out there! I've always been lucky with my two as they inherited my heavy sleeper genes and can sleep through anything Just like me and my own mum!
    Thanks for linking up to #Picknmix
    Stevie x

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  10. Ahh this brings back memories of me reading everything and anything on how I could get my babies to sleep longer when they were little! My eldest went through a habit of waking up after 40 mins (one sleep cycle) ALL the time and I couldn't get him to sleep longer. I tried waking him just before his sleep cycle so he would stir and then go into the next cycle but it never worked! #PickNMix

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  11. When your baby naps it makes such a huge difference. Ava would only sleep on us for a long time and will now happily sleep in her cot. I was onyl thinking earlier how much easier it is now. Routine is definitely the key. Thanks for linking to #PickNMix

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