What mistakes to avoid when thinking about your baby's sleep?
Does it ever happen to you to look at your baby and say to yourself: "Oh, God, would you be perfect if you also SLEEP like the world?". Don't feel guilty about it. Many mothers reach this point because the sleep of small babies seems very chaotic for us adults. It seems like it's a topic that grown-ups don't fully understand, but we're all desperate to know the secret to helping our babies fall asleep and sleep more easily, safely, all night long.
Here are some common mistakes we make, along with some advice from the experts.
Mistakes that mothers make when putting their baby in the crib
1. You expect the baby to sleep all night
This is not necessarily a mistake, but a wrong preconception. It is wrong to think that babies can sleep like adults. Adults can sleep like babies, but babies can't sleep like adults. It's like asking a 6-month-old child to go to the supermarket and bring you a bag of flour.
Small babies wake up at night because they need food. You shouldn't expect a baby under 3 months to have a long uninterrupted sleep of more than 5-6 hours (sometimes they wake up every 2-3 hours and have quite restless sleep).
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2. You are using a cot that is too old
Maybe you have left the crib of his brother who is now 5 years old. It is very important to pay due attention to the baby cot and experts recommend using a new cot. You should also check that the cot is well fixed, to avoid any risk of injury. In our offer you will find a lot of new cots, for all budgets. Invest in a quality one for your baby's safety.
3. Put an extra mattress in the crib
It seems to you that the mattress that came with the crib is too thin and maybe too hard. So you can think about adding a softer blanket, a quilt, a mattress topper or even an additional play mat. All these are wrong things and can lead to real accidents. Parents should only use the mattress for which the respective crib was designed or which the manufacturer of the respective crib recommends.
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4. You ignore the bedtime routine
Even if we are talking about an infant, you must be consistent. This is the advice of pediatric experts. No matter how simple it seems, consistency is what makes sleep ultimately easy and restful. Make a plan and try to stick to it. This will help you a lot, but also the baby (it will eliminate his anxiety states and calm him down for a good sleep).
5. Place the baby in his crib and give him the bottle to fall asleep with him
Many parents make this mistake. First, you must want to create excellent sleep associations for your baby. This means avoiding a child's dependence on being fed when he goes to sleep. A meal is a meal and sleep is sleep. In addition, babies should never be left alone to feed from a bottle while lying in bed. There is a risk of suffocation and damage to the teeth (cavities). We understand that it is not easy to wake up at night to feed the baby, but think that you will be able to get over it after the age of 9 months.
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6. Put the baby to sleep BEFORE you put him in the crib
It is very tempting to do this. Put him to sleep in your arms or at your breast, then put him to bed. But babies should be put to bed when they are in a drowsy state, not when they have already fallen asleep. If they fall asleep in your arms, when they wake up overnight in the crib, they will obviously be scared. If the baby learns to sleep under certain circumstances, it will be impossible to make him fall asleep otherwise (even if he will wake up in the middle of the night). If you wake up at night without your pillow, you won't be able to fall asleep again until you find it. The same happens with a baby. You will be able to go look for your pillow, but the baby will not be able to "find" again that state of being rocked, hugged and loved - therefore, he will start to cry.
7. Leave plush toys, blankets and/or use crib protectors in the crib
It is critical that parents create a safe sleeping environment for their baby, and this cannot happen if there are extra toys in the crib, if you cover the small child with a blanket. There is even a whole debate regarding the bed makers. While some parents use them and many stores promote them, in the USA the associations forbid them.
8. Let the baby sleep in the cradle or in the car seat
This can only be an improvised crib for children, and experts warn that this habit can obstruct a baby's breathing. Therefore, when you are at home, put the baby to sleep in a standard bed or a co-sleeping bed.
9. Let the baby "get tired" more
If a baby is "done with sleep", he will fall asleep faster, right? Wrong! Some babies do not yawn when they are sleepy and do not calm down by closing their eyes; on the contrary, they become hyper active and even a little wild. Learn to recognize when your baby needs rest and put him to bed before the fatigue exhausts him.
10. You turn your ear too much to the right and to the left
Outside advice can overwhelm you. Sometimes it's good to follow your instinct and not bend your ear to the right or to the left. Maybe your mother-in-law criticizes you because you don't do something right in the baby's sleep routine. Maybe your best friend tells you that her baby sleeps all night from the first day she brought him home from the hospital. Even if your baby doesn't do this, it doesn't mean you're doing it wrong!
Now that you have gone through the tips above, we hope that you will manage the routine of putting the baby to bed more easily, calmly and with more patience and tact.
