What Will We Do If The Baby-o Won’t Go To Sleep-y-o?

Our Village families are bouncing their babies to a lively old-time Appalachian Folk Song about the dilemma of getting those wee babes to sleep.  The song has some good suggestions:  “Wrap her up in calico.”  (Many young babies are soothed by the security of being swaddled.) “Send her to her Daddy-o”  (Share the bedtime duties with both mom and dad) “Swing him north and swing him south.” (Rocking is very soothing at bedtime).

Then there are a few phrases that aren’t such good advice:   “Tickle his chin and wiggle his toes.” (That would keep the baby awake!) “Throw her up in the old hay loft.” (Though if you feel exasperated, leave the baby in a safe spot such as a crib for a few minutes.  Go out on the porch for a few deep breaths of fresh air or wash your face with warm water.) “Pour a little honey in his mouth.” (We now know that infants under 12 months old should never be fed honey.  But sometimes milk or another snack will help with the getting-to-sleep process.)

Here are a few other great help-the-baby-to-sleep tips I found on this web site:

Using consistent bedtimes and rituals. Babies who enjoy consistent bedtimes and familiar going-to-sleep rituals usually go to sleep easier and stay asleep longer. The sequence of a warm bath, rocking, nursing, lullabies, etc. set the baby up to feel that sleep is expected to follow. Capitalize on a principle of early infant development: patterns of association. Baby’s developing brain is like a computer, storing thousands of sequences that become patterns. When baby clicks into the early part of the bedtime ritual, he is programmed for the whole pattern that results in drifting off to sleep.

Calming down. Give baby a warm bath followed by a soothing massage to relax tense muscles and busy minds. Be careful, though, because this will stimulate some babies.

Quiet in the bedroom.  Since most babies can block out disturbing noise, you don’t have to create a noiseless sleeping environment, yet some babies startle and awaken easily with sudden noises. For these babies, oil the joints and springs of a squeaky crib, put out the dog before he barks and turn the ringer off on the phone.

Darkness in the bedroom. Use opaque shades to block out the light, which may get you an extra hour of sleep if you have one of those little roosters who awakens to the first ray of sunlight entering the bedroom.

Sounds to sleep by. Repetitive, nearly monotonous sounds that lull baby to sleep are known as white noise, such as the sounds of a fan, air conditioner, or even tape recordings of womb sounds or vacuum cleaner sounds. Also, try running water from a nearby faucet or shower, a bubbling fish tank, a loudly ticking clock, or a metronome set at sixty beats a minute. (These can all be tape-recorded.) Try music to sleep by, such as tape recordings of waterfalls or ocean sounds, or a medley of easy-listening lullabies on a continuous-play tape recorder. These sleep-inducing sounds remind baby of the sounds she was used to hearing in the womb.

Music to sleep by. Try a continuous-play tape recording of your baby’s favorite lullabies, so when she awakens she can resettle herself to the familiar sleep-inducing sound of the tape-recording. You can make a medley of your own lullabies that have been proven sleep-inducers.

Rock your baby. Most babies enjoy rocking and cuddling as part of their bedtime routine.

Read, talk and sing to your baby. Even if she’s too young to understand the words, the gentle rhythms of your voice may help her get to sleep.

- posted by Miss Beth, who loved reading and rocking Tyler to sleep every night when he was a baby.