When we welcomed Orlaith into the world, we knew life was going to be hectic. She was already the youngest of three, but her arrival came in week one of the UK lockdown, meaning everyone was at home. All. The. Time.
We knew from the off that we would have to work on creating a calming, tranquil environment if we wanted sleep to get a look-in.
She’s now four-months-old and I can happily report that she’s got a nice little bedtime routine going on. (I also hope that by sharing this smug admission, I haven’t jinxed it).
Creating a Calming Bedtime Routine for Baby
There is a certain knack to creating a calming bedtime routine for your baby. It’s not just what you do, how you do it has an impact too. That’s why I’ve teamed up with Very to share what I’ve found to work. There’s been a lot of trial and error over the years, but I feel that I’ve really nailed it with baby number three!
The team over at Very have even collated everything you might need for your new arrival, to help you prepare for calm bedtimes and beyond!
Here’s what I found to help set your baby up for a good night’s sleep:
1. Wear them out
This might seem like good advice the big kids, but you might wonder how exactly you can wear out a baby who doesn’t yet do much!
Thankfully, I have the answer.
Babies have very active little minds. So while they might not be rolling over or crawling yet, they’re still thinking and exploring. You can get lots of different toys to keep them busy. From play mats with overhead dangly bits to a baby bouncer or a swing, all of these items are designed to capture your little one’s attention and keep them busy exploring!
We’ve got the Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, and Orlaith loves it. It has a vibrating seat which can recline, and also grown with your child. It’s suitable for babies, but turns into a little chair for when your child grows into a toddler.
The overhead toy bar encourages your baby to develop their gross motor skills by being too enticing not to reach up and grab!
2. Prepare the room
The room where baby sleeps need to be perfect. When it comes to babies, it seems everything should be fine-tuned. This means the room temperature should be just so, the bedding should be soft and clean, noise should be kept to a minimum.
The ambience of a baby’s bedroom can be difficult to get right, but once you do, it’ll help everything else fall into place for a calming bedtime routine.
The Gro Egg is a great investment for this. Not only does it tell you the room temperature, it gives a visual representation of whether anything needs to be done. When the egg glows blue, it means the room is too cold. Yellow is just right, orange is warm and red is hot.
This means you can tell at-a-glance whether you need to change what your baby sleeps in, or attempt to adjust the temperature of the room.
3. Bathtime
I can personally vouch for the relaxation properties of a warm bath. It’s the only place I can unwind, and it looks as though the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
As bedtime approaches, run a warm bath to clean your baby and allow her to splash around. I like to do this in the last hour before bedtime to leave a little time after the bath for us to finish the routine.
The Tommy Tippee Bath & Room Thermometer can check the temperature of the bathwater by being plopped directly in the tub, and also works as a room thermometer on this handy stand!
4. Fill their tummy
I try not to feed Orlaith to sleep. I’ve had babies who will only nod off when they’re being fed and in my experience, it makes for a worse sleep. Instead, feed your baby before they’re so tired that they’ll nod off half way through their dinner.
5. Humidify the room
Humidifying your baby’s room can help ease nasal congestion and relieve sinus irritation, dry skin and chapped lips. The Crane Elephant Humidifier does a great job of quietly releasing an ultrasonic cool mist into the air. It even shuts off automatically to give you one less thing to think about.
6. Use relaxing sounds and lights
Help your baby wind down before they sleep by closing the curtains, and using toys that make relaxing lights and sounds.
The Fisher-Price Twinkle and Cuddle soother is perfect for this. It sings a lullaby or makes white noise, all while glowing an array of soothing colours.
7. A bedtime cuddle
They say you should put your baby down awake to help them self-soothe in the long-run. I’ve found I can’t get it to work for me, so I cuddle Orlaith until she drops off. I don’t rock her or bouce her, we sit and have a simple cuddle. By this point in the evening, after completing the other steps to the routine, she’s quite tired and is usually asleep within minutes. Once I’m satisfied she’s fully asleep, I’ll put her in her bed.
And if baby wakes up…
I should probably point out no routine is infallible. Sometimes your baby will wake up a few hours after they ave gone to sleep. I’d recommend changing their nappy and offering a feed. You don’t want to have to start the routine from scratch again, so these products might help your baby reach the land of nod once a again.
Next-to-Me Nightlight
This beautiful nightlight is available in blue, pink or grey and will project stars on the ceiling while it plays lullabies. A fantastic way to encourage baby to go back to sleep.
First Dreams Lullaby Sheep Nightlight
If you’re at a stage where your baby has toys in their cot, then this nightlight is a lovely option. It has a soft glow and a sound recorder function. This means you can record your voice, which is automatically activated if the baby wakes or cries. This can soothe your baby back to sleep if they wake in the night. Still if you feel like your baby is not sleeping well try to consult with an experienced baby sleep consultant.
