How to Get Your Infant to Sleep through the Night

One of the most precious things in the entire world is watching your baby sleep. Their soft breathing, cute face and tiny bodies are enough to just melt your heart. But the kicking and screaming before they fall asleep is enough to drive you crazy! And that's just from you when your infant simply won't go to sleep. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to ease your infant into peaceful slumber each night without making yourself go insane. Follow these suggestions and you'll both be sleeping like a baby in just a few short nights.

1. Allow your infant to wind down before bedtime - Just like adults, babies tend to stay riled up for awhile after an exciting activity. You can't come home from a rock concert and go directly to sleep. The same is true for your baby. Stop playing with your baby about one hour before bedtime because that just causes too much stimulation for them. Instead, read or sing softly to them. Infants tend to feel comfortable when they hear the soothing rhythm of a parent's voice (even if you do sound like Kermit the Frog or Fran Drescher).
   
   
2. Give your baby a warm bath about one hour before bedtime - Make sure the water is lukewarm by testing it on your wrists. A warm bath is soothing to a baby and calms them down at night. Don't you tend to sleep better when you feel clean?
   
   
3. Rocking is a perfect way to make your infant tired and ready for bed - The back-and-forth motion makes them feel comfortable as you hold them in your arms. Snuggle them as you rock and hold the baby close to your heart. Hearing the parent's heartbeat soothes the savage beast that is your baby to sleep.
   
   
4. Soothe the infant's crying with soft music - You can do this while you're giving your infant a bath or in their room as they are falling asleep. A good classical CD or some nature sounds will help your baby fall asleep in a matter of minutes almost every time. Also, create white noise for your baby throughout the night when the music's not playing. You can either purchase a white noise machine or simply put a fan in their room to help block out other noises that the baby might hear.
   
   
5. Decide if you should use a nightlight or not - Some infants sleep better when the room is completely dark. Others sleep better when there is a dim nightlight in the room. The only way to make this decision is to try each way separately to see which one works best.
   
   
6. Wrap the infant in swaddling clothes - You've probably heard the term "swaddling clothes," but do you know what it means? Essentially, it just means tight blankets. But make sure they're not too tight. The snuggly feeling of being wrapped semi-tight imitates the feeling of the womb, making the infant feel more comfortable and secure.
   
   
7. Learn your infant's tired signals - If you're like me, you get cranky when you get hungry or tired. Your baby is the same way. If you can learn how to decode your infant's signals of tiredness, you can save yourself a lot of time by simply learning the signals and bowing to them.
   
   
8. Be prepared for the difficult situations - Unfortunately, desperate times call for desperate measures. If your infant simply won't fall asleep, you might have to try taking it for a walk or a drive. There's something about riding around in a car that makes infants sleepy. In fact, they'll usually fall asleep before you even pull back into your driveway. Some parents have found placing that placing an infant on top of a running dryer in their car seat has a similar effect.

Most nights, getting your infant to sleep is a simple job. It might take a few minutes of rocking or just a quick lullaby. Other nights, it could take an hour or even more before your baby rests in peaceful slumber. But knowing how to calm your baby down at night and keep it calmed down will help prevent you from losing valuable minutes, or even hours, of restful sleep.