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Putting Baby To Bed

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Puttingbaby to bed AWAKE ? is it really that easy?

Weknow that sleep is necessary and natural, so why is it so hard toestablish good sleeping habits for our babies? If the magicformula is simply to put your baby down to for a sleep when he?sstill awake, why is that so hard in reality? I know fromexperience of both my children that as soon as I'd put them downawake, they would protest! Settling them would take so long I'd betempted to feed them to sleep. The easy option would only takefive minutes instead of sixty!

Intheir fantastic book, ?Sleep?, Hollyer and Smith describe howfalling asleep can literally be a frightening experience for babies. When we are asleep we are vulnerable. So for a newborn baby(who is completely helpless) to fall asleep alone, is clearlycounter-intuitive. If we look back to primitive times, sleepingwhen not in the arms of a guardian may have meant death to avulnerable infant. So it's no wonder they protest when we putthem down! Resisting separation from us is a basic survivalinstinct.

Addto that the sensation of actually falling asleep, which is alien andfrightening for a newborn, and I can understand why our babies wouldprefer we were holding them close. I must admit that I also hada secret desire to break all the sleep books rules and let myprecious bundles curl up on my chest all night long. Butthere's only so long a baby will fit on your chest and once a sleepassociation is established, it's hard to break. Sound,peaceful sleep certainly goes a long way to helping us have funfilled days and a happy family. And setting up bad habits inthe early days only makes it harder to establish good ones later. I recommend getting all the cuddles you can in the day and when itcomes to sleep times, put your baby down awake so that he cantransition to sleep on his own. Your baby will need somesupport. He needs to know that it's safe to go to sleep.

Myfirst son always used to cry just before he fell asleep, sometimesfor a few minutes, and my going to him only made him fully wakeagain, so he'd have to start the process of falling asleep all overagain. Once I realised that he needed to cry for a few minutes,I gave us both a break. I stayed close and he was able to go tosleep without my intervention.

Here?ssome tips for settling your newborn to sleep awake:

1? New babies are easily over stimulated. Take him to a room thatis dark and quiet to wind him down.

2? Swaddle your baby so that he feels secure.

3? A new baby (0-4 weeks) will only need to be awake for about 45minutes before they need to go back to sleep. Leave it any later andthey will find it harder to settle ? which means more interventionfrom you.

4? Hold, rock or feed your baby until he is drowsy but still awakeand then lower him into his cot (bum first and then head ? otherway round and they wake right back up again!).

5? Some little ones may need white noise to help them transitionbetween sleep cycles.

6? Keep a babycomforterclose to your skin for a few hours and place it at the end of yourbaby's crib so he is comforted by your smell.

Bydoing this in the early days, you will avoid setting up sleepassociations that are later difficult to break. Your baby will learnan essential skill ? how to go to sleep by himself, without yourhelp. His need for sleep is both mental and physical. When ourbabies are sleeping, they begin to make sense of their worlds, theirbrains develop and their bodies grow. Sleep for our little onesisn't something to hope for, it's a necessity for us all!

LucyFitzgerald runs http://www.sleepytot.com,distributors of the SleepyTot comforter, renowned for helping babiesand toddlers drift off to a peaceful nights sleep. Sleepytot can becontacted on PHONE , by email EMAIL or at www.sleepytot.com

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Lucy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Improvement. Lucy Fitzgerald is owner of Sleepytot, distributors of the widely acclaimed sleepytot baby comforter, aimed at helping your baby get a restful night of sleep. Lucy's top article generates over 720 views. Bookmark Lucy to your Favourites.

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