Once the baby is born, your baby will spend the
better part of the day sleeping. Sleeping is an essential and important
activity for your baby. Growth hormones work most effectively when the
baby is asleep. Initially for the first few months, your baby will
continue with their own sleep pattern, sleeping as and when they like.
As they grow older they will slowly learn to adjust their sleep pattern
to your daily routine. When they are about three months old your baby
will normally, sleep for 10 hours at night on the whole, even if he or
she wakes up in between. Your baby's daytime sleep can often be divided
into two sessions - morning and afternoon.
Everybody has his or her opinion when it comes to care and upbringing
of a baby, therefore sleep is no different. Even the simple task of
deciding the length of a baby's nap, or how to put your baby to sleep
has become complicated, because of the number of opinions you will get.
As a result of the emotional involvement in caring for your baby every
small aspect becomes an issue. Most mothers are more than happy to make
adjustments and will schedule their sleeping pattern to fit their baby's
sleep pattern. This ensures that mother and baby sleep together which is
ideal. Sleeping together ensure strong emotional bonding between the
mother and her baby. Studies have shown that babies who sleep with their
mother receive more touching, breastfeeding and protection.
If you feel that your baby should have a sleep pattern that is
convenient for everyone at home and that does not interfere with your
sleep pattern, you will have to make the baby learn a sleep pattern. One
of the most common ways to make a baby sleep, is to use music, either
sing to the baby or play some soothing music and before you know the
baby is fast asleep. This is a method that has been tried and tested
over the years and this wisdom has been passed on from generation to
generation, though the type of music used may vary.
Some parents choose a particular song for each child and sing this
special song day after day at the baby's bedtime. They begin this when
the baby is a few days old. After some time the baby gets conditioned
and will sleep easily once you start singing the song. If you don't want
your baby to get used to the habit of being rocked to sleep you can try
using a musical toy. Wind-up this toy and it will play music for a few
minutes. Use this toy every time you want to make your baby sleep. Place
it close to his or her cot. After sometime he or she will get accustomed
to falling asleep to the sound of the musical toy. This method will help
your baby sleep comfortably even if you are away from home.
Today CDs are created with specific music, which help very young babies
fall asleep. While selecting music, they use music with the same beats
per minute as the heartbeat of the mother, which the baby hears while in
the womb. This has a soothing effect on the young baby, helps him relax
and fall asleep comfortably. You can choose whatever method suits you or
try all of them and decide which one works best for your baby.
