Baby Sleep Habits

Establishing good sleep habits requires consistency on your part. To begin with, at bedtime, put your baby down in her cradle and leave the room. If you find yourself unable to stop thinking about her, go admire her from the doorway, but don’t pick her up or otherwise interfere with her falling asleep on her own. You can distract yourself by telephoning a friend, listening to the stereo, or involving yourself in some other activity. [Similarly, don’t let your baby get used to sleeping in your bed. As a newborn, he won’t mind sleeping alone, but if he gets used to your company, you may well find yourself with a habit that is difficult to break.]

 Infants don’t require silence to sleep soundly. By nature, young babies will sleep through normal household noise, so don’t eliminate these noises or your baby will learn to depend on an artificially quiet environment to sleep. This does not mean that you should have the stereo blaring, but don’t worry about the telephone ringing, older children playing, or the dog barking. A baby can easily become accustomed to these noises.

Excerpted from “Helping Your Child Sleep Through The Night” by Susie Schevill and Joanne Cuthbertson, all rights reserved.