A consistent bedtime routine is a powerful tool to help infants consolidate their sleep into longer periods at night. And when baby sleeps, parents can too!
Researchers had parents implement a 3-step bedtime routine. The steps were a bath, a massage, and a quiet activity like cuddling or singing a lullaby, in that order. Lights out was within 30 minutes of finishing the bath. Nothing else was changed, the parents continued to put their child to bed they way they had been.
After just two weeks of this bedtime routine, the babies woke up fewer times in the night, and were awake for shorter periods. Their mothers were less likely to perceive the babies sleep as a problem. Not only that, but the mothers’ mood improved, so they were less tense, less depressed and less angry.
This gives hope to new parents, that they can help their child sleep better in just a few weeks, and that this improves the well-being of the family too!
Dr. Darley will be speaking on ‘Help your baby ‘Sleep Like a Baby'” on Tues, June 1st, in Mukilteo Wa. This program is sponsored by Program for Early Parenting Support.
You are absolutely right…Consistency is the key for a good bed time routine.
I also want to share this site that helped me in implementing a good bedtime routine and also in understanding how to form and implement a routine, where the baby sleeps, preparing and settling baby to sleep and how to handle when baby wakes up etc..There are a lot of times when my partner and I had to get up many times during the night. However, things got better after implementing a proper routine with consistency….
For mums who want to check out the article that helped me, just go to: http://www.AussieChildcareNetwork.com/Resources.php You can find the practical tips under ‘Resources’ –> ‘Parenting Resources’ Section. Best of luck since parents need it.. 🙂
Cheers,
Jessie
Resources Children