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Suggestions to help your baby settle down to sleep

It’s important to give your baby the opportunity to learn how to settle down on her own. But how can you achieve this?

Consistency

You need to give your baby both a consistent bedtime routine and a regular bedtime. This will allow your baby to get fully into the habit of always going to bed at the same time each night. Her internal clock should then start to set itself accordingly.

Soothing activities

Your baby’s going to bed routine should always be the same, and consist of three or four soothing activities such as a bath, a story and a cuddle.

Then it needs to be time for sleep, with no altering from the routine for more games or cuddles, so put your baby down in her cot on her back at the same time each evening.

Leaving her to sleep

You need to leave the room and let her sleep naturally. You can either do this by leaving straight away. Alternatively, you can leave in gradual stages, moving to the middle of the room, then the doorway, and then finally leaving the room.

Breaking old habits

You and your baby may find it hard to break the habit of breastfeeding or bottle-feeding to sleep in your arms.

It’s important to start to break this habit. Although it might feel like it goes against the grain; you need to wake her up and finish your bedtime routine before you put her down in her cot. Remember, your long-term goal is to have a baby who can soothe herself to sleep.

Having problems?

If you’re finding it difficult to get your baby to learn how to soothe herself, try and work out why. It’s possible that she’s just too young to self-soothe at the moment, so wait several weeks before trying again.

Or she could have become over tired and therefore have become too wound up to sleep. In this instance, try an earlier bedtime.

Also, make sure you’re giving her a real opportunity to sleep on her own. It’s natural to want to be close to your baby and comfort her, but by giving her the time and space to work out how to get to sleep on her own you’ll be improving the long-term quality of life for you both.