There are kazillions of articles, books, blogs and content written about how to get your baby to sleep through the night and the one thing you will read over and over and over again (and often skim over) is: DOING A CONSISTENT BEDTIME ROUTINE
Now I know this seems so simple BUT I am here to tell you that there is a key to it, which is very often overlooked, and you aren’t getting ahead with positive sleep skills because of it.
Here is an example of a really wonderful bedtime routine:
- Bath
- PJ’s/Massage
- Sleep Sac (or swaddle if under 4 months)
- Feed
- Story
- Song
If you do this CONGRATS! Babies love the consistency and routine to help them better understand sleep time is coming up!
However, here are a few things to ask yourself:
- Are the lights off during the process at any point?
- Is there music playing while the light is off?
- At ANY stage of this process does your child fall asleep or get super drowsy even for 1 second?
It is SO important that your child does not even get drowsy (you know, the milk coma…) or even nods off for a split second because you are ultimately starting off their sleepy time. In order for your child to be an independent and strong sleeper, the start of their sleep needs to be 100% on their own not with your assistance.
Make sure the lights are on and that your child is kept awake. If you want to play music as part of your routine, I suggest it ends before the feed and before the lights go out. And keep the whole routine from start to finish a length of 45 minutes maximum- you don’t want to lose the “sleep momentum” and have them catch a second wind because you missed their window to sleep!
Sleep well,