Baby Sleeping Secrets - The Bedtime Routine

Babies are often not able to sleep through the night until they have doubled their weight, which generally occurs when your baby is between four and five months old. Following is a guideline for how much sleep your baby should be getting per day (including naps):

• 1 to 15 days: 16 to 22 hours of sleep
• 3 weeks: 16 to 18 hours of sleep
• 6 weeks: 15 to 16 hours of sleep
• 4 to 6 months: 14 to 16 hours of sleep
• 9 months: 13 to 16 hours of sleep
• 1 year: 12 to 15 hours of sleep

Developing a sleep routine can be a soothing and comforting part of your baby's nighttime ritual. As your baby grows, your baby will understand that bedtime comes after bath time and may start to settle down if comforted by the bedtime routine. Following are some tips and ideas for establishing bedtime routines:

• Start the bedtime routine with a bath, followed by cuddling, a song or story, a feeding, more cuddling, and then bed.
• Sing to your baby prior to placing your baby in bed.
• Create a routine by doing the same things in the same order every night. Creating a pattern will help your baby recognize a pre-sleep routine.
• Make sure the lights are low and dim. You want your baby to recognize that when it's dark, it's time to sleep.
• Your baby should learn that once in bed, no matter how pleasant the bedtime routine has been, that it's time to sleep. Allow some time for fussing.

Establishing a bedtime routine will help your baby recognize that it is time to sleep.