WAYS TO HELP YOUR BABY TO SLEEP WELL

   Some babies fall asleep easily, for some others it is more difficult. The mother or whoever else takes care of the baby, plays the most important role in this. Before you put the baby to sleep, you can do the following:

   1. Give the baby a bath and then a soft massage with baby oil (this will lessen colic pain).

   2. Feed the baby and wait for burping.

   3. Change the nappy if needed.

   4. Do not dress the baby “heavily”.

   5. Make sure the temperature in the baby’s room does not exceed 22 degrees C.

   6. Lower the light in the baby’s room.

   When it is sleeping time, it is good not to rock the baby in your arms, simply put the baby to bed (backwards and slightly sideways), without a pillow or bed covers. You may cover the baby as soon as it falls asleep. If the baby is disquiet, you may stay with it, fondling its back without any talking or eye contact.

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   If you like, you may also close your eyes, it helps the baby to be lulled to sleep much more easily. Whisper a tune or switch on some music of a soft melody. Also, you may read to the baby a small fairy-tale. You can even write yourself your own story, with words you would like to say or to read to your baby, every time you put it to bed. The CDs with stories and fairy-tales are very useful even as the baby is growing (for example: the stories of bugbear, the rabbit and the turtle etc).

   Certainly, an intercom apparatus (baby monitor) must be used, in order to know that everything is OK, or if not, to hear it immediately.

   Many times, the newborns are crying while asleep, no need to run to them straight away. Wait for 2-3 minutes, perhaps it is due to a slight pain which stops in a while. If the crying insists, then take the baby in your arms for 5 minutes until the baby gets quiet and then put it back to its bed.

   After all these, if the baby still does not want to sleep, delay the bedtime for about half an hour, not more, because your baby may not feel sleepy yet.