HOW TO IDENTIFY IF SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT
You get ready to put your baby to sleep but, no matter what you do, he cries a lot. This could be happening for very different reasons:
😭 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱: with babies it is very important to observe their wake windows, which is the time they can be awake. And these get longer with the age of the baby. If we miss that WW and we put our little to sleep a little too late, chances are he is overtired and now finds it difficult to fall asleep.
😭 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗶 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Especially with very young babies, stimuli can be too much to bear. Think about the womb, where they have been for many weeks. It is noisy, yes, but it is dark and tight. When getting that room ready for baby, you want to kind of recreate that womb, and that is why I always recommend to make it as dark as you can (from 8-10 weeks of age, babies can already differentiate day and night), use a white noise machine and a swaddle (this should be discontinued when they can roll over).
😭 𝗕𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗿𝘆: Until they start having teeth and you need to brush them before bedtime, you want to feed your baby as part of the bedtime routine to make sure that they are not waking up because of hunger. Just try that your baby does not fall asleep at the breast/bottle so that you can put her awake in the crib and practice those self soothing skills!
😭 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲: Babies need to foresee what is happening next and so that is why it is beneficial to follow a pre bed time routine, both before we put them to bed for a nap and at night time. This provides baby with a nice transition from active time to resting time.
😭 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽: Every baby has their way to relax and fall asleep. Some sing to themselves, some babble, some play with the pacifiers in the crib (My daughter does that 😊) and some simply need to cry a little (again: a little) before being able to relax and sleep. Give your little some time to calm down before you act. You may be surprised to see that she does not take long to settle down herself and fall asleep!
Now you have learnt to identify some of the reasons for your baby to cry before bedtime. If you are checking all the boxes and the problem persist, you may want to consider speaking with a professional.
Feel free to book a free 15 minute discovery call with me here.
Enjoy your night mama!
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