Your New Baby – Establish Routines Early

Your new baby will grow up very fast and you should take every opportunity to teach him the things he needs to know. One of the first things a baby learns is how to get what she wants and that is to cry. Establishing routines helps your baby know what to expect and could prevent a lot of unnecessary stress for everyone in the house. These same routines allow you to take care of other things with more confidence and without stress.

So that you can rest and have free time for yourself, you should try to establish the routine that best suits your needs. A baby is ready to go back to sleep within two hours of waking up. This means that if your baby gets up at six, she could easily go back to bed at 8, can you? How does this fit into your schedule?

If your baby needs to feed at night, you may need to delay a good sleep pattern until your baby is ready to stop feeding at night. Most babies stop feeding at night around two to three months of age. By establishing strong routines, your baby will learn to sleep through the night and everyone will get the rest they need.

With very young babies it seems that when you think the baby is fast asleep and you can do something, the opposite is true. It will seem that the moment you leave the room, the baby wakes up. I was told that a baby can smell the mother and, especially in breastfed babies, they know when the mother is not there.

A bedtime routine is part of every daily routine and is a way for you and your family to incorporate sleep without it becoming a battle of wills. There are many ways to establish a bedtime routine. Here are some tips and ideas for bedtime routines so you can start establishing your own:

1. Start the bedtime routine with a bath, some cuddling

2. Sing to your baby or children

3. Try to do things in the same order, with the same people involved, at the same time each night to create a pattern your baby recognizes.

4. Offer your child a snack and a story

5. Dim the lights and lower the volume, creating a relaxing and calm environment.

6. You will need to relax, the child will feed on your energy and the environment

Make sure that whatever your routine entails, it has an ending and that ending is bed. It’s natural for your son to want her attention and affection, so he may not want this special time to end. It is imperative that your child understands that when he puts him to bed, he is to stay there and sleep.

Your child may be upset at first and you need to understand that this is natural. When you put a child to bed, give him a few minutes to fidget if she’s going to do it, he’ll be asleep in no time. Some experts will tell you to give the child about 10 minutes to complain. If your child gets restless when you put him to bed, keep in mind that every time you respond with a word or walk into the room, you start over and the child may get angrier.