bedtime routine | Baby Sleeping Solution

Why Adequate Sleep is Important for Your Toddler

Getting enough sleep is important for overall good health, especially when it comes to your toddler. Make sure your toddler gets enough sleep and you are both sure to enjoy the many benefits.

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Staying Healthy and Free of Illnesses

Sleep helps the body to fight infection and effects of stress. More sleep improves immune responses that can protect your child from the flu or the common cold. Too little sleep, however, can lead to a weaker immune system and more illnesses.

Improving Growth and Development

When a child sleeps deeply, more growth hormone is produced. This leads to more growth and stronger bones and muscles. If a child does not sleep as well, it may lead to lower growth hormone and less developed bodies.

Maintaining of a Health Weight

Consistently getting too little sleep can set your child up to be more prone to becoming overweight. Too little sleep can cause food cravings and overeating, while adequate sleep will prevent this.

Better Moods

Getting enough sleep can also help your child stay in a better mood. Sleep helps with processing fears and worry, keeping them at bay during the day. It also helps keep good mood hormones in the right balance so your child will be happier all day long.

Better Attention Span and Ability to Learn

As if all those benefits were not enough, getting enough sleep will also help your child gain a better ability to focus and to learn and develop skills. This can actually prevent, in some children, a later diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Signs Your Toddler is Not Getting Enough Sleep

The average toddler needs 11-14 hours of sleep each day which should include 10-12 hours at night plus one or two daytime naps. If your child is not getting enough sleep, one of the first things you will notice is your child will be more prone to tantrums, fights, and emotional outbursts.

Other Signs Include:

Excessive yawning and droopy, tired eyelids. – If you see your child yawning a lot, having trouble keeping eyes open or falling asleep outside of nap or bed times, then he may need more sleep.
Crying more than usual. – Children get much more cranky when tired and can cry more than usual.
Hyperactivity or wild behavior – When adults don’t get enough sleep, they are groggy during the day. Children, however, can actually get hyper and act more wild or silly than usual.
Difficult to awaken from sleep – Children who are lacking sleep are hard to awaken in the morning or after naps.
More frequent illnesses – If your child is getting sick more often, you may need to check how much sleep your child is getting.

Common Issues causing a struggle with Bedtime

It seems all toddlers fight sleep and try to get out of bedtime or nap time. Your child may stall bedtime by asking for more water, clinging to you, or even bursting out in tears. There are a variety of reasons a child may do that.

Your Child is Teething

If your child is teething, this can cause pain that disrupts sleep or may make it hard to fall asleep. To help ease the pain, put a topical ointment on the affected gums before bedtime. Hopefully, that will help prevent middle of the night awakening.
Common signs that your child is teething:

Painful Gums
Ear Pulling
Fussiness
Excessive Chewing
Drooling

Growth Spurts

Growth spurts can cause leg pains which can awaken your child in the middle of the night, reducing the quality of sleep at night. If this is happening, offering your child an extra nap during the day may help. Alternatively, it may help to give your child a mild pain reliever at bedtime as needed.

Lonely at Bedtime

Your child has been with you all day; it may be hard to be away you all night long. Having a good bedtime routine can help your toddler feel more secure and less lonely at night. Spending time with your child at bedtime may help ease loneliness.

Overstimulated or Hyper

The activity of the day may have made your child overstimulated or over-excited. Some causes of this includes watching TV, playing video games, or participation in other stimulating activities close to bedtime. Avoiding exciting activities a couple hours before bed can help your child sleep more peacefully.

Nightmares or Bedtime Fears

Your child may be afraid of the dark or of the door being shut. If this is the case, leaving the door open a crack or using a night light may help. Sometimes some kids even have nightmares that disrupt their sleep. These can be avoided most nights by the use of comforting bedtime routines. If nightmares still happen, they may need your assurance.

Preparing Your Toddler for a Good Night Sleep

For your child to consistently get restful sleep, you need to plan and prepare for it. Having a consistent schedule, calming bedtime routines, and a calm sleep environment may all help.

Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Find out your child’s ideal sleep schedule. Most toddlers need 11-14 hours hour of sleep each day. Making sure your child is sleeping 10-12 hours at night is a good place to start. Add one or two daytime naps to that. Most children will need only one nap, but observe your child’s mood and behavior and if he seems to be getting fussy, add a nap. Hopefully, the extra nap will improve his mood.

Sample Sleep Schedules

Two Nap Sleep Schedule
7:00 am – Wake up
10:00 am – 11:30 am – Morning nap
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Afternoon nap
8:00 pm – Bedtime

One Nap Sleep Schedule
7:00 – wake up
11:30 am – 2:30 pm – Nap
8:00 pm – Bedtime

These schedules are just guides, but the most important thing is that you keep the sleep schedule consistent. Personalize your child’s sleep schedule to fit with your schedule.

Keep a Consistent and Comforting Bedtime Routine

Even adults need bedtime routines. Have you ever had a hot shower before bed to help you relax and sleep better? That is an example of a bedtime routine. Your toddler especially needs a good bedtime routine to transition into sleep. A consistent bed time is just one example of a bedtime routine.

More Bedtime Routines
A combination of a few of the following bedtime routines will be more effective than just one or two.

Turn off Electronics – Many electronics produce blue light which can disrupt sleep. Turning off the TV, phones, and other electronics can help.
Bedtime Snack – Share a nutritious snack. This will keep hunger away and help improve sleep.
Warm Bath – A warm bath will help your child relax and sleep well.
Bedtime Story – Make sure the story is uplifting. It will help your child connect with you while focusing on a positive story. This will help your child relax and wind down to sleep.
Cuddling – Hugging or cuddling your child before bed can increase his sense of security and safety.

Turn off the tv and share a snack with your child. After your snack, give your child a warm and soothing bath followed by a peaceful bedtime story. You could also hold him during the story and then tuck him in. Some children need someone to sit with them for a couple minutes while they relax in bed.

Benefits of consistent bedtime routines include greatly improved family bonding, greater emotional security and sleep for the child.

Create the Best Sleep Environment

Your child’s bedroom should only be used for sleeping at night and taking naps during the day. This will help keep your child focused on bedtime when going into the bedroom. The following are some more tips.

Keeping a Good Sleep Environment

Cool Room – You should try to keep your child’s room cool, around 68 degrees. This will help improve comfort and quality of sleep.
Dark Room – Having a dark room will improve quality sleep by increasing melatonin levels. If your child is afraid of the dark, however, make sure there is a night light on or a door cracked open, letting in some light from the hallway.
Quiet Room – Keeping things quiet will help keep your child asleep. If there is too much background noise, however, you may alternatively turn on a fan to drown out the noise. The sound of a fan can be soothing for your child and assist in sleep.

Help your child get the sleep he or she needs. With the right sleep routine and calm sleep environment, your child will hopefully be better rested. Since each child is different, it may take some time to find the right routine for your child. The effort is well worth it, however, and will result in a happier, healthier, and smarter child!

How To Set Up A Bedtime Routine For Infants

Establishing a bedtime routine early in your child’s life can be a big factor in ensuring healthy sleep now and when they are older. Going through a routine before bed helps to reinforce a baby’s natural circadian rhythms, helping them stay awake longer during the day and sleep longer during nighttime. It will also help them prepare mentally for sleep by cuing the brain and body that bedtime is near.

Babies learn through actions, so a consistent baby bedtime routine will help them learn how to wind down and relax before it’s time to go to sleep. Having the same actions repeated over and over day after day will make bedtime as predictable and stress-free as possible. A bedtime routine for infants is good for the parents too. The routine will let you spend special quiet bonding time with your child every day, relaxing both you and the baby.

When To Start A Bedtime Routine

You should start beginning to establish the routine when your child is about 2 months old. This is when their internal clock becomes more predictable and they will start to follow a more regular daily pattern of playing, sleeping, and eating. As naptime and wake-up times increasingly occur around the same times each day, you’ll be able to anticipate their natural sleepy times and can start implementing a basic sleep schedule.

Establishing A Routine

A bedtime routine for infants should begin about an hour before the child’s natural sleepy time. A sleep log will help you get an idea of when your baby usually sleeps and help you identify what helps soothe and relax your baby. You should also be able to identify any sleep cues, like rubbing their eyes or yawning, that indicate drowsiness but not overtiredness.

60 Minutes Before Bedtime

Give the baby a bath in warm water with a mild soap containing chamomile or lavender, which are known relaxation aids. While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) doesn’t recommend bathing babies every night due to their delicate skin, similar effects can be obtained by wiping the baby down with a warm wet washcloth on the nights when they don’t have a bath. Clean skin and a clean diaper will go a long way towards helping your baby relax.

45 Minutes Before Bedtime

The next step of the routine is to physically prepare your infant for sleep. A calming massage with sweet smelling lotions will help your baby relax their muscles before being put into their pajamas. A gentle massage before bedtime also produces the hormone melatonin, which helps babies sleep more soundly. They should then be swaddled in a comfy blanket and the lights dimmed to mimic the darkening skies of night.

30 Minutes Before Bedtime

It is now time to mentally prepare your baby for sleep. A regular routine of feeding, reading a book, or just cuddling and rocking will indicate to their mind that bedtime is near and their body will react accordingly. You can also turn on some ambient noise or a musical mobile for some soothing bedtime noise.

10 Minutes Before Bedtime

If you are in a different part of the house, it is time to move to the baby’s bedroom. Gently rock or snuggle them until they appear very drowsy. Place them in the crib before they fall asleep and leave the room to get them used to falling asleep without you holding them. Within 10 minutes, they should be sound asleep.

Additional Tips

For a baby bedtime routine to work properly, it is important for your baby to fall asleep in the same place as consistently as possible. Babies often fall asleep in their strollers or car seats, and that is fine, but you should transfer them to the crib as soon as you can. This will help them sleep more soundly and reduce the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

An abbreviated routine for naptime will also help them get used to falling asleep on their own faster. A naptime routine will reinforce important sleep cues, encouraging the baby to fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

The biggest mistake a parent can make is believing that there is a one-size-fits-all routine that will work for every baby. Personality and temperament are different for each child, so you will have to figure out what works best for your family. Needs will change as the baby grows, so be prepared to revamp the plan if you find that what worked previously is no longer working.

Common Sleep Issues And How To Overcome Them

Fussing – If your child wakes up during the night or during naps, they may begin fussing. This doesn’t mean you should run right in to check on them. Babies are capable of self-soothing at about 3 months old, so it may be best to wait a few minutes to see whether they will be able to get back to sleep on their own.

Reversed sleep schedule – Some babies tend to sleep for long periods during the day and short bursts at night as if they have day and night reversed. This can be solved by making clear distinctions between day and night with light and darkness in the home. You can also help by limiting daytime naps to three hours and avoiding turning on the TV, or other things that emit a lot of light, during nighttime feedings.

Waking at the crack of dawn – If your baby is awaking at dawn and staying awake, there are several things you can do to help them sleep longer and later. Moving their bedtime later and limiting the number and length of naps during the day should help. You may also want to make the bedroom more light-proof with heavier window treatments so the rising sun doesn’t wake your little one.

Sleep regressions – For the first year of life, your baby may experience periods of having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. This is normal. Most issues are caused by temporary things, like illness, teething, or changes in routine, and will resolve themselves. However, if the sleep problems are persistent, they could be a sign of a bigger issue.

If there are questions about your baby’s sleep schedule or sleep issues, you should contact a doctor. Your baby’s pediatrician can help pinpoint what the problem may be and offer solutions targeted to that particular problem.

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