Do you have a baby boy on the way and want to prepare for his arrival the best way possible? Focus on something that babies spend most of their time doing. That’s right: sleeping. Out of the 24 hours a day, they spend 14 to 17 hours in dreamland. Why not try to make their slumber better and more comfortable?
It takes little effort to make your baby boy’s room more conducive to a restful slumber. However, the challenge can widely vary from easy to difficult. For instance, you can plan and implement a bedtime routine to help your baby prepare for sleep. Aside from forming sleeping-related habits, you can buy things like baby boy crib bedding, a fitted sheet, and a cotton blanket to make his crib a whole lot more comfortable.
Continue reading and discover the 8 ways you can help your little boy sleep better at night!
How Can I Help My Baby Boy Sleep Better?
You and your child deserve a long and restful sleep. However, sleepless nights have become an inevitable part of parenthood. Fortunately, you can reduce the chances of waking up at midnight by helping your little one become comfortable in his crib bedding set and enjoy uninterrupted sleep until sunrise. Below are a few tricks you can use to give your baby the gift of restful sleep.
Get Synched
Human beings come equipped with a biological clock. Unfortunately, this clock doesn’t come pre-configured. As we grow up, we gradually grasp how to live our lives in a 24-hour cycle. We get up from bed by sunrise and prepare to call it a day a few hours after sunset. Scientists call it the circadian rhythm; babies have it as we adults do.
Now it’s up to you, their parents, to help them properly tune their internal biological clock. So how do you exactly accomplish this? You can expose your baby to “environmental cues” such as the presence and absence of light to let them know when it’s time to sleep. When the sun sets and it gets dark, your baby boy will soon become accustomed to sleeping during those hours.
Shoo the Blues
As discussed above, babies are receptive to external stimuli like light. These environmental cues convey which part of the day it is and signal the corresponding activity for it. For instance, when the lights go out and envelop the room in darkness, that’s the cue for sleeping time. When he has formed his sleeping habits, your little boy will know what to do when you switch the lights off.
However, pediatricians recommend sleeping with your baby, especially in their first few months. As this is the case, total blackout during sleeping time isn’t possible. You will need a night light. Avoid night lights with all the wavelengths. Instead, get those with warm or amber tones which omit the blue wavelength. The blue portion of the light spectrum negatively affects sleeping patterns.
Lead Up To It
What do you do in the time leading up to bedtime? Some of us take a long bath, especially after a long day at work. Others binge-watch their favorite series before finally going to bed. Each of us has our nighttime routine tailored to our personal preferences, which helps us achieve the proper headspace conducive to sleeping.
Likewise, you should use the hour before bedtime to ready your child for a night of restful sleep. When your baby feels relaxed and comfortable, they will sleep sooner and achieve better quality sleep. That’s why it would be best if you develop a bedtime routine that makes them feel as such. You can do activities leading up to bedtime, including bathing, reading, singing, and massaging your baby.
Timing is Key
We know that babies sleep a lot. They spend most of their day in dreamland, averaging around 14 to 17 hours of sleep. However, they don’t sleep in one go. Usually, these 14 to 17 hours are split into unequal segments. Some can last for hours until the next day, while others can be as short as a 15-minute nap. When your little boy starts dozing off, who knows when he will wake up?
Take note of how long and frequent your baby boy sleeps during the day. Does he take long afternoon naps? If he does, you may find it challenging to help him fall asleep in the evening. Try keeping your little boy awake for a few hours before bedtime. If he falls asleep too soon, his waking up at midnight can interrupt your sleep.
Limit His Screen Time
More and more people report having difficulties sleeping nowadays. Sleep experts highly suspect that screen time with electronic devices is to blame. Aside from the blue light that screens emit, the content they display can stimulate your brain, preventing you from sleeping. Sleep quality problems stem from the use of electronic devices in bed.
The same problems can affect your little boy’s sleeping patterns. Pediatricians recommend waiting until they reach preschool before introducing electronic devices to them. Forming healthy sleeping habits should be your priority over temporary conveniences like letting your child be occupied by bright and flashing screens.
“Dream Feed” Him
Do you feel sleepy after enjoying a fulfilling meal during lunchtime? Don’t worry, as it is entirely normal. Scientists say that people experience drowsiness after eating because of post-meal blood flow. After you finish a meal, blood flows to the intestine, lowering blood flow in the brain. This decrease of blood in your head then triggers drowsiness.
You can trigger the same response in your baby by feeding them an hour before they are due to sleep. Another scientifically proven way to improve your baby’s sleep quality is by dream feeding them. What this means is feeding them while they are soundly asleep. They will sleep longer, which means more time to rest for you, their parents.
Be Gentle During Night Care
Your baby boy will wake up in the middle of the night—this is inevitable and expected in the first few months. What could have disrupted his sleep? It could be a completely natural occurrence called “night waking,” or maybe he needs to be fed. Regardless of the reason behind the midnight interruption, you have to get up.
Tending to your child in the middle of the night can make you fall back on your learned habits. For instance, you may encourage your little one to drink milk as you baby talk or wave his favorite rattle at him. These things can seem exciting to him and get him out of his drowsy state. Avoid looking directly at his eyes and be as dull as possible. Ensure that he remains sleepy as you tend to his needs.
Prioritize His Comfort
Aside from helping your baby develop good and healthy sleeping habits, you should also make it easy for him to fall asleep in his crib. The first nights in the crib can be nightmare-ish as he has yet to become used to sleeping on his own. Accompany him after you tuck his blanket and while he lays still on the crib mattress in the nursery room. Soon, he will fall asleep even without you watching him by his side.
Baby boy crib bedding sets are a game-changer in baby crib comfort. Boy crib bedding sets come with a pillow, a mattress case, a mattress pad cover, and a fitted crib sheet. These inclusions work together to provide your baby boy with a comfortable sleep. They also come in various hues and patterns to match the color of your wall decor, his blanket, and crib skirt.
Some baby boy crib bedding sets come with a bumper for additional safety, while others have baby bedding and sheets made of specialized fabric (like cotton) and linen for sensitive skin.
Final Thoughts
If you are a new mom or dad, expect sleepless nights in the days to come. However, your baby boy shouldn’t suffer the same fate. Once your little boy finds it easy to fall asleep, you will also save yourself from staying up throughout the night. Hopefully, these pieces of advice will give you and your baby boy a good night’s sleep.
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