We were lucky enough to be joined by Hedi Skudder, also known as the Parent and Baby Coach, at our last Mummy Tribe retreat. Heidi is one of the UK’s top baby sleep and feeding consultants and works with parents all over the UK on all things sleep and feeding related. Our lucky mums had one on one consultations with Heidi at our retreat and Heidi is now kindly sharing her top five baby sleep tips with us below:
The Parent and Baby Coach’s Top Five Baby Sleep Tips
1. Establish a bedtime routine so that your little one knows when sleep time is coming. This is best done in their bedroom, with a sequence of events that happens in the same order each time – for example Feed, Story, Sleeping Bag, Song, Say “its Sleepytime” and then bed! This also helps your baby disassociate feeding from sleeping, which will really help when it comes to night waking too.
2. Encourage active awake time between sleeps. Although everyone likes to get out and about, sometimes just sitting in a buggy is not enough especially for babies aged 6 months plus who are starting to sit and be on the move! Try and get in some physical time before a nap such as practising sitting/rolling or standing, maybe even some bouncing too!
3. Be aware of awake periods for your little one and try and stick to these. Routines are great and do incorporate awake periods, but there is no point in sticking to a nap time if your baby has woken earlier, and instead bring naptime forward. For example a 4 month old should only be awake for 1hr 45 maximum. Anytime after this and he starts to become overtired, making it harder not just to fall asleep but also to link his sleep cycles.
4. Make sure that your baby is warm enough at night time. Sleeping bags are particularly good for regulating their body temperature and keeping their body temperature consistent. Have a think about layers and whether your baby is wearing enough, or perhaps they need a long sleeve vest rather than short sleeved – especially important in this cold weather!
5. Think about your baby’s sleep environment. Whilst it doesn’t need to be completely dark, too much light will mean their little body won’t be able to produce as much of the sleep hormone melatonin as they need. White noise can also be really useful in helping a small baby settle, and blocks out any louder noises that could cause sleep disturbances.
For more information about the Parent and Baby Coach please visit http://theparentandbabycoach.com
