6 Ways To Avoid A Bad Baby Sleep Habit Robbing You Of Sleep

baby sleep habit
It isn't at all uncommon for new parents to find themselves willing to do just about anything to get their babies to go to sleep.

When night after sleepless night piles up, most parents are willing to go as far as standing on their heads to get their little ones to snooze for just a little while longer. This, unfortunately, can result in the development of some very bad sleeping habits.

Avoiding mistakes when trying to get baby to go to sleep isn't always easy

Even experienced parents are often willing to go to great lengths when they've endured too many nights without sleep.

There are some big things to avoid when trying to develop the right baby sleep habit patterns:

Not attempting scheduling at all. It's really tempting to try and avoid scheduling sleep for a baby. After all, who really wants to put a newborn down at the command of a clock? Still, when a good baby sleep habit schedule is created, it is simply better for her and better for her parents, too. A fairly standard routine makes it easier to know when she might be too "cranky" to do something and helps parents decide how to plan their days a little better.

Avoiding routines. Even the most basic of baby bedtime routines can turn into a powerful tool for a parent. While avoiding routine might seem easier, it's generally not. When baby knows what's coming next and understands what to expect, sleeping tends to come a little easier.

Creating elaborate routines. While a bit of a routine is a good thing, an incredibly elaborate one might not be. When this baby sleep habit is formed, it can be very tough for anyone else to get her to go to sleep. A simple two- to three-step routine is generally more than enough, especially when she's really little.

Allowing her to sleep where she might not be as safe. It is horribly tempting to snuggle a newborn all night long. While this does make feedings easier and she might sleep better, it is downright dangerous. This baby sleep habit is a hard one to break once it develops, too. Some parents who try this find themselves with much larger children still sleeping in their beds years down the road.

Also read STOP! Don't Forget To Inspect The Places Your Baby Sleep! for more helpful tips and ideas.

Putting her down on her stomach. Some babies do sleep better this way, but allowing this sleeping habit to develop can also prove rather dangerous. Stomach sleep should not be encouraged or allowed until she can easily roll over and back again multiple times. A tiny baby simply is not strong enough to avoid potential suffocation issues that can develop when stomach sleep is introduced too early.

Medications. Some parents, at their wits end, try cold medicines and other similar aids to get their babies to sleep. This is absolutely the number one bad baby sleep habit to avoid. Not only can this be dangerous for baby, it can create a dependency on your part or hers to use medicines for getting to sleep. Just don't do this one. Medicines are fine when she's sick and they do help her sleep. Beyond that, medicines and baby bedtime do not go together.

When good sleep routines are encouraged, most nights go more smoothly. It can take some time and a whole lot of patience to put her on the right path, but the efforts are well worth the rewards – a happy, healthy baby.

There are quite a few more common mistakes parents make which creates a bad baby sleep habit. This habit eventually robs parents of very valuable sleep. Read more about these mistakes by clicking the link.

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