Introduction 

It is a wonder how newborns spend much more time sleeping than being awake. It is even more surprising when the calm and peaceful sleeping times slip away a few months later, and parents wish for the “good old days” when their babies did nothing but sleep. 

For the first couple of months, parents put in little work to get their babies to observe the required hours of baby sleep because they are in a quiet sleep stage. However, as they grow into the active sleep stage, parents are needed to influence how they sleep since they cannot fall asleep “naturally” as they did as newborns. This is probably when the parent starts searching for baby sleeping tips and other information on how their newborns can sleep well. Whether or not you are at this point, we are here to help you out.

Why babies need sleep training

 As you may have noticed, babies do not follow any particular sleeping pattern. While some babies sleep early and for a long time, others sleep late and for a short time, so comparing your baby’s sleeping pattern to another will most likely be futile. This is why babies must undergo sleep training.

Sleep training for babies is just as essential as potty training for toddlers. Sleep training for babies aims to ensure that the baby sleeps comfortably throughout the night independently. It is not enough that your baby sleeps, all babies do that. What is needed is that your baby sleeps safely.

To successfully train a baby to sleep, one has to follow guidelines that constitute baby sleeping tips. These tips are not restricted to sleep training but include training infants to sleep protected. These infant baby sleeping tips are advantageous to both parents and babies.

Firstly, babies who sleep well at night get to relax, relieving themselves of stress. In like fashion, parents of such infants are less stressed and less anxious. When a baby is stressed, immediate pressure is transferred to the parent, especially the nursing mum. 

Sleeping helps their brains mature, and it also lays the foundation for consolidating memories. As a result, infants who are sleep trained have higher cognitive scores. In addition, sleep-trained babies have a better temperament as they become calm and often stop crying instead of their usual fussiness and agitation. 

Bad sleeping habits of mothers that affect babies

Mothers genuinely get worried when their babies are not sleeping well or not sleeping at all. This genuine concern can be expressed incorrectly, resulting in bad sleeping habits.

However, sharing a room with your baby is different from sharing a bed with your baby. For instance, against recent warnings, some mothers still practise co-sleeping with their babies. Understandably, you want to be close by to rock your baby back to sleep whenever they wake. 

In other cases, some parents sleep on the couch with their babies. This is a wrong sleeping act that is often done to protect the infant from falling. Unfortunately, the baby only ends up being suffocated as they are trapped between the mother’s body and the couch.

Another common habit is women who breastfeed their children to sleep. While this may work in the early infancy stage for newborns, it becomes detrimental when babies become reliant on it to sleep. Weaning your baby off night feeding is essential in training them to sleep independently throughout the night.

Sleeping time is similarly one of these wrong expressions of genuine concern. Some parents want to watch their babies sleep, which is good. But, you must try to rest when the infant is asleep. You have to watch your infant almost all the time; without enough rest, you will be walking down the road of sleep deprivation. Sleep-deprived mums have less energy or enthusiasm to take care of their babies. Simply put, mothers should rest a little so their babies can sleep more.

Safe Baby Sleeping Tips for Infants 

As mentioned earlier, baby sleeping tips are numerous and not necessarily new. The most important thing is that you use these tips to help your baby sleep safely as a mum. Here are a few baby sleeping tips for you. 

• Adhere to the ABCs of Safe sleeping. This is the most basic rule of safe baby sleeping. It simply means your baby should; sleep Alone, with their Back (not their stomachs) on a Crib with a firm surface.
• Prevent suffocation which can lead to sudden infant death, by using a Crib with no extra bedding. 
• Keep the baby’s sleeping space safe by removing all soft objects like toys, pacifiers, stuffed animals, etc., from the crib.
• Use wearable coverings like  La Vie blankets with enough exposure to air. This can also help to reduce the risk of sudden infant death.
• Ensure the baby naps in a dark room with white noise at an appropriate distance. The noise helps the baby to sleep quicker and more soundly. One way to achieve this is to turn a standing fan towards the wall while working.
• If you have a nursery, use video monitors and make individual checks to ensure your baby is sleeping safely. You should never mount the video monitor in or on the crib to avoid the camera falling on the baby.
•  Adjust their body once it seems like your baby might have difficulty breathing due to their sleeping position.

Products that facilitate safe sleeping

The process of sleep training babies cannot be done by neglecting necessary products and relying only on the sleeping tips for newborns. 

Here are three essential products that can help your baby and, ultimately, you sleep better. These products are manufactured to make things easier for the parents, especially nursing mothers.

• The crib is your baby’s bed, and it comes in different types and sizes. This baby tool helps to provide a comfortable space for babies to sleep.
• Video monitors are necessary tools, especially for Mums that do not share rooms with their babies. It helps to monitor your baby’s sleeping pattern.
• Though risky, Mesh Bumpers are safer for use when compared to regular bumpers used in cribs.

Raising your newborn will be demanding, but you will be just incredible with the proper knowledge, tools, and products.