Bedtime, the evening ritual, the darkness of the room… pediatrician Marie-Josèphe Challamel, child sleep specialist, gives us her advice to help our baby sleep through the night.
1. Go to bed at fixed times
If up to 3 to 4 months, bedtime is more on demand – there is still no organization of the day/night rhythm with fixed times (a newborn can fall asleep at 7 p.m. and demand to eat at 10 p.m. then again 5 or 6 hours later), “gradually, your baby will have longer periods of wakefulness during the day and longer periods of sleep during the night”, observes pediatrician Marie-Josèphe Challamel, sleep specialist and author of several books including The sleep of the toddler, a practical and scientific reading (Ed. Philippe Duval.). This is where, gradually, you can start going to bed at fixed times. Dr. Challamel also advises to open your shutters a crack and to stop talking in a low voice in the morning, so that also wakes up more or less at the same times. Establishing a regular rhythm will help him sleep through the night.
2. Go to bed before 9 p.m.
In addition to bedtime at fixed times, the pediatrician also invites parents to not put their baby to bed too late. Ideally, before 9 p.m. The reason : the later the child falls asleep, the shorter and poorer the quality of his sleep. We therefore prefer a bedtime between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
3. Spot the signs of fatigue
“A baby who cries for no reason, is restless, grumpy, rubs his nose, his ears, takes his comforterare usually signs that he is tired”, notes the sleep specialist. Now is the time to put him to bed. Especially since, as she points out, “Sometimes he is so sleep deprived that he can’t fall asleep afterwards.” We therefore try to put him to bed before or as soon as these signs appear.
4. Teach him to fall asleep on his own
The child has a very short sleep cycle, waking up every hoursays the pediatrician: “Even at one year old, the baby does not yet have the physiological capacity to sleep without awake for more than 6 hours, whereas he is able to sleep for 12 hours”. Everything will then depend on his ability to go back to sleep on his own, to self-soothe each time he wakes up. This is why some newborns spend their nights at 15 days whereas in general it is rather between 3 and 6 months. “If the child does not know how to fall asleep alone at bedtime, he will wake his parents at night. warns Marie-Josephe Challamel. The solution ? From 3 or 4 months, promote this self-soothing ability by putting him still awake in his bed, so that he learns to fall asleep and go back to sleep alone at night. In addition, the pediatrician advises do not necessarily rush at the slightest cry, at the risk of preventing him from self-soothing, or even waking him up completely.
5. Turn off the light
During the day, it is best for babies to nap in daylight or in light darkness. And in the night, close the shutters tightly so that his room is plunged into complete darkness. “The toddler is not afraid of the dark” reassures Dr. Challamel who adds that Letting him sleep in the dark will help him organize his sleep and distinguish day from night.
6. Establish an evening ritual
Rocking him, reading him a story, singing him a song are part of the evening ritual.. “A ten-minute ritual that helps the baby calm down before falling asleep” notes the pediatrician. It is also a precious and privileged moment between parent and child before leaving for the night. The important thing: get out of the room before he is completely asleep.
7. Give him a bath before sleeping
Bathing can help some babies relax before going to bed. But it all depends on his behavior in the bath, says Dr. Challamel: “If he gets excited it is useless, on the other hand, if it is for him a moment of relaxation, then make him taking a bath before bedtime may help him sleep more peacefully afterwards.”
8. Not picking him up right away
As the pediatrician reveals, “Most of the toddler’s nocturnal awakenings last less than two minutes”. So, don’t rush to get him out of bed at the slightest cry: approach him slowly and put your hand on him while giving him the chance to go back to sleep on his own. “If you take it too quickly, you risk interrupting its sleep and teaching it to wake up completely instead of going back to sleep”warns the pediatrician sleep specialist.
9. Do not install mobile
If having a cuddly toy can help baby sleep well, the specialist does not recommend attaching a mobile above her crib. Why ? During the night, the baby will be able to find his cuddly toy by groping, but will not see his mobile, suddenly, he risks waking up completely so that he can be put back on the road or simply be able to observe him. “He must fall asleep with things, like his comforter, that he can find when he wakes up in the night”, advise the pediatrician.
10. Co-sleeping bed
If sleeping your baby in the parental bed is strongly discouraged, the co-sleeping bed installed against the parental bed can sometimes help baby (and his parents) to sleep better in the very first months. Especially for the mother who is breastfeeding and can put him back in his crib after feeding without having to get up. But be careful once again not to take it at the slightest whine otherwise you risk waking it up for good instead of it going back to sleep in a few seconds.