6 Tricks To Help Your Baby Sleep At 3 To 6 Months
6 Tricks to Help your Baby Sleep at 3 to 6 Months
At the age of 3 to 6 months you can expect that there will continue to be nighttime awakenings. Once your baby is in this age range you can consider trying out one of the sleep training methods, particularly one of the “no tears” methods that may be easier to start off with and less stressful. Aside from sleep training you can try these tips to help with getting your baby a good night’s sleep when she is 3 to 6 months old.
1. Don’t make eye contact with baby
Eye contact is a bit like adrenaline for your baby and causes her blood pressure to rise and heart rate to increase, and it will wake her up. When you are trying to get your baby to sleep you should avoid eye contact as much as possible. During the daytime and during the evening when it’s not bedtime you won’t need to be concerned with this.
2. Try different types of white noise
White noise can be very effective at helping your baby get to sleep and this technique works well at the age of 3 to 6 months. You can use a white noise machine or a fan to create white noise. The noises that babies hear inside the womb are quite loud, so strong rhythmic noise noises can relax them and they are still reminded of the womb even at the age of 3 to 6 months.
3. Try to set up a regular bed time at this age
Newborn babies will show you signs of sleepiness such as eye rubbing or ear pulling, but as your baby grows older you will need to set a more specific time for bed. Many babies will sleep by 6-8 p.m. but this can vary quite a bit. You can set a regular bed time that is more favorable for your schedule and try to stick to it, and don’t set it too late.
4. Plan out a bedtime routine
Bedtime routines are one of the most important strategies for getting your baby to sleep on your schedule. If you have a particular bedtime ritual your baby will begin to associate it with sleep, and it will be much easier to get her to sleep at a particular time. You can come up with your bedtime ritual such as a bath before bed, a bedtime story, getting your baby changed and then tucking her in to bed. Whatever the ritual is, she will benefit from the consistency and will make associations with the ritual and sleeping. Be sure that you do the routine consistently in the same order every night.
5. Wake your baby up if necessary
If you find that your baby is sleeping past her normal wake up time in the morning it is okay to wake her up instead of letting her sleep more. Your baby needs to have a consistent sleep wake cycle set up at the age of 3 to 6 months; this is how you can begin to establish a healthy sleeping pattern. If your baby is tired you can set up naps to recharge during the day, but it’s important that you establish at least a somewhat regular time for waking and sleeping and try to stick to it as much as possible to help create a routine.
6. Plan naps every day
Planning naps at regular periods throughout the day can help establish a more regular sleeping habit. You might plan on a nap every 3 hours starting at 9 a.m. You can even usually put your baby to sleep every few hours; between 3 to 6 months she will be tired after a few hours of activity. Naps are also important if you wake your baby up past their normal waking time and they are still tired.
