Your first few days with your newborn child may seem pretty chill because they are mostly asleep. At this time, you still have time to catch a nap or get enough sleep. However, come six weeks, your baby will start waking up at the most random time during the day (or night) and you will surely stress out on how you could get them to sleep.
However, what parents do not know is that when babies are in their third or fourth month, they now begin to sleep through the night if you let them. But, there are a lot of parents who still do not know how to encourage their newborns to effective sleeping habits that their babies can adapt to for years.
If your baby is now on his sixth month and he still keeps on waking up at night, then you might need to do something about it. You should make a sleeping schedule or routine for your baby and train them when to sleep at the most appropriate time of the day. Even though they are still babies, they can adapt to sleeping schedules once they are taught. For parents out there who are still confused about how this will work, here is a sleeping training guide for babies that they can follow for seven days.
Adapt a regular routine
Most babies would sleep around a lot and tend to mix up their days and nights by napping at such long periods in the afternoon and waking up at bedtime. This is very stressful especially for parents because they will not have time to rest and sleep. Babies can be taught and trained to sleep by letting them know the difference between day and night.
You can start by waking up your baby early in the morning and set your routine straight every day. The sun's natural light will set their circadian rhythms and will help them know that it is already day and it's time to wake up. When nighttime arrives, you can set a specific bedtime for them and do a routine such as putting them in their pajamas and tucking them into bed.
Practice the routine
It may take time for babies to adapt to your planned routine but you need to do it every day for your babies to learn when to sleep. Consistency is one key to an effective sleeping routine for babies. If your baby still needs to be fed before putting them to sleep at night, you may want to let your baby distinguish night or day feeding.
You can make day feeding fun and exciting such as playing around with them, and at night, you can feed them in a calm and peaceful way and may even sing them to sleep.
Crying is a normal part of the routine
If you tend to let your baby sleep on top of your or while you are carrying them, once you put them to their beds or crib, you may notice that they will be awakened by it. A lot of parents would worry if they see their babies open their eyes once they lay them in bed and are afraid they will cry, but parents need to know it's normal if they do. You can hush them to sleep or rock their cribs until they fall asleep again.
Be strict on the routine
If the first few nights did not work well, do not give up. Parents should be tighter in the next nights and apply the routine to their babies keenly for them to adapt to it. Once you do this, your baby will now know that crying is not effective, so they will most probably just follow your rules. However, if you're being inconsistent with your routine, you will confuse your baby and will surely cry twice as much as they did the last night.
Your baby will sleep through
In the next couple of days with your sleeping routine, you will notice that your baby will sleep at the right time on schedule and will not cry anymore. This is already a sound of victory for parents. However, you need to constantly check your baby whether they are asleep or just lying down awake. Let your baby soothe themselves and let them sleep on their own.
You will now sleep soundly
Consider this as a job well done for you. Now that you have kept your baby asleep and have trained them the proper sleeping routine you want them to have, you can now rest and sleep soundly as a baby.
