When will my baby sleep through the night? That is a question us parents have all had in common at some point in our baby’s life.
Mole suffered terribly with silent reflux and colic as a newborn. There were nights where I would see every hour go by on the clock, the sun would rise and the birds would sing.? We were far from sleeping through the night. I remember feeling so envious of parents boasting how their newborn was a fantastic sleeper and I wanted to know their secret.
Mole is 9 months now and sleeping through like a dream! I am feeling more confident as a mum and I know that there are things in Mole’s routine that I could have established earlier which would have helped her to sleep through.
Routine
Routines play a huge part in making your life easier as a parent. I should have known really, as a secondary school teacher at a challenging school, everything is routinised. The students do the exact same routine at the start of every single lesson. If any of this is out of place on my behalf. They go haywire. Kids love structure and routine.
I started Mole with a very simple bed time routine around 3/4 months. By simple I mean very simple. Bath, bottle and bed.? Did it work? Not quite.
Mole’s bed time routine has become a little more detailed now and it is working for us!
Food
Weaning Mole has helped her to sleep through, but, when she first started weaning I would say it did not make the slightest difference.
I focus through out the day on what kind of foods she is eating, making sure she is full and satisfied. e.g. porridge over yoghurt. She can sometimes be so busy crawling around and exploring she will forget she is hungry until she is in bed. I give her water during the day and try to focus most of her bottles of milk towards the afternoon/evening again leaving her full for night time.
Mole has her last bottle before we go up to bed at around 11:30pm. Sometimes, if she is in a very hungry mood, I will leave her a bottle in her cot and she helps herself to it at around 6:00am.
Energy
Mole sleeps better if I am active with her during the day. She has so much energy that she needs to burn off. I take her to soft play in the afternoon, swimming lessons or we have crawling races around the house.
It is easier when they can crawl to tire them out. My next baby I will take them out in their pram to get a good dose of fresh air before bed or practice tummy time or play shaking a rattle. The smallest activities can make a difference.?
Bedtime Story
We do the bedtime story before she has a bath, this may change as she gets older. She loves books, especially the touchy feely ones.
Bath
Mole has a bath for bed at the same time every single night 6:00pm. It use to be later. I bought the time forward and we didn’t hit that over tired phase and she was better behaved. Lot’s of splashing and fun in the bath (tired her out even more).
After the bath, I like to give her a gentle massage if she is in the mood and dry her off. I have taken more notice in her pyjamas too. I look for quality now and focus on how soft and comfortable the material is. Sometimes In buy a size bigger so they aren’t too tight on her feet.
Sleeping Bag
Mole always has a better night sleep when she is in a sleeping bag. The best I have been able to find at an affordable price is this one I was gifted from Vertbaudet at ?21.00:?Microfibre Sleeping Bag
The best I have been able to find at an affordable price is this one from Vertbaudet
The quality is beautiful. It has lasted being washed over and over again too where as others from Supermarkets I have purchased have been ruined.?
The size of the sleeping bag is perfect for her legs to have enough room.
There is the option to have sleeves on the sleeping bag or detach them depending on the temperature.
The sleeping bag is also versatile for prams as there is a double zip option to separate the legs!
Since using a sleeping bag she no longer has an issue with the blanket coming off and getting cold through out the night and I sleep better as the sleeping bag is safer.
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Graduate of Computer Science at Manchester Metropolitan University (BSc Hons Computer Science).
Former Secondary School Teacher.
Mum of two with an 18 month age gap. Experienced in reflux and cows milk protein allergy.
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