Get Baby To Sleep

Are you having problems trying to get baby to sleep? We have all been there - you are so tired and just longing to drop into bed. Baby is sound asleep and all is well.... but the minute you get into bed, baby wakes up and it seems like nothing will get him back off again.

Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing, something you cannot really explain until you have experienced it yourself. That is why new Mums fall over themselves to talk about the baby sleep issues they are having - they have found someone who understands!

When I first had my baby I was very lucky in the fact that she only woke during the night for her feeds and went straight back off again afterwards. Even when we moved her to her own room she was fine. She was quick to sleep through the night, so my husband and myself were feeling very smug and made a point of saying that we really had the perfect baby, and we had achieved the perfect baby sleep schedule...

Of course, she obviously heard this and decided to put us in our place. From about 7 months she just would not go down to sleep at night. Daytime naps were fine - she could be in her cot in her room, or in her travel cot downstairs, but she always slept well. However, the minute she went down at night - the nightmare began.

I really lost count of the amount of things that we tried. Putting her down later, so she was more tired and reading to her in the room til she dropped off were just a couple of them. Neither worked, as she did not appear to get tired enough to drop off straight away and if we ready til she dropped off, she would ping awake as soon as we crept out of the door and the howling would begin again.

In the end, after talking with my health visitor, we tried the trick of putting her down and then leaving and letting her cry. We would then go back in after 5 mins and settle her down again and then leave again, but this time for 10 minutes. You then gradually lengthen the time and eventually the baby will sleep.

Yes this works but you do need to grit your teeth and you and your partner must support each other. Many times we each wanted to give in but you really have to stick with it - even if they wake during the night, you should stick to the same routine. This is more difficult as its so tempting to just bring baby to bed with you and get back to sleep - but stay on track and I promise it will get better.

Do you feel you need some help in your quest to get baby to sleep? Your next step is to visit www.EasyBabySleep.info