Coming at you today with some sleep tips that don't involve a sleep training strategy!
You may have wondered "Will my baby sleep if I don't sleep train?" or "How do I get my baby to sleep without sleep training?"
Many babies sleep can be improved with the following tips!
Things to keep in mind:
> Overtired babies tend to not sleep well
> Your baby's bedtime window, their 'sweet spot' for sleep, is about 30 minutes long
> Getting your baby enough daytime sleep, will help with nighttime sleep
Okay, so let's get into my non-sleep training tips that you can start TODAY!
1) Adjust your baby's schedule based on their rise time
This is a big one.
I see many babies who wake up around 6 am, and are being put to bed around 8-9 pm, sometimes later.
Typically, babies have a 12 hr day and a 12 hr night.
If you're extending their day to 14-15 hours, you're cutting their night short, probably missing their 'sweet spot' for bedtime, and gets you stuck in an overtired baby cycle.
So if your baby is waking up around 6 am, their bedtime is most likely around 6:30 pm.
There's this thing, and maybe you've heard of it, it's called {a second wind}.
What is a second wind, you ask?
It's when your body realizes that you're not going to sleep, so it gives you adrenaline and cortisol to keep you awake (and safe from a primitive standpoint).
Now I know that you're smart- so I know that you're putting the pieces together with this.
If your baby gets a dump of adrenaline and cortisol, what are the chances that they will go down for sleep easily...?
Ahh- you see my point now!
2) Watching wake windows throughout the day
I know there's a LOT of talk about wake windows, and I don't want you to stress over this.
BUT, I do want you to pay attention.
If your baby can only manage on average 1-1.5 hours of awake time, but they are consistently being kept up for 2-3 hours, that's a recipe for overtiredness.
"But Melody, my baby doesn't seem tired at the end of their wake window!"
Great observation!
Here's a mindset shift- You CAN put a happy baby in their bed for a nap:)
If your baby doesn't give you a lot of sleepy cues- or they go from 0-10 all of a sudden, start to watch the clock and start getting them ready for a nap 5-10 minutes before the dreaded meltdown.
If you don't know where to start with wake windows, check out my wake window and nap chart here!
3) Full, daytime feeds every 2-3 hours during the day help with night sleep
Is your baby feeding a lot of night and not much during the day?
This is called {reverse cycling}, and it's a fancy way of saying exactly that- your baby takes in their calories at night vs. the daytime.
You may worry that they would be hungry if you don't feed them at night because they didn't eat well during the day.
Then the cycle continues.
By starting to cut down on night feeds, your baby will naturally start to eat better during the day, because it's all about caloric intake in 24 hours.
If your baby is taking more than 2 night feeds, read this blog about cutting down on night feeds and my formula that I give to my client!
When you start to shift your baby's feeds to the daytime, feeding them every 2-3 hours can help to get enough quality feeds in!
If they are feeding every 1-2 hours, and you feel as though they are 'snack feeding', then let's start by stretching the time between feeds to get better quality feeds in!
4) Putting your baby to bed at 6:30 pm can help with night sleep and early mornings
Now hear me out!
If your baby is in an overtired cycle, and they are missing their bedtime window, temporarily putting them to bed by 630 pm can help them catch up on sleep.
If your baby is overtired, and not sleeping well at night and waking up early (and are obviously still tired), try an early bedtime!
{You've got nothing to lose at this point!}
5) Create a bedtime routine that's between 20-30 minutes long and make the feed one of the first steps
By moving your baby's bedtime feed to the first step of their bedtime routine helps to create some distance between feeding and sleeping.
It can help you get to a place where your baby doesn't rely on so many 'sleep props' to go to sleep.
Here's an example of a bedtime routine:
Bath (when it's bath night), fresh diaper, feed (keeping baby awake and actively feeding), PJs, song/story, sleep sack/swaddle and to bed!
Their bedtime routine shouldn't be longer than 20-30 minutes, including a bedtime feed.
They can easily get overtired, especially at the end of the day, if things get dragged on and on.
>>Keep in mind: If you have a baby that's under 3 months, their last wake window of the day may only be an hour. So it goes by quickly!
There you go!
Here are 5 things that you can start today with your baby to help improve their sleep!
Have questions or need more help with your baby's sleep? Hit the button below to book a quick call with me!
Here for you,
Melody Patton
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