Professional baby sleep plan

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Newborns have difficulty distinguishing between day and night, so they will often nap during the day and wake up at night. By the time your baby is a few weeks old, you can begin to teach your baby the difference between day and night and establish healthy habits that help your baby sleep well.

1. Light Strategy

According to experts in training babies to sleep on their own, light will affect the baby's biological clock, helping the baby to wake up. On the other hand, darkness triggers the brain to secrete melatonin - an important sleep hormone. You should expose your baby to plenty of light during the day, and keep his room dark at night. Thanks to that, your baby will quickly find the right time to go to sleep.
During the day, get plenty of sunlight into the house or take your baby outside. Put your baby to nap in a well-lit room if he doesn't have trouble falling asleep. To induce sleep at night, turn off and dim all lights in your home 2 hours before bed. You can use a night light in your baby's room, but choose a small, dim light that doesn't emit hot heat to the touch. Note: Do not plug lights near the bed or curtains for safety. If your child wakes up in the middle of the night, don't turn on the lights or carry them into a room with bright lights. The transition from darkness to light confuses your baby's brain into thinking it's time to wake up. Instead, teach your baby to go back to sleep in a dark room. If early morning sunlight is causing your child to wake up too early, or if he or she has trouble getting an afternoon nap, consider installing curtains that darken the room.

2. Put the child to bed when he shows signs of sleepiness

Try to put your baby to bed while he is lying still, right before falling asleep. Experts suggest that you create a sleepiness scale from 1 to 10 when your baby is 6-8 weeks old. In which, 1 is fully awake and 10 is completely asleep. Put your baby to bed as soon as he reaches 7 or 8. In particular, nursing mothers need to master this rule so that both you and your baby can rest easier.

3. Let your baby cry for a few minutes and then come to comfort her

If you rush to your baby's side every time you hear a whimper in the middle of the night, you'll wake him up more often. Wait a few minutes to give your baby time to settle down and train her to fall back asleep on her own. If your baby can't get back to sleep on his own and seems to be waking up, come and comfort him before he starts crying violently. Letting your baby cry too much also makes him tired and difficult to fall back to sleep.
If you use a remote monitor, you can reduce the sensitivity on the screen. Set the volume just enough so you're alerted when your baby cries, but won't hear every whimper.

4. Try not to look your baby in the eye

Many children are very excitable, just meeting the eyes of their parents will be attracted and think it is time to play. According to experts, parents making eye contact with babies and toddlers will wake them up. The more interactions that take place between you and your baby during the night, the more motivated your baby will be to wake up.
So when visiting your child's room at night, don't make eye contact, talk happily, or play their favorite song. Instead, look at your baby's tummy and soothe her to sleep with a soft, soothing voice.

5. Notes on diaper changes

Many parents quickly change diapers every time their baby wakes up, but the reality is that babies don't always need to and this only wakes them up. Instead, have your child wear a high-quality diaper at night when going to bed. When your baby wakes up, smell the diaper to see if it's dirty and change it only if poop is present. To avoid waking your baby completely during a nighttime diaper change, try using a warm diaper and washcloth.

6. Breastfeeding at night

If your baby has trouble falling asleep, waking him up for a feed at night (for example, between 10 p.m. and midnight) can help him sleep well.
Leave the lights on and gently lift the sleeping baby out of the crib. Breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby. Your baby may be a little awake to start sucking, if not, gently nudge your baby's lips with your nipple until it's firmly latched on. After feeding, put your baby back to bed without burping.

7. Wait until your baby is ready for bed

Following the tips above will help establish healthy sleep habits for your child. You can start teaching your baby to sleep as early as the first month of life. However, if self-sleep training is not successful, wait patiently until your baby is 4 months old - the time when he is officially ready to apply sleep training methods. By then, your baby will not only be able to sleep longer, but will also be more receptive to the techniques you apply.

8. Overcoming a temporary sleep disturbance

If your baby starts waking up in the middle of the night again after a good night's sleep, don't worry because it's only temporary. Babies and toddlers often have mild sleep disturbances when they are physically developing, or there are life changes, such as travel, illness...
Many parents notice Sleep problems begin around 4 months, when babies become more active and sleep patterns change, and around 9 months when babies start to miss their parents, not wanting to leave.
To get through this stage, go back to implementing basic sleep guidelines. Specifically, following a fixed schedule of activities during the day and a gentle bedtime routine at night. If your baby is old enough, try a sleep-training strategy for a week. If no improvement is seen, reevaluate and try a new method.
Besides sleep, nutrition is also an important factor in the development of children. If children are not provided with adequate and balanced nutrients, it will lead to diseases of excess or lack of nutrients, which adversely affect the comprehensive development of children in terms of physical, mental and motor skills.
Children need to provide a sufficient amount of elemental zinc/day for them to eat well, reach the correct height and weight and exceed the standard. Zinc plays a role in affecting most biological processes taking place in the body, especially the breakdown of nucleic acids, proteins... Organs in the body when zinc deficiency can lead to a There are a number of diseases such as neurological disorders, irritability, etc. Therefore, parents need to learn about the role of zinc and guide them to appropriate zinc supplements for their children.
In addition to zinc, parents also need to supplement their children with other important vitamins and minerals such as lysine, chromium, B vitamins,... errands.
Please regularly visit Vinmec.com website and update useful information to take care of your baby and family.
Reference source: babycenter.com