Eight Tips to Help Baby Sleep

02/04/2009| IslamWeb

Many mothers suffer from the problems associated with their child’s sleeping patterns, and this problem affects both of the mother and the baby. To overcome this problem, here are some tips to help your baby have a good night's sleep:

1-    Do not put a pillow under the baby’s head during the first months. This can lead to a bent backbone and can hinder breathing.

2-    The mother should not accustom her child to certain sleeping habits, such as by gentle rocking, carrying, walking around while carrying him or letting him sleep with a bottle of milk in his mouth. This is necessary as the baby may become dependent on these things in order to sleep. It is sufficient to lull him gently to sleep.

3-    The baby should not be taken out of bed in his early months except to go for a walk, to suckle or to have a nappy change.

4-    The baby should sleep on his back or his sides. If the baby vomits frequently he should not sleep on his back so that the vomit would not get into the respiratory system and harm him. In such a case, the baby should sleep on one of his sides. His sleeping position should be changed gently every now and then because the baby gets tired if he is left in one position and may wake up.

5-    The mother should beware of getting her baby used to sleeping in complete silence away from any noise or light. If he gets used to this, he would be startled whenever he hears a sudden sound or even the sound of a door. If he does get startled and wakes up crying on hearing the doorbell or the sound of a shutting door, the mother should hasten to soothe him or suckle him so that it would not be a traumatic experience. 

6-    The mother should set aside time to play with her child. This has a good effect on the baby’s psychological state and improves his mood and behavior.

7-    The mother should not leave her baby in a high place and go to do some housework or fetch something. The baby may fall or a young child might pull him down. The mother must not leave her baby with his siblings who cannot distinguish right from wrong because they may damage the baby’s eye, put their hands in his mouth, carry him or drop him on the floor. Many accidents happen because of the mother’s negligence and because she left her baby with his siblings.

8-    The mother should accustom her baby after his first months to sleep early, and not to sleep during the day then be awake at night because this will disturb the mother and hinder her from having sufficient rest so she can do her responsibilities towards her husband and other children. When the baby gets drowsy after playing a lot, she should hasten to put him to bed and should not exhaust him by making him resist his desire to sleep.