Tips for a relaxed baby

TIPS FOR A RELAXED BABY

Who out there with a new baby would like more sleep? Or a relaxed, calm baby? I’m sure you have done all of the usual things. The pacing around the room, changing, feeding, pacing again. Even resorting to driving around in the middle of the night? What if you could learn some basic techniques to help with all of this? No one can guarantee 100% success, least of all me. But we can give it a damn good try. However, it is important to remember that babies are born nocturnal. This is because regardless of your choice to feed your baby, they are used to your hormone levels at different times of the day and night. And your prolactin (the hormone that tells your body how much milk to make for the following day) is predominantly produced at night time. And a breast fed baby has to take this prolactin rich milk off so your body can keep up with demand. A bottle/formula fed baby will generally settle into a night time sleeping pattern more quickly than a breast fed baby for this reason.

Some of these will seem pretty obvious, but bear with me. If your baby is having trouble sleeping or relaxing sometimes it’s just best to go back to basics. And maybe add in a couple more tricks that might help. And if it means that baby, and just as importantly you get a few hours sleep then it is more than worth every minute.

1. Is baby warm, dry and fed? (I know, obvious)

2. Is baby’s room nice and warm?

3. Have the lights dimmed down, or a low wattage bulb. Most of us would struggle to relax in a bright room. Over stimulation can often make it difficult for your baby to settle.

4. Have you got an aromatherapy diffuser? You will only need a few drops of oil and a bit of water to fill the room with a relaxing scent.

5. Have some gentle music playing in the background.

6. Give baby a gentle but firm massage to release the hormone oxytocin to calm and relax.

Hopefully all of this will lead to a calm, sleepy baby.

If baby wakes in the night for a feed, nappy change or just because!!!! Keep the lights low and interaction to a minimum. This will help him/her to keep as calm as possible and will in turn help them to go back to sleep. It will also help them to realise that in our modern society we sleep at night.