Ask A Mom
My first Ask A Mom letter comes from a nice new mom in Oregon. She wants to know “how should I put my child to sleep? Is it necessary to have a night time routine, or do I just put her to bed when it is her bedtime?”
This is a great question. You could just put your baby to sleep, but since you didn’t give the age of the child in question, I suggest starting a bedtime routine with your child as young as three months.
There are various things you can do to soothe your baby into nightly slumbers and I will tell you what worked for me.
A nice bath. Don’t under estimate a nice relaxing bath before bed. There are so many nice bath soaps and lotions on the market now that are calming, take advantage of them.
Follow the bath up with some lotion and a massage for your child.
You love massages, so will your child.
Then if it was time for a bottle I would give one to my child in his room with dim lighting. Maybe even some music. I would always play classical music at bedtime and as my children got older they recognized this music as nap or bedtime. You could always use a crib cd player or the music of his mobile.
As my children got a little older, I would read them stories before bed and now that they are four they prefer my husband singing silly songs with his guitar before bed. If he is not here at bedtime, I still read them books.
Here are soem tips to keep a sleeping baby sleeping. keep the room at a comfortable temperature, not cold but cool. Try some white noise like a fan, sound machine or humidifier. My husband would still love to sleep with the sound of a fan every night!
That should make any person want to tuck themselves into the covers and snuggle down at bedtime for a full 10 hours sleep!
I hope this helps you, Oregon.
So, help this mom out, what are your bedtime routines?
babies, infants, toddlers, bedtime, bedtime routines, baths, baby baths, children, moms, parenting, parents, sleep
March 7th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
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