Helping your baby learn night from day
The day and night confusion of your baby in the initial months can be highly frustrating. All parents would be happy if their babies are born with the knowledge to differentiate between day and night but unfortunately, it is not possible in reality because they are not born with body clocks. However, there are a few babies who wake more frequently at night than in the daytime. Is your one among them? If so, I can understand your concerns about helping your baby learn night from day. How to help your baby learn night from the day? Here are a few simple tips that really work.
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Expose your baby to natural light in the daytime
A study conducted by Liverpool John Moores University in 2004 proves that infants exposed to sunlight from 12 noon to 4 pm slept better than the babies who weren’t. If it is not possible to take your baby outside, then at least you should leave the windows open to let the sunlight in. By contrast, make sure you keep your baby’s room dark in the late evenings. Let the lights be dim. Avoid bright lights. This will help the baby understand gradually that dark nights are for sleeping.
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Let the days be noisy and the nights be calm
Your baby should experience the hustles and bustles of daytime. Keep the radio or TV on. Keep talking to your little one loudly. Don’t use a hush-hush tone in the mornings. Avoid all types of stimulations at night. You should even avoid eye contact with your baby when you are feeding her at night. Let the baby’s room be calm and quiet.
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Start a sleep routine
A good bedtime routine is essential for your baby. Your baby will not be able to understand it for the first few weeks but gradually she will understand that it is time to sleep once the bedtime routine is complete. Ithelps the baby to differentiate between day and night.You can start it when your baby is 5-weeks old. Bedtime routine includes a warm bath, massage, feeding, appropriate dressing, and playing soothing music or white noise.
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Increase in melatonin levels
Melatonin is the hormone responsible for inducing sleep and is also called the sleep hormone. It is secreted by the pineal glands that are active only during the night. The levels of melatonin levels start to rise when it becomes dark outside. So it is important that you avoid bright lights during the night.
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Introduce sleep props
Introducing sleep props will help your baby to know it is sleep time. Your baby was listening to rhythmic sounds in the womb. So total silence can be scary to the little ones. So, using sleep props like a baby shusher is recommended.How white noise helps your baby sleep?The baby shusher in the Sleep Helper ™ kit from Nasobuddy produces sounds that resemble the sounds of the womb.
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Set aside a place for sleeping at night
You should create a safe, comfortable, and quieter place for your baby’s night sleep. Slowly, she will get used to it and will realize that it is sleep time.
It can be a real challenge but be patient in your efforts. It takes a few months for your baby to learn the day/night difference and the 24hrs circadian rhythm. In these first few months The SleepHelper ™ kit from Nasobuddy that will be of great help to you. The baby shusher, colic swaddle belt and baby lavender balm in it is the best way to get a baby to sleep peacefully and create a bedtime routine.