What can I do to help my baby get to sleep and stay asleep?

As a mother you have to accept the odd sleepless night. It's a babies prerogative to wake up in the middle of the night and scream her little head off.

Although you can't fully prevent these rude awakenings, there are steps you can take to help keep the sleepless nights to a minimum, as we shall now see...

Night and day
Adults need to wind down before going to bed, and babies are no different. Trying to get your baby to sleep immediately after playtime or any form of excitement will always prove difficult. If you indulge your baby at night she's unlikely to want to go to sleep or stay asleep for very long.

Instead, gradually relax your baby as bed time approaches with dim lights, little noise and few people. You will probably find her falling asleep well before you even lay her down.

Don't start off too quiet
Houses are noisy places. Very rarely is there a prolonged period of complete silence. Babies get used to household sounds very quickly. When they're tired they will sleep through surprisingly high levels of noise. However, if you tip toe around your sleeping baby and try to maintain complete silence in the house, your baby will expect this peace and quiet every time so goes to bed. And for most families it's juts not possible.

Soothing whispers
Babies find the voice of their mother's extremely comforting and relaxing. A few soft words in her ear can sometimes have her eyes to closing in seconds.

Always the cot or pram
It's always best to lay your baby down to sleep in either her cot or her pram. This encourages her to associate these environments with sleep and therefore improve her sleeping patterns.

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