baby to sleep, doing that every night often slows a baby from learning to self-soothe. It also makes her more reliant on your help in the middle of the night. HERE’S HOW TO PREVENT THAT PATTERN
Every evening—before the last feeding— swaddle your baby, play some rumbly white noise and enjoy lulling her to sleep in your arms. Then, after you slide her into bed, wake her up a little. Tickle her feet or give her shoulder a little jiggle. A few seconds later, she will likely close her eyes and slide back into sleep. If she starts to fuss, quickly jiggling the crib for a minute or two should get her back into slumber. I know it sounds counterintuitive to
wake a sleeping baby, but most babies fall back asleep in 10-30 seconds. This experience, repeated over and over again, helps babies begin to learn how to fall to sleep without being in their parent’s arms or at the breast. As babies gain confidence in this new skill, parents can begin to lay their babies down fully awake. Then… it’s your turn to celebrate! Note: The biggest challenge with this approach is that it often takes until 5-6 months for babies outgrow their need for motion when they wake in the middle of the night. Dr. Harvey Karp is one of America’s most-trusted pediatricians and child development experts. He is also the founder and CEO of Happiest Baby, a smart-tech and parenting solutions company.
