How I got my baby to sleep 12 hours? This has been one of the most popular questions in my DM box… So, I figured I should address it in depth here on my blog. I want to start by saying that not every baby is the same, regardless of the strategies you choose to follow. For example, swaddling pretty much never worked on my daughter. In fact, she HATED it, yet, it’s proven to work for so many other babies out there. What I’m about to share has worked for Serena, but it might not necessarily work for your baby. But of course, it’s worth a try!
The first month of having Serena, I would get 3 hours of straight sleep if I’m lucky. It was only after 2 months that her night sleeping schedule got better and here’s why:
Bedtime Routine
I’ve spent hours researching the topic of sleep and almost every article recommended to develop a bedtime routine for your baby. Even though it’s been hard to stick to an exact bedtime due to our crazy traveling schedule, I always end the night with the following steps: playtime, shower, massage, bottle feeding. By the time I give her the bottle(because I want to make sure she’s drinking enough milk to keep her sleeping for a long stretch), she is already so sleepy from her warm shower in her blooming bath lotus. I make sure to burp her them dim the lights and give her a pacifier as I am rocking her to sleep. As soon as I feel like she’s falling asleep, I put her down and hold her hand till she’s fully asleep.
Drop Your Late Night Feeding
I try to give Serena most of her milk intake need by the time she’s ready for her bedtime. That way, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, I simply give her a pacifier and put her back to sleep. This is the chart I use to figure out how much milk my daughter should be drinking in 24 hours. I started following this method when she hit 40 days and she has gotten used to it.
Create The Perfect Environment
I turn on her humidifier and add some lavender essential oil to it, I make sure it’s quiet cause she will NOT sleep if its noisy as she gets easily distracted, I add a soft blanket to keep her cozy, and I always have a clean pacifier incase she needs it. I never let her cry it out cause that usually gets her more awake and tends to stress me out. Instead, I try to provide her with an environment that keeps her comfortable and calm.
Find her “Why”
Some nights she gives me a hard time to go to sleep. So, I end up going through the process of elimination to find out WHY. It’s either she needs a diaper change, she needs to burp, could still be hungry, or wants to cuddle. Once I take the time to understand what the underlying factor is, she falls asleep a lot faster.
And this is how I got my baby to sleep. I hope this post helps someone out there… Desperately researching at 3:00 AM how to get their baby to sleep through the night 😆. Don’t be afraid to test out different strategies! And remember, what works for one baby might not work for the other.
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