Periodic Table of Baby Sleep

We’ve created this clickable periodic table of baby sleep with all of the elements — sleep essentials, good habits, common sleep problems, and safety concerns — to help your baby get a good night’s sleep.

Sleep Essentials Sleep Problems
Establish baby sleep routine Feeding to get baby to sleep Warm to get baby to sleep Reflux keeps baby awake Gas keeps baby awake Hungry baby wont sleep
Burp baby for sleep Quiet to get baby to sleep Comfort baby to sleep Get Sick baby to sleep Baby sleep diapers
Dark to get baby to sleep PERIODIC TABLE OF BABY SLEEP Get teething baby to sleep
Pacifier for baby sleep Nightlight for baby sleep Loose blanket baby sleep safety Smoker baby sleep safety
Swaddle baby to sleep White noise for baby sleep Cereal for baby sleep Overheating baby sleep safety Drugs baby sleep safety Cosleeping and baby sleep safety
Good Sleep Habits Safety Concerns

 

Essentials for Baby Sleep

These are the basic things that your baby needs to fall asleep. In dark blue are the basic necessities for putting baby to bed; in light blue are the things he’ll need to fall asleep quickly and consistently.

Establish sleep routine for baby Routine. Establishing a sleep schedule and nighttime routine for your baby is critical for good sleep habits. You’ve probably heard of bath-bottle-bed, a classic bedtime routine. Following the same steps at roughly the same time each night helps train your baby that it’s time to go to sleep.
Feeding baby at night Feeding. A full belly is one of the most important ingredients for success in baby sleep training. Simply put, the more food your baby has in his belly, the longer he’ll sleep. It’s all about the nighttime feeding. Solid foods, once your pediatrician OKs them, make a huge difference if you give them at the evening meal.
Burp a baby for sleep Burping. One of the most common reasons, if not the most common reason, that babies won’t go to sleep or wake up crying is from stomach gas. That’s why you have to burp a baby extensively before bed. Knowing some alternate burping techniques will help get stubborn burps out.
Quiet for baby sleep Quiet. This may seem rather obvious, but most infants sleep best in a quiet sleeping environment. White noise is fine, but random noises — from televisions, radios, siblings, or parents — will disrupt the rest and might wake your baby up for the night. Keeping things quiet can be especially difficult if you’re entertaining or traveling with your baby. Invest in a good baby sleep monitor to stay in tune with your baby overnight.
Comfort baby to sleep Comfort. This has two parts to it: choosing the right clothes and blanket(s) for your baby to sleep in, and comforting him at bedtime. You, as a caring parent who’s online reading about babies and sleep, probably do this last part pretty well. For help with the first, see What A Newborn Should Sleep In and check out our guide to cute baby pajamas.
Warm to get baby to sleep Warmth. Being nice and warm helps a baby sleep just as much as it helps an adult. Babies have a harder job of it, though, because they’re so little. A velcro swaddler or baby sleep sack will help keep your baby warm and snug overnight. See also How to Swaddle A Newborn.
Dark for baby sleep Dark. You can help your baby sleep through the night by promoting his natural circadian rhythms – make sure he gets light during the day when it’s play time, but goes to sleep in a dark or nearly-dark room, with at most a night light to see by.

Good Habits to Help Baby Sleep Longer

There are numerous sleep strategies that parents use to help their babies sleep longer and more deeply. Not all of these will work for every baby, but these are some things I recommend when you’re trying to get your baby to sleep through the night.

Pacifier for baby sleep Pacifier. The pacifier is a must-have for bedtime. You should have two or three backups readily at hand so that you can find one in the dark in the middle of the night. Many parents use the hospital-preferred Soothie, though pacifiers by MAM seem more comfortable for older babies. See The Best Baby Pacifiers for more recommendations.
Swaddle baby to sleep Swaddle. If you ever look through the window of a hospital nursery, you’ll notice that the nurses tend to swaddle a newborn under their care. Sometimes one-handed, too, which is impressive. Swaddling your baby mimics the warm snugness and comfort of the womb, while also providing a safe wrapping for your baby to sleep in. A baby sleep sack or sleeping bag does the same while allowing the legs some movement.
Night light for baby Night Light. This could be for your baby, to keep him entertained or distracted while he’s falling asleep in bed. More likely, though, it will be for the parents, to minimize the number of cracked knees and stubbed toes that inevitably result from bumbling around in the dark in baby’s room. See Choosing A Night Light for Baby for some recommendations.
White noise for baby White Noise. Something that provides a low, steady humming noise helps shield your baby from other noises that might wake it. Further, it forms part of the baby bedroom “environment” in which your baby becomes accustomed to sleeping. A fan is a good choice here, because it has the added benefit of circulating air around the room. Soothers and sound machines are also a comfort for many babies.
Baby cereal at night Cereal. As soon as your pediatrician approves it, get some single-grain cereal and start teaching your baby to eat it. Rice and oat cereals are good to start with. You can use cereal to thicken baby food (especially carrots, sweet potatoes, and most fruits). Give your baby cereal at the evening meal (or a bit with the bedtime bottle) and you’ll almost certainly notice him sleeping longer.

Common Baby Sleep Problems

When your baby cries in bed, or wakes up in the middle of the night, there are dozens of possible explanations. In my experience, though, a handful of the most common reasons explain 90% of the times that a baby won’t sleep.

Hungry baby wont sleep Hunger. In my opinion, this is the single most common reason that babies (1) refuse to go to sleep, or (2) wake up crying in the middle of the night. They’re growing all the time. They need food to do it. A good nighttime feeding strategy will help keep your baby’s tummy full overnight.
Gassy baby wont sleep Gassiness. Another major source of bedtime discomfort and baby waking up. Sometimes there’s not much you can do; infant digestive systems are still maturing and need some time to work the kinks out. Just be sure you know how to burp a baby thoroughly before bed, and be certain to do it every time.
Wet diaper wont sleep Diaper. A fresh, clean diaper is a must when putting your baby to bed. Babies with a wet or dirty diapers usually won’t even go to sleep, much less stay there. When your infant is a little bit older (say 3 months), look into the Huggies Overnites diapers. These wick away more moisture to keep your baby dry overnight. See our article on the Importance of Diapers for Sleeping.
Reflux baby wont sleep Reflux. Spitting up is a common problem with newborns, and especially frustrating around bedtime because (1) your baby messes up his pajamas, and (2) he’s just regurgitated the food he’ll need to sleep overnight. You can protect against this by keeping him upright (holding, bouncer, or Bumbo seat) for 20-30 minutes before bed. For more tips, see Handling Reflux or Colic.
Get A sick baby to sleep Sick. Even the best-trained babies have trouble sleeping when they’re sick. They feel icky, they’re congested, they can’t breathe, and they cough the pacifier right out. Getting A Sick Baby to Sleep takes extra patience and extra work, but it can be done.
Baby sleep while teething Teething. This is one of the reasons why baby won’t sleep that’s hard to diagnose. Sometimes your baby has a runny nose, or refuses to eat even though he seems hungry. My boys would suddenly wake up screaming, as if in pain. Luckily there’s a good solution for this problem: Baby Orajel.

Unsafe Sleep Practices

All of us have bad habits. When it comes to babies and sleep, however, your weak points can actually create a dangerous situation for your baby. Some of the most worrisome safety concerns warned about by the American Academy of Pediatrics are in orange and red.

Back to sleep cosleeping Co-sleeping, or sleeping in the same room with your baby is actually a recommended practice to help you monitor him overnight. A mini crib is ideal for this. Bed-sharing (letting the baby sleep in your bed), however, can be dangerous. This is a major risk for SIDS and you shouldn’t get into the habit. See Cosleeping with Baby for some advice. And check out the safe crib for co-sleeping.
Back to sleep smoking Smoking. Room-sharing and bed-sharing with someone who smokes increases a baby’s risk of SIDS, even if that person doesn’t smoke while in bed. The carcinogen-containing smoke particles cling to a smoker’s clothing, skin, and hair, and can still be transferred when he or she touches or goes near an infant. Quitting smoking is something you should try very hard to do. For you, and for baby.
Back to sleep safety overheat Overheating. With all of the flannel pajamas, swaddlers, and baby blankets, it is quite possible for your baby to overheat. The AAP recommends that your baby have, at most, one more layer of clothing on than an adult would need to feel comfortable. Some of the digital video baby monitors that we reviewed include remote temperature sensors for the nursery, which seems like a nice idea.
Back to sleep safety drugs Drugs and Alcohol. Parents taking prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs (you know what I mean), or alcohol can endanger their baby because these things make them (1) less responsive, (2) groggy and/or clumsy, and (3) poor in judgment. The risk of SIDS is even higher when parents also let the baby sleep in their bed.
Back to sleep safety loose blankets Loose Bedding. This is the danger that we all know about, and all of us eventually become guilty of. When you’re trying to get a baby to sleep and comforting him, it’s tempting to put a little stuffed animal or soft pillow or loose blanket in his crib. Be strong, and don’t do it. Your baby’s crib should only have one thing in it: the baby. Consider swaddling with an Aden+Anais blanket for extra comfort.

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How to Swaddle a Newborn

How to Swaddle A Newborn BabySwaddling a newborn baby is an essential skill for new parents. A swaddled infant will stay warmer, safer, and more comfortable in bed. Thus, it should help them sleep longer. Translation: more sleep for you. Here we’ll discuss some of the reasons for why you should swaddle your baby, how to swaddle a newborn, and when to stop swaddling.
Contents:
Why Swaddle A Newborn?
How to Swaddle A Newborn
Newborn Swaddling Tips
When to Stop Swaddling

Why Swaddle A Newborn?

Newborn babies, having just left the womb, are a little frightened by their new world. Swaddling gives newborns a sense of the snug comfort they need to feel secure. There’s a reason that swaddling techniques are practiced by most hospital nurseries: Many newborns won’t sleep without it. Swaddling also keeps babies warm, especially their arms and legs, by keeping them close to the trunk of the body. Finally, swaddling is a safety measure for baby sleep; in fact, it’s the only safe way to keep a blanket in the crib.

How to Swaddle A Newborn

This step-by-step guide describes how to swaddle a newborn using a standard receiving blanket. You can and should master this technique. Do it right, and your newborn will never be cold at night!

Newborn swaddle blanket Before you begin: Choose a good blanket. A square or rectangular-shaped blanket, such as a receiving blanket, is best for this. The extremely popular Aden & Anais blankets are well-suited for this. Make sure that the blanket is big enough to perform all of the steps below; if you can’t tuck it securely, the swaddle won’t hold.
How to swaddle a newborn step one Step 1. Fold one corner down, making a triangle. You can make this a perfect triangle if the blanket is big enough; the point must extend far enough below baby’s feet that you can fold it up and reach the chin. If not, don’t fold the corner all the way to the other side (see image to the left).
How to swaddle a newborn step two Step 2. Add the baby. Your newborn’s neck should be over the edge of the fold that you just made or slightly above it so that the blanket stays away from the face.
How to swaddle a newborn step three Step 3. Fold over one corner and tuck under your baby. Which side you choose doesn’t matter, but be sure to tuck the corner so that it’s smooth and secure under your baby’s back. Not loose, and not scrunched up.
How to swaddle a newborn step four Step 4. Bring up the bottom corner. This is what separates swaddling from simply wrapping your baby up in a blanket. If your baby is a kicker, allow enough room for his legs to move so that he doesn’t kick out of the swaddle. The bottom edge should come up to your baby’s chin; if there’s extra reach, fold it over and around the first side-corner you folded in.
How to swaddle a newborn step five Step 5. Fold over the other side. This should be a nice, even fold, wrapping over the bottom-folded section and reaching the other side. You will tuck the extra bit under your baby’s back, so that his weight holds it in place.
How to swaddle a newborn step six Step 6. Your newborn is swaddled! Now you can feel free to feed him, rock him, or put him to bed. You’ll notice that I recommend keeping the newborn’s arms free, instead of wrapping them up. This bit of advice comes from the pediatric nurse who taught our baby class. She’s adamant that a baby’s arms should stay free, allowing a newborn to comfort himself.

Newborn Swaddling Tips

  • Use a relatively thin blanket of appropriate size. Due to the number of folds involved, swaddling doesn’t seem to work as well on blankets that are too thick or too large relative to the baby.
  • Start over, don’t salvage. If a fold was off, the newborn was positioned funny, or it just doesn’t seem to be working, start the swaddling over from the beginning. The result will be much better than a salvage job.
  • Practice swaddling a baby one-handed. Trust me, you’ll need to know how. You can watch nurses in the NICU or hospital nursery; they’re experts at this.
  • Try a velcro swaddle blanket. These things make swaddling much faster, and hold more securely in place around your newborn.

When to Stop Swaddling

Cute Sleep Sack for NewbornsAt some point, it will be time to stop swaddling your baby. You’ll probably realize this over time, as your baby gets too big to be swaddled with most blankets, and manages to kick out of them whenever you do it. If you bought a velcro swaddler, you’ll notice that it doesn’t fit them completely any more and only wraps around the lower half. This, incidentally, may be around the same time that your baby starts moving on his own and rolling over.

When you start seeing these signs, it’s probably time to replace the swaddler with a plain sleep sack, which I highly recommend. These are light fleece garments, with or without sleeves, that zip up in the front. They are very warm and comfortable; both of our twins are currently sleeping in them. For more, see our review of sleep sacks and sleeping bags.

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Baby sleep problems Periodic Table of Baby SLeep Train baby to sleep through the night Essential Baby Sleep Gear
Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them. The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits. Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night. Check out our reviews of Essential baby gear for helping babies sleep at night.

Co-sleeping with Baby

Cosleeping with BabyCo-sleeping is a practice where a baby sleeps close to one or both parents at night, instead of in a crib in his or her own room. This is a fairly common practice, and there are different subsets of it. What are the benefits? What are the risks?

Parents usually have a reason to start co-sleeping. Whether or not you should stop, and how to make the transition, are hard questions to answer. I’m here to help.
Contents:
Types of Co-sleeping
Benefits of Co-sleeping
Co-sleeping and SIDS
Other Risks of Co-sleeping
How to Stop Co-sleeping

Types of Co-sleeping

Cosleeping is a broad category in which the baby sleeps close to one or both parents. There are a few different subtypes of this:

  • Room sharing, in which the baby sleeps in a crib or bassinet in the parents’ room.
  • Bed sharing, where the baby sleeps in bed with parents at night.
  • Co-bedding, for families with multiples, is when twins share the same crib to sleep for naps and/or for the night.

As a father of twins, I must admit that I’ve done all three of these at some point or another. We have a small crib in our room (room sharing). On rare occasion we’ve picked up a twin who was crying in their room, and let him sleep in bed with us (bed sharing). A few times when they were newborns we’ve put both boys to sleep in the same crib or pack-n-play (co bedding).

Benefits of Co-sleeping

Portable Baby Bassinet for Cosleeping

There’s a reason that cosleeping is a common practice: parents find one or more benefits to it. These might be simple economic realities. Extra rooms and baby beds cost money, and some other expenses (diapers, formula) have higher priority. In the case of room-sharing, the American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends it for babies because it lets parents more closely monitor their infant while he’s sleeping. Convenience is another benefit of cosleeping; when your newborn wakes up every three to four hours, and you’re exhausted, it’s tempting to keep him close by, especially at night.

One of the most common justifications I hear is, “My baby only sleeps if one of us is holding her, or if she’s in bed with us. And I’ve got to get some sleep!” I’m very sympathetic to the parents who admit this. Sometimes you have to do what’s necessary to get your baby to sleep so you can get some shuteye of your own. However, this is something you can work on by establishing a sleep routine for your baby, and there are definite reasons to try to stop co-sleeping with baby in your bed.

Co-sleeping and SIDS

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated baby sleep safety guidelines in late 2011. Among these are some specific points related to co sleeping. Basically, it is recommended that you sleep in the same room but not the same bed as your baby. There is substantial evidence that this practice (room sharing but not bed sharing) decreases the risk of SIDS by up to 50%.

Infants may be brought into the parents’ bed for feeding or comfort, but should be returned to their crib or bassinet to sleep. This helps prevent suffocation, strangulation, and entrapment that could occur in the parents’ bed. Devices that claim to make bed sharing more safe are not recommended. The AAP recommends against bed sharing flat-out, but the most dangerous practices of it are:

  • Bed sharing with infants younger than 3 months of age.
  • Bed sharing with a current smoker, even if he/she does not smoke while in bed.
  • Bed-sharing with someone who is excessively tired, taking medication, or has used drugs or alcohol
  • Bed-sharing with anyone who is not a parent, including other children
  • Bed-sharing on a soft surface (water bed, old mattress, sofa, armchair, etc.).
  • Bed-sharing on any surface with loose soft bedding, such as pillows, quilts, and comforters.

You should try to avoid bed sharing altogether, but the above practices especially.

Should Twins Share A Bed?

The issue of bed sharing with twins is a contentious one. Some argue that twins should sleep in the same bed to encourage their co-development and comfort one another. Others might do this for practical reasons; it takes extra space and extra money to buy a second twin when you’re having twins.

My twin boys share a room but sleep in separate cribs, which seems like a good compromise. The older one is a couple of pounds heavier, and we didn’t want him rolling on top of his brother (or waking him up) on accident. This way, they can see and babble at one another and still have a safe place of their own to sleep in.

You might think “Oh, I’ll never have to worry about this,” but here’s a little statistic for you. The chances of having twins are around 3% with each pregnancy. It could happen to you!

Other Risks of Co-sleeping

There are some disadvantages to cosleeping, even the recommended and safe practice of having your baby sleep in his own crib or bassinet in your room.

  1. Although your presence is probably a comfort, your baby might have trouble sleeping if he sees you or hears you moving around. Sources of loud irregular noise, such as cell phones, alarm clocks, televisions, and radios, are likely to wake babies up if they’re in your room.
  2. Having the baby in your room (or worse, your bed) can prevent you from sleeping. Parents are programmed to respond when a baby moves, coughs, or makes any irregular noise. Also, you might be tempted to respond too quickly if your baby does wake up. A significant fraction of the time that my babies have woken up and fussed, they go back to sleep on their own within a minute or two.
  3. This might be a minor point, but cribs and bassinets take up a lot of space in your bedroom, and they’re notorious for causing stubbed toes and cracked shins for parents late at night.

How to Stop Co-sleeping (Bed sharing)

So, you’re co sleeping, and not the good doctor-recommended kind? Don’t feel too badly about it – there are reasons why so many parents find themselves bed sharing. Here are some strategies you can use to transition to safer sleep routines for your baby.

  • Don’t make bed sharing a habit! Occasional cosleeping is much easier to fix. If part of your baby’s nighttime sleeping routine is falling asleep in your arms or while snuggling you, that’s a hard precedent to break.
  • Put your baby to bed before he or she falls asleep. Babies need to learn to fall asleep by themselves while laying (on their backs) in their own cribs.
  • Be strong. I feel a powerful urge to run to the rescue whenever I hear one of my babies cry, and I’m sure you feel the same way. This transition period will almost certainly involve some crying. Let your baby fuss for five minutes or so before going in to comfort him or her.
  • Start slow. Don’t go cold-turkey on breaking your cosleeping habit, or you could be in for a stretch of sleepless nights. Instead, try it one night out of four and increase the frequency over time.
  • Think about the benefits. Moving the baby out of your bed is a win for everyone. For the little ones, it’s a safer night’s sleep. For the parents, it’s so much more freedom. You can do what you want, when you want, and sprawl however you want, when your baby is in his own bed. You’ll probably get more sleep, and better sleep, without fear of rolling over on top of him. Keep these benefits in mind, and you’ll stay motivated to do the right thing.

You don’t have to go cold turkey. You can invest in a mini crib or bassinet and put them right next to your bed. That way you get all of the benefits but your baby gets to sleep in his or her own little space. There are even special safe co-sleeping cribs to help this transition.

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Best baby pacifiers Baby sleep problems Periodic Table of Baby SLeep Get baby to sleep through the night
Best Baby Pacifiers has our recommendations for newborns, older babies, and teething infants. Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them. The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits. Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.

Soothe Your Baby Back to Sleep

soothing baby back to sleep

Credit: Flickr user peasap

Sometimes your baby will wake up in the middle of the night when he or she normally would sleep right through. The same thing can happen at nap time. There’s no need to panic! This is not as disastrous as it seems.

My twins often wake up in the midst of a sleep cycle; nine times out of ten, I can soothe them back to sleep within a few minutes. Do it right, and your properly soothed infant will probably sleep for hours more.

Do it wrong, however, and you’re dealing with a stressed baby that’s now completely off his regular sleep schedule. Here are some tips for soothing your baby back to sleep.

baby moon night light

Night Light

1. Count to Ten

If you can, wait ten or twenty seconds before entering your baby’s room. Sometimes they fuss a little, and then go right back to sleep. Of course, you might not have this luxury if there are other sleeping children in the room (as in twins) or down the hall.

2. Skip the Grand Entrance

The worst thing you can do when a baby wakes up suddenly is barge in, throw on all the lights, and pick him right up. I find that the best soothing takes place in the dark and in the quiet, with as few stimuli as possible. Slip into the room, get the baby comforted, and slip out again.

3. Keep the Baby Close

If your baby wakes up in the middle of the night and you want to soothe him or her quickly, think about getting a mini crib or bassinet and keeping it in your room. That way you can reach out and calm your baby back to sleep without even getting out of bed.

Soothing Cute Baby with Pacifier

4. Install a night light or small lamp

Make sure it’s within easy reach. This will give you enough light to see by but without over-stimulating the infant. It’s a handy way to help you (1) hunt down missing pacifiers, and (2) not wipe out on heavy pieces of furniture.

5. Find and re-insert the pacifier.

Half the time I can’t find the one that the baby went to bed with, so I keep one at each end of the crib and another on a nearby nightstand. You can’t ever have too many pacifiers. See also our review of the best baby pacifiers.

Pink MAM pacifiers

6. Touch your baby and quietly reassure him.

I usually stroke his head, very gently, and tuck the Aden+Anais blanket back down around him. Much of the time, this is all I have to do, and the baby goes right back to sleep.

7. Pick your baby up

Do this only if the previous two things don’t work. It’s far easier to get a baby back to sleep when he’s already in bed. Often your presence alone is enough.

8. Rock your baby.

If you have a rocking chair in the room, which I recommend, use it now. Sometimes my boys don’t care for the motion of the rocker and I have to stand up to rock them. Either way, find a position and motion that gets your baby calm.

9. Keep the pacifier in

unless your baby actively pushes it out. Sometimes the baby will turn his head back and forth against you, losing the pacifier in the process. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t want it, he’s just stressed. If he doesn’t want the pacifier, he’ll push it out with his tongue and rear back when you try to put it back in. Invest in good pacifiers so that this isn’t an issue.

10. Put the baby to your shoulder and pat his back.

Just like you’re burping him. Sometimes this will even produce a belch, which was likely what roused him. You need to address gas (ideally before putting baby to bed), because a gassy baby won’t sleep.
Try humming, singing, or a music box. The effectiveness of these varies substantially between infants, but if it’s something your baby likes (and has been comforted by in the past), do it. See my review of soothers and sound machines for baby’s room.

Still Struggling?

soothing sound machine

Graco Sound Machine

If you’ve tried all of the above and your baby’s still crying, something is probably wrong. We’re beyond soothing at this point: you need to find the problem and fix it. I have an entire post breaking down the reasons a baby won’t sleep. Usually, I like to start with a diaper check. This is something you can fix (change) right there and in relative quiet, without waking your baby up too much. Never underestimate the importance of diapers for sleeping.

Over time, you’ll learn to recognize the signals your infant gives you. Nuzzling at you and slurping heavily on the pacifier usually means hunger. A baby that arches his back and cries in apparent discomfort probably has gas or digestive discomfort. Find the problem, fix it, rock your baby a little bit, and put him back to bed. You can often do it in less than five minutes.

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Best baby pacifiers Baby sleep problems Periodic Table of Baby SLeep Get baby to sleep through the night
Best Baby Pacifiers has our recommendations for newborns, older babies, and teething infants. Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them. The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits. Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night.

Establishing A Routine for Putting Baby to Bed

bedtime routines for babyOne of the most important things you can do to help your baby get to sleep is establish a daily routine. You should start this the day your baby comes home from the hospital! A bedtime routine has two parts: a schedule specifying the times of day that you put your baby to bed, and a series of events that you go through every time before doing so. Since our main goal is to get a baby to sleep through the night, we’ll focus on the nighttime routine.

Why Establish a Bedtime Routine?

Establishing a bedtime routine for your baby early on has many, many advantages. It helps you plan your day and evening. It saves time. It helps you to remember to do everything, like put on a night-time diaper. A good routine also teaches your baby that certain events will be followed by him or her going to bed. It’s a subtle reminder that this isn’t just a nap, this is the big sleep overnight. In time, you’ll find that a sleep routine relaxes your baby and prepares him, physically and mentally, to fall asleep. Do it right, and he’ll usually be asleep the moment you put him in bed.

When to Start the Routine

It might surprise you to learn that putting your baby to bed early can help him or her sleep longer. This seems counter-intuitive, I know, but it worked for my boys. It turned out that we were keeping them up until 8:30 or so, and they were ready for bed by 7:30. So start your baby bedtime routine early enough to have your baby ready for bed when the first signs of sleepiness show. See Benefits of an Early Bedtime for details.

Elements of A Baby’s Bedtime Routine

Here are the seven basic steps that you’ll probably follow when putting your baby to bed at night.

  1. Bath
  2. Bottle and Feeding
  3. Burping
  4. Clean Diaper
  5. Sleeping Clothes
  6. Rocking and/or Soothing
  7. Pacifier
  8. Room and Bed

Bath

This is optional, but a bath is a wonderful way to get your baby clean and relaxed. Make sure the water is the right temperature. If you use a little cloth-covered baby holder in the bathtub, splash it with warm water right before you put the baby in. If these things get wet, they become chilly and your baby won’t like it.

See our article on 7 steps to the perfect baby bath.

Baby bath routine

Baby Bathtub

Feeding

Your goal is to get the baby to eat as much as is comfortably possible. For most babies, the amount of food ingested is directly related to how long they’ll sleep afterward. For newborns, this is milk. If you’re not nursing, make sure the milk is nice and warm. Not lukewarm, but body-temperature warm.

As soon as you can give your baby cereal, make that a part of the nightly routine. If your baby is old enough to start solid food, give that around dinnertime. Let it sit a bit, and then follow with a bottle.  See my post on nighttime feeding for more.

Baby feeding routine

Baby Cereal

Burping

You will need to burp your baby thoroughly, to help prevent gas discomfort and nighttime spit-ups. Do this after solid food, too, since even spoon-fed babies can get bubbles in the tummy.

If you’re having trouble getting a burp, or your infant seems to have some discomfort, see my post on helping babies with gas.

Diaper

The importance of diapers for sleep is something you might not fully appreciate. Usually, changing a baby right before feeding and burping is just fine, as long as it’s not noticeably wet or dirty.

If you find that your baby often wakes up with a very wet diaper, look into Huggies Overnites. These have extra padding to wick away more moisture during the longer sleeping hours. We used them from size 3 to size 5.

Overnight Diapers

Clothes

You should always change your baby into fresh clothes before bed, ideally nice soft pajamas with covered feet and long sleeves. Don’t put the baby to bed in day clothes. I highly recommend that you swaddle a newborn. If you aren’t going to swaddle, use a baby sleep sack or sleeping bag keeping him warm and snug. Avoid overheating your baby! At most, infants should have one more layer on than an adult might to feel comfortable. See my guide to what a newborn should sleep in.

Sleep Sack

Rocking and/or Soothing

This is the winding-down time just before you put the baby to bed. Rocking the baby in your arms or a rocking chair is a great soothing technique. You might also try reading to your baby, a great habit to get into.

See our list of favorite baby bedtime books for some suggestions of short but soothing night-night reads.

Favorite Baby bedtime books

Bedtime book

Pacifier

A good, clean pacifier should be part of the routine. Keep a couple of extras in the bed in case you need to find one in the dark. I was surprised to learn that pacifiers are recommended by pediatricians to protect against SIDS.

Once your baby is asleep, you don’t have to stick the pacifier back in if it falls out. See also our recommendations of the best baby pacifiers.

Pacifier

 Room and Bed

The room should be dark, with the possible exception of a night light. The bed should be empty of extraneous blankets, stuffed animals, clothes, etc. Turn on a soother or sound machine to help your baby relax.

Put him in, make sure his blanket is secure, and leave the room. Note, it’s advisable that you put your baby to bed while he or she is still awake. This teaches your baby to soothe himself to sleep, so that he can fall asleep on his own.

Portable Nightlight

It is critical that you set a pattern and stick to it as much as possible. The bath-bottle-bed routine is a classic, and it works because it trains your baby that when those things are done, it’s time to go to sleep. Once the baby is settled and asleep, it’s probably a good time to hit the sack yourself. You hear this bit of advice over and over: when they sleep, you sleep.

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Getting Babies to Sleep

baby sleepingBabies are supposed to be sleeping most of the time. And yet, getting a baby to sleep is often difficult. The purpose of this site is to help parents get their babies to sleep, and keep them there. As long as possible.

First, some credentials. I have a daughter (age 2) and twin boys (age 7 months). By the age of 5 months, all of them were sleeping through the night. That is, from midnight to 7 a.m. By seven months, they were sleeping from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Believe it or not, this is what pediatricians say your baby should be doing (or at least capable of) by six months of age. The problem of reaching this point is two-fold: first, how to get your baby to sleep. Second, ensuring that he or she sleeps as long as possible.

Part 1: Getting the Baby to Sleep

Getting babies to sleep does not take luck or a certain knack. It takes learned skills and practice of a routine. In my experience, to go to sleep, a baby needs to be:

  1. Well-fed. This is the most important one. A baby’s strongest instinct upon being born is to eat, and if he’s not fed, he’s not going to sleep. Not for long, anyway. See nighttime feeding and sleep.
  2. Clean and dry. In the grand scheme of things, it is worth the extra 45 seconds and $0.24 to put a baby in a fresh diaper, no matter that you changed him half an hour ago. There’s one diaper that will almost certainly help your baby sleep longer. Read about it in the importance of diapers for sleeping.
  3. Burped out. Unresolved bubbles in the tummy will either keep your infant awake, or make him spit up. Neither will help him sleep. See how to burp a baby for some tips.
  4. Warm and snug. This means tightly swaddled in a temperature-controlled room. For newborns, a soft hat is a good idea as well. See my post on what a newborn should sleep in for more.

With these four parts in place, and knowing some soothing techniques, your chances of getting the baby to go sleep are pretty good. But that’s only where the challenge begins.

Part 2: Keeping the Baby Asleep

It doesn’t do you much good to get the baby to sleep if you’re (1) still holding him, or (2) he wakes up fifteen minutes later. Here, a few strategies can help ensure that the baby will stay asleep. Rule number one: put the baby in bed before he falls asleep. This is a common mistake that new parents make – they believe that the baby can only fall asleep in their arms. If you establish and follow a bedtime routine, the baby will fall asleep on his own. Even better if you’re out of the room with the door closed before he drifts off. That leaves less noises that might wake him up.

Most babies can sleep right through a certain amount of noise, particularly if they’re accustomed to it. Case in point: each of my twins will usually keep on snoozing even if his brother is screaming his lungs out. Even so, in the baby’s room, it should be either totally quiet or have a low-level white noise. I’m talking about something that hums, like a baby soother or sound machine.  Not a TV, radio, or anything that beeps.

Next up, pacifier. The hospital-issued Soothie is a popular one. If your baby will take one, keep two or three in the crib so that you can always grab one. Better yet, use a pacifier clip to ensure that one’s always in reach. If a sleeping baby starts to fuss, don’t say a word. Don’t pick him up. Give him his pacifier, tuck the blanket even snugger around him, and tiptoe out of the room. Babies need to learn to soothe themselves, and this is a good way to get them started.

That’s enough to get you started. In subsequent posts, I go into more detail on establishing the routines and keeping the baby comfortable enough that he’ll start logging some real sack time. And when he does, so will you.

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Baby sleep problems Periodic Table of Baby SLeep Train baby to sleep through the night Essential Baby Sleep Gear
Baby sleep problems takes you through the most common sleep issues and how to address them. The periodic table of baby sleep has all the essential elements for healthy baby sleep habits. Visit our sleep training section for strategies and tips for teaching your baby to sleep through the night. Check out our reviews of Essential baby gear for helping babies sleep at night.