Sleeping Tips For You And Your Baby - Week 6

At week 6, the new routines of family life are typically starting to drop in to place. Memories of life before kids are but distant, sleep-deprived, memories. You’ll be starting to get a glimpse of your new normal. It will probably feel like you’ve been a parent forever, but remember your little one is only 6 weeks old!

We encourage you to use gum wipes for babies as soon as possible, but as soon as your babies first milk tooth comes through, you should introduce the first toothbrush for baby. This could be a baby electric toothbrush, or a chewable baby first toothbrush. Shop brush baby now to see our range of toothbrushes for babies.

Our tip for week 6 is designed to help you and your baby embrace a routine that will help you both adapt to your change of circumstances; after all, living in the womb is a very different experience to the outside world and it takes time to adjust! There are plenty of tips out there to help with this, but our favourite reminds us that even the simplest concept, like day and night, is still very alien for babies!

Tip 3 – Develop a sleep routine!

Setting the environment for sleep is a vital part for getting your baby to start recognising it’s time to go to bed (or cot / moses basket). In the first few weeks, we are often a bit all over the place, letting our little one sleep whenever they want to, but if their life (and yours!) is going to adjust to the normal rhythms of modern life, getting a routine in place can be key.

So, if you haven’t started yet, there’s no better time to begin than now! Start implementing a consistent set of steps that you undertake in the run up to each sleep period, both at night and at nap times. It could just start with turning down the lights and closing the curtains, so your little one starts to associate darkness with sleepy time, just like we do!

You can then start to develop your routine. Perhaps you could introduce changing their nappy before putting them into their baby grow? If singing is your thing, what about singing them a lullaby whilst feeding them? Many parents we speak to also cuddle their baby for a few minutes whilst burping them, before putting them down to sleep.

These are just ideas and it is important to come up with a routine that works for you and your baby. It is also a great opportunity to create a special moment between you and your little one; which you can both enjoy as your little one grows up.

Amongst the Brush Baby team, introducing a little phrase you speak or sing to them before bed seemed to be a favourite.

Hearing that key phrase consistently from mummy or daddy before every sleep time will help your little one prepare themselves for going to sleep…at least that is the plan!  Of course it doesn’t always work and introducing routines can take time, so maintaining consistency is very important going forward!

As your baby gets older you may want to add a story, but right now it’s best to keep it brief. After all, 6 week old babies get tired very quickly, so a 1 hr pre-sleep routine might not be the most practical!

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