I remember when our son was about two weeks old, that my sister in law was telling me about her eight-month-old who was sleeping through until 7am. It seemed like a dream existence I would never ever achieve! There are a few tips you can try to help your new baby enough sleep, but once they are off, how can you help them stay asleep so you can have your own rest, get essential things done, or just take a break and talk to your partner?
Silence please?
Some people believe in absolute silence once their new baby is resting. If you've been trying to get her off to sleep for three hours, it's understandable, but it's not neccessary once your child is in a deep sleep.
With new babies it is preferable to have them take their naps in a cot (daytime naps don't mean you should ease up on the rules around night sleeping to minimise the danger of SIDS near you, which means downstairs if you live in a house, rather than up in your bedroom. Don't leave your baby unattended and don't leave him in outdoor clothes if he has fallen asleep in his pram and now you are indoors again.
Tip-toeing around uneccessarily isn't going to help you relax and, whilst you might not be advised to slap some heavy metal on the stereo, daily household noises are probably familiar and reassuring to your new baby, not to mention the rumble he has got used to inside your womb!
Moving a sleeping baby
Although it seems worse after a night feed, babies have a knack of appearing to be fast asleep only to wake up the minute you put them into their cots after day time feeds or cuddles, too.
Give it 10 minutes Try to let your baby rest in your arms, if you've been feeding or carrying your baby around to lull him off for a nap, for a good ten minutes before trying to transfer him to a safe place to sleep.
Minimise your movement Find a place to sit that is near to the cot or mat that you are going to rest your baby on. The more you move around the more chance there is of disturbing your child. If you usually have to haul yourself up from the sofa (especially if you have a dodgy back that's still recovering from the birth) try to make a habit of feeding in a higher chair with better support and one which you can move smoothly up from to take your baby to his bed.
Dim the light You might not want to make your baby's room completely dark by using blackout curtains - babies, like adults, vary in how dark they need to a room to be in order to get off to a good sleep - but you could half-close the curtains for a day nap, or put on a light night (many baby monitors have night lights on them which offer just enough light for you to see how your baby is doing, and for your baby to feel reassured when waking up).
Make sure he's comfortable If your baby gets off to naps best when in motion, you might often be tempted to let him sleep on in his pram when you get back from the shops. This is fine, but make sure he is not over-dressed for indoors and take off any hats or coats rather than leaving them on for fear of waking him. If he's in a pram make sure he is laying flat and his head isn't too close to the outside egdes of the baby's carrycot, and if he is in an infant carrier it is not advisable to leave him in there for too long, and make sure his head does not tip forward.
Warm arms to cold cot Try to make sure your baby's cot is warm so that the change from your snuggly arms isn't going to wake him up.
