Getting enough sleep is crucial to your well-being but when you have a little baby you can find
yourself being woken up a lot in the night. You can also find yourself exhausted and sleep deprived.
Over time this can have a negative impact on all areas of your life so in this video I'm going to
share 7 top tips to help your baby to sleep better during the night and the day
so you can get more rest and more sleep! If we haven't met before "Hello and Welcome" my name's
Anja and I'm a hypnobirthing practitioner on my YouTube channel you'll find videos and audios
to support you on your motherhood journey :) If you like this video, please consider subscribing and
clicking the bell icon so you don't miss my weekly videos. I bring out a new one every single Tuesday.
My first tip is to make sure that your baby's sleeping in a cool room. Babies sleep best
in rooms that are between 65 and 72 degrees fahrenheit and that's about 18 to 21 degrees
celsius. A room thermometer is a good thing to have so you don't have to guess whether or not the room
is too hot or too cold. If you can't regulate the temperature of the room that your baby's sleeping
in, it's just important that you dress your baby appropriately so put on layers of clothing or
take off layers of clothing according to how hot or how cold the room is. Today, many babies sleep
in sleeping bags and sleeping bags come with a checklist telling you what your baby should be
wearing according to the tog of the sleeping bag and the temperature of the room. To find out which
sleeping bags I recommend for babies, please click the link in the video description below.
My next tip is to make sure that the room that your baby's sleeping in is dark
and the room needs to be dark enough so that you wouldn't be able to read a book or a magazine.
When your baby's really small it's important for them to sleep in a dark room so that when they're
in a period of light waking they're not going to be stimulated by anything in the room which
could cause them to wake up fully. When your baby's between three and five months old
it's important for them to stay sleeping in a dark room because they're going to start
developing their own circadian rhythm and their own internal body clock. They'll also begin to
produce the hormone Melatonin. When your baby falls asleep in a dark room they'll produce more
Melatonin which will help them to relax and fall asleep as well as stay asleep for longer.
My third tip is to make sure that the room that your baby's sleeping in is quiet.
Babies are easily stimulated by everything that's going on around them, including noise,
because everything is so new to them. They also have a startle reflex - so loud noises can
make them jump and if they are about to fall asleep (or they're in a period of light sleep)
any loud noises will startle them and could cause them to wake up. Now I'm not saying that
your baby's room needs to be completely silent because that's near on impossible to achieve. What
I am saying is that any noise in your baby's room needs to be low in volume and consistent.
You might want to invest in a white noise machine that plays continuously whilst your baby's asleep.
Examples of white noise include rainfall, a shower, a waterfall or radio static. The reason that
continuous white noise is so effective at helping babies to fall asleep and stay asleep is because
the sounds mimic the noises that your baby heard in the womb so when they hear any white noise it's
going to soothe and comfort them and help them to stay asleep for longer. If you'd like to try using
some white noise before investing in a white noise machine you can check out my free white
noise for baby sleep audios on my youtube channel :), I'll link them in the video description below.
Many babies respond really well to being swaddled. Swaddling can keep your baby nice
and warm and the security of it can feel like being in the womb. If you are going to swaddle
your baby it's just important to dress them according to the room temperature
because, if your baby overheats, that can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Many parents find that swaddling their babies with their arms down and wrapped up is best because
that prevents the startle reflex from being triggered when lifting a baby in and out of their
cot. To find out which swaddles I recommend please click the link in the video description below.
I just wanted to point out here that when your baby is close to rolling over,
you don't want to be placing them in swaddles anymore. They're going to need to have their arms
and their hands free so that they can get out of certain positions and they don't get trapped.
So when they're close to rolling over, I recommend sleeping bags rather than swaddles.
My fifth tip is to keep your baby's sleep environment boring and not stimulating and this
is especially important during the night if you're woken up to feed your baby or change their nappy.
At night time, to help your baby to settle back to sleep, it's important that you teach them that
you're not there to play with them, have fun with them or entertain them - you're going to attend
to their needs and then they need to go back to sleep because it's night time. It's also important
to keep the lights turned down low in the room that you're in. You might want to invest in
a plug-in nightlight to keep the room dark but not so dark that you can't see what you're doing.
My next tip is to understand your baby's sleep cycles. All babies enter to sleep by going into
a state of light sleep to begin with and then eventually they'll enter a state of deep sleep. Now,
the issue with light sleep is that you can often think that your baby is about to wake up or cry.
They might be fussing, wriggling around, making noises but their eyes are closed. This can
be really confusing for new parents because they think "Oh my baby's about to wake up anyway. I might
as well get them out of their cot, start feeding them or changing their nappy" Actually they're
in a state of light sleep and they could have stayed asleep for longer and entered a deep sleep
but you're rousing them from this light sleep and interrupting their sleep cycle. So, only pick
up your baby if they're actually awake with their eyes open. Your baby will usually communicate
with you if they need something - they'll cry if they're hungry, need their nappy changed or
want to see you because they've woken up, they've had enough sleep and they're not tired anymore.
My final tip is to avoid an over-tired baby. In the early weeks and months after your baby's
been born, they're going to need to sleep every 45 minutes to two hours so it's important for you to
look out for cues from your baby which suggests that they need to sleep. Signs of a tired baby
are rubbing their eyes, turning their head away from you, yawning or zoning out and staring into
space. When you notice these cues it's important to try and create an environment that's as quiet
dark and cozy as possible so that your baby can sleep. If your baby gets over-tired it
can be harder to get them to sleep. They can start crying and become really really fussy.
That's why it's important that you are aware of your baby displaying any cues of tiredness so that
you can settle them before they get over tired. Thanks so much for watching this video today. I
hope that you found it helpful! Please let me know in the comments section beneath this video which
tips worked best to get your baby to sleep. Take care and see you again soon :)