Natural Sleep Aid Tips for Children

At the ages of 8-12 months, your baby will begin to need less sleep during the day and should be regularly sleeping through the night.

But there's also much more activity and stimulation during the day - babies are eating up the world at this stage, they're learning so much.

If you're feeding him baby food during the day, and decreasing bottles, make the last bottle feeding at nighttime.

You can also have a bottle in the night to soothe him if he wakes up.

Babies are teething at this time as well, and that can cause them to wake up in discomfort.

You may be weaning the baby from breastfeeding, and that can be a difficult transition as well.

There are different schools of thought on handling babies who are a challenge to get to sleep. Some recommend letting the baby cry it out, but this is hard on the parents, especially on mom who may have been comforting and bonding with the baby all day long.

It can see cruel to just let the baby cry himself to sleep. He's just a little guy, after all.

Take extra care at this time to make sure the nursery is conducive to sleeping. Make sure his diaper is clean and his sheets are clean and soft.

If he's teething, use a topical pain treatment that's safe for the baby. You can also invest in some homeopathic tablets that ease teething naturally.

Make sure his nose is clear and not stuffy. If you use a foam wedge to keep the baby from sleeping on his stomach, sleep with a spare one night and then put that in his bed so that your scent is close to him at night.

Make sure the room isn't too cold or too hot; keep a humidifier in the room to maintain a good moisture balance, especially in the winter when rooms can dry out.

Your baby just might be stubborn about sleeping, but try to figure out if there are physical problems that you can alleviate first.

As your baby gets older and turns into a toddler, they'll start to need less sleep during the day, but about 11 hours or so at night.

You'll be transitioning to fewer naps and even a cranky tired baby can have difficulty getting to sleep.

If your child will to go to bed only if you're around, he's forming bad habit that will be hard to break later.

The best lesson you can teach him is how to soothe himself to sleep.

Follow a nightly bedtime ritual (bath, books, and bed, for example) so he knows what's expected of him and what to expect at night.

You can tell him that if he stays in bed you'll come back in five minutes to check on him. Let him know that he's safe and that you'll be nearby.

Toddlers are great negotiators, and they're no different when it comes to bedtime. And because they so enjoy the time they spend with you, they'll do what they can to prolong the time they have with you.

Your child may take his time doing his usual nightly routine, ask repeatedly for a glass of water, or keep requesting that you come to his room because he needs something. If you suspect he's stalling, don't let him.

Tell him it's time for bed and that he can finish working on his art project the next day or find the stuffed bunny the following morning.

Make the nighttime routine more "business like" when you kiss your baby and tuck him/her in. Don't wait around for your baby to fuss. Just leave and close the door and wait about ten minutes before you go back in the room.

Sometimes it's just a battle for control. Your toddler wants to control his environment as much as possible. You can't force him to fall asleep.

Try reverse psychology and tell him he doesn't have to go to sleep, but can play in his crib. Eventually, he'll fall asleep on his own.

There are many different methods from the "experts" on dealing with sleep problems in your developing baby and child.

Again, do what works best for you and what you feel comfortable with.

The Ferber method involves letting the baby cry herself to sleep, on the theory that if you're firm about bed time, she'll learn to comfort herself to sleep.

This doesn't mean just plunking the baby down in her crib and walking away.

It differs from what you may already be doing in that it encourages you to put the baby in her crib while she's still awake, so she gets used to falling asleep without you.

But this might also mean letting her cry it out for a few weeks.

This can be stressful for everyone in the household.

Another method is the controlled crying method. Again, this involves your usual bedtime rituals of a bath, perhaps a snack and a story, rocking and cuddling. Put your baby in her crib and kiss her goodnight.

If she starts to cry, wait 10 to 15 minutes before going in to comfort her.

Try to resist picking her up, just shush her quietly and pat her on the back. Some experts suggest not talking, as this can reinforce the waking and crying behavior. You want to reassure your baby that you're there, but you still want to encourage sleeping.

After the first half hour of crying, increase the intervals before you check on the baby by a few minutes each time, up to about 15 to 20 minutes between checking.

This can take some time, and can be trying on your nerves, but in time, your baby will learn that you're not going away and that you're nearby.

This teaches your baby self-comforting, but also gives her the confidence and security that you're there for her.

A new baby needs a lot of sleep and when they're not sleeping, they can be hungry or need a diaper change.

It's a little hard to know in the beginning what's making your baby cry or if he's tired.

But as you both begin to settle into your routines, you'll begin to notice the cues that your baby needs to nap.

You want to make sure he gets in good naps during the day and at appropriate times so that you won't have as much trouble getting him to sleep at night.

Even a very small baby will rub his eyes when he gets tired. He'll yawn; perhaps he'll get fussy.

As children get a little older, their activity levels may pick up as they get tired and try to avoid sleep.

Try to keep to regular nap times during the day. If you're baby is napping 3 times a day, then a mid-morning, early afternoon and late-afternoon nap is appropriate for a baby with a 7:30 or 8 PM bed time.

Often babies get tired towards dinner time, and then parents are faced with a dilemma. Do you let the baby sleep and risk not getting to sleep at bedtime?

Or you do you try to keep him awake through dinner and perhaps put him to bed a little bit earlier?

Most parents will opt for trying to keep the baby awake a little longer in favor of keeping to a regular bed time.

But if it's been a busy day for the little guy, let him have a very short nap and then wake him up gently for dinner or a feeding and some light play before putting him to bed for the night.

Remember to make rituals for naps as well as bed time so your baby gets used to sleeping at regular times.

Baby Sleep Problem Nighttime Help

There's only so much one person (or two) can do to get a baby to go to sleep.

There are things you can use other than your own shoulder to help lull your baby to sleep.

A baby swing can be a good idea and leave your hands free.

Set the swing at a slow and gentle rock; you don't want this to be an exciting or stimulating experience.

You want to make it relaxing so your baby can fall asleep.

A glider or rocker is restful for both of you. And a good pillow support, like a Boppy® pillow is good for late-night breast feeding. It's a nice U-shaped pillow that provides good support for your baby, as well as for your back.

If you're on a budget, some parents swear by putting their baby in a baby seat and putting it on top of a dryer. If you do this, be sure to put the dryer on air only - you don't want to overheat him.

A motorized cradle or bassinette can also be soothing for a baby. As a last resort, you can always bundle the baby into his car seat and drive around the neighborhood until he falls asleep.

Many experts don't recommend artificial aids like this however, as it's impossible to sustain it and you won't get the baby used to sleeping on his own.

There are also many ambient noise machines on the market that can also help mask household noises and provide a soothing environment for the baby (and for many adults).

You can usually set them for a variety of noises, like rainfall, windchimes or ocean sounds.

You can also leave the TV on quietly in another room so the baby doesn't feel completely isolated in his room.

As your newborn baby grows, it is slowly acclimating to sleeping at night and being awake during the day.

Also, as baby's stomach is growing and holding more breast milk or formula, it will be able to go for longer periods between feedings at night.

At approximately three months of age your baby will likely sleep about 15 hours out of each 24-hour period, and two thirds of that sleep will take place during the night.

Most babies will have settled into a daily sleep routine of two or three sleep periods during the day, followed by "sleeping through the night" for 6 to 7 hours after a late-night feeding.

You can help adjust your baby's body clock toward sleeping at night by avoiding stimulation during nighttime feedings and diaper changes. The act of breastfeeding itself provides frequent eye and voice contact, so try to keep the lights low and resist the urge to play or talk with your baby.

This will reinforce the message that nighttime is for sleeping. Keeping the door closed to keep out well-meaning but vocal older children, spouses and pet will also keep reduce stimulating your infant.

Avoid the use of musical mobiles or toys as a way to lull your infant back to sleep after night-time feedings. This will also help to reinforce that nighttime is for sleeping.

And, as with adults, overly tired infants often have more trouble sleeping than those who've had an appropriate amount of sleep during the day. So, keeping your baby up thinking that he or she will sleep better at night may not work.

You may find that when your infant sleeps at regular intervals during the day, it will be easier to put them back down to sleep after night-time feedings.

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