Dressing Your Baby For Sleep Time

1. Dressing Your Baby For Sleep Time

2. For first time parents, knowing what to dress your baby in when it’s time to visit the land of nod, may not be that clear, and worrying about what your little cherub will be most comfortable in, is certainly not uncommon. After all, this precious new lifeform is delicate and relies on you entirely for its’ survival, so while it may not seem so important to dress your baby appropriately for sleep time, it can be the difference between your baby getting a good and restorative sleep, or your baby tossing and turning and getting grizzlier by the minute! So, what should you consider when thinking about dressing your tot for sleep time?

3. Newly born babies move a lot during sleep time: With their undeveloped nervous systems, little ones find themselves making a lot of reflexive movements, whether napping or fully awake, and they have virtually no control over their arms and legs. Bearing this in mind, swaddling is perhaps the best way of keeping babies’ snug, safe and secure while their delicate nervous systems are developing and enables them to feel more comfortable as they drift in and out of sleep.

4. Your baby’s nervous system will quickly develop: The nervous systems of new born babies do begin to mature quickly though, and when your little one reaches 3 to 6 months (the timeline will vary for each baby), they will be far more capable of moving their limbs in a regulated manner, with more control over their arms and legs. You will also notice their internal clock – otherwise known as the ‘circadian system’ – beginning to signal to them that night time is when they should sleep. When your little one reaches this milestone, it will be time to remove the swaddling and find a form of attire that allows them to move more freely without inhibiting their arms and legs.

5. Pyjama’s are often seen as being the most appropriate form of night time attire for small babies when they reach this stage, especially if they are all-in-one and lightweight, preventing them tangling or rucking up while your baby is resting. Allow your baby to explore their crib: Tumbling around, crawling and trying to stand are all normal behaviours for growing young tots, and provided they are safe and cannot harm themselves should they fall over, this exploration within the confines of their crib should be encouraged.

6. You may find that having the ability to move around more freely while in their crib might disorient your baby to begin with, but they will soon grow accustomedto it, and in time, it should help them get to sleep, since they can freely choose what position is most comfortable for them. Try not to wrap your baby up too warmly: It can be easy to assume that a warm, snug baby, equals a baby who will sleep more soundly, but the truth is in fact, often the opposite. Just as with adults trying to sleep, if you’re in a warm room and wrapped from head to toe in something heavy and hot, you will feel uncomfortable and doubtless begin to

7. perspire. Cool rooms are conducive to a good night’s sleep for all humans, young, old, large or small! What your baby should wear in bed depending upon the climate: In cooler weather: pop a onesie (or romper suit if you’re not keeping up with modern times!) under your little ones footie pyjama’s, and if the climate is quite cold, then you can add a fleece pyjama over the top of a thin pair of cotton pyjama’s. In warmer weather: dress baby in a one-piece pyjama suit made from cotton, or pyjama’s that have no feet. We, as adults, may not be able to sleep without

8. something covering us because that’s what we’ve grown accustomed to, but babies haven’t yet developed that feeling and will sleep happily with their toes or legs exposed, in much the same way as they will sleep soundly without a pillow. The best advice to take onboard when dressing your baby for sleep time, is that after the first couple of months, they will need to establish their own freedom of movement and comfort levels to sleep soundly in their chosen position.Restricting their movements too much will simply result in a grouchy baby and doubtless a grouchy mom, dad, or both!

9. Better Bedtime’s registered baby sleep consultants provide services to parents in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and surrounding area. Our nurturing approach has been developed by years of helping local parents get more sleep and babies to develop healthy sleep habits. Every baby sleep consultant at Better Bedtime has years of experience and certifications in sleep training for babies. From our client testimonials you can know what our clients say about how we helped with sleep training for 7 month old and many other ages. Contact us to know more about our services - https://betterbedtime.ca/