Babies are a wonderful addition to any family, but what do you do when they throw off the family rhythm? Many babies will confuse day and night, which means you and your partner will be getting less and less sleep.
This habit is pretty normal for babies. When they are in the womb everything is dark. They sleep when they want to and stay up as late as they want to. Teaching them the difference between night and day is something many parents will have to deal with. It is not hard though and there are a few tricks that can help make it easier.
RELATED: 7 facts about a sleeping baby
Working into things
If your baby sleeps all day and stays up all night, you will have to work on a routine to change that. This will need to be done gradually so that it is easier for the baby to accept it. They are new at all this and will need you to calmly teach them how it all works. There will be times when you may think it will be impossible, but just have patience and you will see results.
Ideas to try
There are a few simple things you need to start with to try and switch your baby’s sleeping habits. They may not work on all babies, but for the most part they should help to push the process in the right direction.
Try shortening their nap time during the day or eliminating one nap time all together. This will help them to be more tired by the evening time. Also, try waking them up even earlier in the morning than you already do. Now it may be too tempting to just let them sleep in, but you must wake them up. You will just have to work with a few ideas and see which ones work best for you.
Set the mood for sleep
When babies are in the womb, it’s usually pitch black. So, you will need to show them the difference manually. A great way to start is by having their room bright during the day. Open the windows to allow the sunlight in during daytime, but at nap-time and bedtime make sure the room is darkened. This will get them used to sleeping at night when it is dark. You may have to gradually work this in to get them used to it, but they will get it soon enough.
Start a routine
Design a routine that will work for you and your baby for bedtime. This can be called your “calming-down” time. Start with a soothing bath and read them a nice story. This will help calm them down as well after a wild day of play. Once you have done this a few times, your baby will start to recognize this as bedtime. You will be able to notice them changing and accepting the new routine.
RELATED: My baby hates to sleep in the cot
Some of these ideas should help you get started. If you still have trouble with your baby, you can always ask the doctor about it. The doctor can give you some other ideas to try and make sure there is no medical reason behind the sleeping problem. Just have some patience and remember to somehow get some sleep for yourself. Getting no sleep never did anyone any good.
Did these tips help you? If so, which one? We’d love to hear feedback from you. For more on putting your baby to sleep, watch this video: