ParentingHub

A comforting bedtime routine can lead to a better night’s sleep for your baby and for you.

Average sleep pattern for babies
All guides to babies’ sleep patterns are just that – guides. You know your baby best. If your baby is awake and happy, baby has had enough sleep. If baby is awake and unhappy, more sleep might be needed.

Age 3-6 months- Day sleeps 2 or 3 sleeps of up to 2 hours each. Night sleeps, might still wake at least once during the night
Age 7-12 months- Day sleeps 2-3 hours total, usually taken as a morning sleep and an afternoon sleep. Night sleeps, between 6 pm and 10 pm until 5 am or later

Moving baby to a cot
If your baby has been sleeping with you for the first three months, you might want to move baby to a cot. With a little luck, this will go without a hitch, and your baby will doze off happily in the new bed.
Dropping off to sleep is one thing most babies can cleverly do for themselves. But if your baby is having trouble falling asleep or settling, you could try the patting settling technique.

Bedtime routine
By the time babies are six months old, they often appreciate the soothing ‘sameness’ of a bedtime routine. Babies love routine, and it won’t take long for your baby to understand what is expected. A typical bedtime routine might look like this:
1. Give baby dinner.
2. Give baby a bath.
3. Have a short play.
4. Give baby the last feed of the day (breast or formula).
5. Change baby’s nappy.
6. Give baby some quiet time with you in the bedroom (reading a book or telling a story)
7. Put baby into the cot while singing a lullaby such as Rock-a-Bye Baby.
8. Say goodnight.
9. Turn lights out or night-light on (whatever baby is used to).

At six months, there is usually no need for a feed during the night. Some parents find that a feed around 10 pm (a rollover feed) helps baby sleep longer through the night.

Night waking
All babies wake during the night as part of their normal sleep cycle. Problems start when they can’t get back to sleep without your help. Every night, many parents suffer the sudden jolt awake as they tune in to their little night owl’s cries. Once a baby knows how to fall back to sleep independently, everybody in the house can enjoy nights of relatively unbroken rest. Help your baby learn how to go to sleep independently by putting baby to bed sleepy but still awake. If baby can learn to go to sleep without you, baby is more likely to drop off again after waking during the night. This means putting baby into her bed before she falls asleep on your lap or on the bottle. Nearly 50% of babies under 15 months wake at night.

Sleep tips
Help your baby learn to settle and fall asleep independently by:
- emphasising the difference between night and day
- putting baby to bed drowsy but awake
- You can help your baby to associate darkness with sleep by minimising activity, noise and light when you’re feeding or changing a nappy during the night.
- A milk bottle in bed is not a good sleep aid. As babies get older and develop teeth, it can also cause severe tooth decay.