Sound Sleep = Happy Child

Motherhood truly is a miracle and living it is a blessing. Being a new mother, I can clearly relate with this. Nine months of nurturing in the womb and then one day you have the most precious thing in your arms. Trust me it is the most fabulous sights one would ever have.

However, with the immense happiness comes equally immense responsibility especially in the first few months when the baby is just realizing that she is out of the womb. The only consolation in such situation being that it is just for a couple of days after which the baby adjusts itself to the normal sleeping pattern with lesser waking up at nights.

My husband and I too had sleep deprived nights in first few weeks courtesy the erratic sleeping patterns of our little one which is quite better now. There were times when we used to get puzzled about why our son was crying. After doctor’s consultation, I got to know that the two most important reasons behind crying are hunger and a damp diaper. So the doctor asked me to firstly check for these two things. The advice worked for me like a Guru mantra.

My son, now around three months old had started to sleep longer at nights from the time he was one and half months. Initially, he would sleep roughly for three hours and now he sleeps at a stretch for 5-6 hours.

For helping the baby to have a good night sleep following a schedule, is often spoken of. We also follow a bedtime ritual for our son and it has worked wonderfully for him.

The following is a list of things that we take care & follow to ensure a sound sleep of baby:

• Time: With Riaan growing rapidly this is one thing that my husband and I have started to keep a tap on. We try to put him to bed at almost the same time every day so that his body cycle gets adapted accordingly and after a few days it will become his habit to sleep at the same time.

• Massage & Warm Bath: Massage is necessary for my baby as it strengthens his bones. A nice relaxing massage is followed by a warm water bath that marks the completion of his daily dose of luxury spa at home. (Though it is not so pleasurable for him and he cries his heart out while bathing.)

• Diaper Pamper: Next while dressing him up we clean and change his diaper. A fresh diaper makes him feel fresh and dry. Normally during the night the baby passes urine three to four times and so we make sure to use a good diaper that has the capacity to support baby throughout night and yet keeps him dry from both outside and inside. A good diaper is all we parents need because a damp diaper disturbs the baby while he is sleeping.

• Food, Food: I feel for my baby to have a sound sleep his stomach should be full otherwise he will wake up time and again in the middle of the night.

• What’s that, ‘Burp’: After food the quest for a good burp starts. On the contrary to adults, if my baby gets a good burp, I am a happy mom. Burping helps to relieve the  little one with any forthcoming gastric trouble.

• Songs & Dance Program: Yes my son is a music freak. While he is drinking his milk and few minutes after that he likes to watch songs on T.V. At times when he is too cranky, we the parents have to dance before our little prince to amuse him.

• Setting the Bed & Mosquito Net: Last but not the least we ensure that his bed is free from excess toys and anything that may bother him during his sleep time.  Once he is sleepy we put him to bed and as a rule put mosquito net lest any insect may bother him.

 This is my baby’s bedtime routine, do share your side of the story.

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