|
Early
Bedtime Means Better Baby Sleep
In their
efforts to encourage their baby to sleep better, one
approach that many parents use is to put their baby to bed later
in the evening. They think, “If he’s “really tired”
he’ll sleep better, right?” Wrong! This often backfires
because Baby becomes overtired, and chronically
sleep-deprived.
In the
majority of cases, a baby’s biological clock is preset for
an early bedtime. When parents work with that time, a baby
falls asleep more easily and stays asleep more peacefully.
Most babies are primed to go to sleep for the night as early
as 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. I often hear about how babies and
toddlers have a “melt down” period at the end of the
day, when they get fussy, whiny and out of sorts. I suspect
that it’s simply a sign of over-tired children longing for
sleep.
Early
to bed, early to rise?
For
babies, early to bed does not mean early to rise!
Most babies sleep longer with an earlier bedtime.
Many parents are afraid to put their baby to bed so early,
thinking that they will then face a 5 a.m. wake up call. But
keeping your little one up too late backfires, and more
often, a late night is the one followed by that early
morning awakening.
My
youngest child, two-year-old Coleton used to go to bed at
9:30, the time when my three older children went to bed,
because it was convenient for me. At that time in the
evening, it would take him a long time to get settled. I
never connected his inability to settle with his late
bedtime. When I started putting him to bed at 7:00, he fell
asleep much more quickly and slept more soundly.
What
About Working Parents?
If you
are a working parent, and your evening with your little one begins
at 6:30 or 7:00, you may find yourself torn between keeping
your baby up for some playtime and getting him right to bed.
You may find, though, that when your baby goes to sleep
earlier, and sleeps better, he awakens in a pleasant mood,
eager to play. Because you have gotten a good night’s
sleep, you can consider getting up earlier in the morning
and saving some time before work to play with your baby, as
an alternative to that late-evening play session. You’ll
both enjoy that special morning time. Later, when your baby
is consistently sleeping all night, every night, you can
move bedtime a little later and judge whether the difference
affects your baby’s sleep.
Finding
Your Baby’s Best Bedtime
It can
take some experimentation to find your baby’s best
bedtime. If you have been putting your baby to bed too late
in the evening, you can approach this adjustment in one of
two different ways:
- Adjust
your baby’s bedtime to be earlier by fifteen to thirty
minutes every two or three nights. Pay attention to how
easily your baby falls asleep as well as his awakening
time and mood to gauge the effectiveness of the changes
until you settle on his best bedtime, or
- Beginning
at around 6:30 p.m., watch your baby closely. As soon as
he exhibits any signs of tiredness (fussing, losing
interest in toys, looking glazed, yawning) put him right
to bed, even if his previous bedtime has been 11:00 p.m.
When you do this, keep your home quiet and the baby’s
room dark so that it resembles his usual environment in
the middle of the night. If this bedtime is
substantially earlier than usual, your baby may think
he’s going down for a nap and awaken after a short
snooze. If he does this, respond very quickly so that he
doesn’t fully awaken. Follow your usual method for
helping him fall back to sleep, such as rocking or
nursing; keep the room dark and quiet as you do during
the middle of the night.
Here’s
what Tammy, mother of seven-month-old Brooklyn had to say
about changing her baby’s bedtime, “I had been
waiting until 10:00 to put
Brooklyn
to bed because that’s when I go to sleep. But your
suggestion made so much sense that last night I put her down
at 8:00. I loved having the evening to spend with my
husband. We haven’t spent that much time alone together in
months! And the baby actually had a better night’s sleep.
I’m happy that all our needs can be met in such a pleasant
way.”
It may
take a week or more of adjustment to settle into a new
bedtime, but once you do, you’ll find that both you and
your baby are happier.
Excerpted
with permission by McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Publishing from The
No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep
Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley, copyright 2002
Website: http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth
USA
:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071381392/
qid%3D1003592050/sr%3D1-5/ref%3Dsr%5F1%5F11%5F5/002-1419920-8436816
Canada
:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071381392/
qid%3D1026668674/sr%3D1-1/ref%3Dsr%5F1%5F0%5F1/702-1316659-8088819
UK
:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071381392/
qid%3D1019681327/sr%3D1-7/ref%3Dsr%5F1%5F0%5F7/026-8551436-6902850
|