DOES your baby sleep through the night?
The exhaustive question that makes parents equal parts annoyed and worried.
But luckily the hosts of the award-winning parenting podcast, The Sleep Mums, are on hand to help.
Here, Cat Cubie and Sarah Carpenter, who have 20 years experience as a sleep consultant, reveal five things that could be stopping your baby from sleeping…
Not Having a Morning Routine
People talk about bedtime routines, but very few about the morning routine.
We believe they are just as important.
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Keeping the book ends of your day consistent is the easiest thing to do to help your baby sleep better.
Changing their nappy, giving them their first feed of the day at roughly the same time, and getting outside for morning light are all great hooks to start your day.
If you can’t get outside, using brighter lights at home can be a good substitute.
Noise
Many of us have heard of white noise as a way to help block out household sounds for a baby but what about pink or brown noise?
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Pink noise is a more natural sound than white noise, things like rustling leaves, wind or the sound a train makes as it rumbles along.
Brown noise is (hopefully) not the sound coming from your baby’s nappy, it’s similar to pink noise but has fewer high frequencies so can be gentler on little ears.
The Wrong Comforter
If you are transitioning your baby away from sleeping with you and into their own room or space, it can be useful to arm them with a comforter – but not the fluffy bunny you might think.
It’s recommended to keep your babies cot clear but over the age of six months you can introduce a comforter.
One of Sarah’s clients had a child that chose his Dad’s old Calvin Klein's as his favourite thing to sleep with!
Something breathable that smells of you can be more powerful as a sleep aid than something from the toy shop.
Something breathable that smells of you can be more powerful as a sleep aid than something from the toy shop
Dummies or Soothers
Dummies can be both a sleep saviour and a sleep saboteur.
In the early days, dummies are thought to lower SIDS, help preterm babies and those who need to improve their suck, plus be practical for stressful situations to comfort your baby.
Around the age of six months though, when a baby’s sense of object permeance begins to develop, they can become upset when they don’t have it and you can end up replacing it multiple times a night.
We recommend trying to remove a dummy around 5 to 6 months as it can help to improve sleep.
Parental Arguing
Parents reportedly argue 40% more after their first child is born and studies have shown that parental arguing can cause sleep disturbances in babies.
It is really easy to end up arguing in hushed tones over your baby’s cot, but even this, when we think they can’t hear us, can impact their sleep.
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If you find yourself in this position take a moment to breathe, as long as your baby is safe, step out of the room and try to keep any discussions about sleep to daylight hours.
For more advice on parenting and in particular getting your little ones to sleep, head to Cat and Sarah's top ten parenting podcast, The Sleep Mums or check out their book Sleep Better Baby
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