Want to regularise your baby’s sleep? Let light be the savior.

This post is also available in: English हिन्दी (Hindi) বাংলা (Bengali)

A new mom needs huge reserves of energy. And nothing provides high energy levels like a good night’s sleep! Of course, as a new mum, when you sleep is completely dependent on when your baby does. So, if you want to improve your energy levels, you have to understand your baby’s sleep cycle and figure out how to co-ordinate your own sleeping pattern with your baby’s.

Most babies take long naps during the day and stay awake through the night. One of the prime reasons for their irregular sleeping patterns is that they cannot distinguish between light and darkness.

Of course, this is hardly cause for worry! All you got to do is make small tweaks that will help your little night owl see the light. And we mean that quite literally.

Darkness triggers the release of melatonin which is an important sleep hormone. On the other side of the coin, Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution, suggests that lights switch on your child’s biological ‘go’ button. So, here’s the trick: keep your baby’s days bright, active and social whereas his nights, dark and he will quickly recognise when it’s time to sleep. Once your baby is a few weeks old, you can begin to teach him the difference between day and night. This will help him establish a healthy sleep pattern.

Follow these easy tips:

1. During the daytime, open up the curtains and welcome plenty of sunlight into your house or, best, take him out. Dr Mahesh Balsekar and Malvika Choudhary, the authors of O to Z Baby & You, suggest that day and night time ambience should be different so that infants identify night time as sleep time. Though, it’s perfectly fine to let your baby have his share of daytime naps, just make sure the room is well-lit.

2. To induce drowsiness at night, lower the lights in the evenings (up to two hours before bedtime), just to set the mood.3. It’s fine to use a night-lamp in your baby’s room, but select one that is small, dim and cool to the touch. (PS. Don’t place it near your baby’s bedding.)4. If your little one wakes up during the night, do not turn on the lights or carry him into a brightly lit room. The shift from dark to light informs your baby’s brain that it’s wake-up time. Instead, soothe him back to sleep in the dark bedroom.5. Room-darkening shades or thick curtains made from natural fabrics such as silk, cotton or linen work just fine for babies who wake up with early morning sunlight. Dr Mahesh Balsekar also emphasises the importance of maintaining quiet surroundings.So, the whole idea is to make your baby aware of the distinction between light and darkness. This way whenever you darken the room, your baby knows it is good-night time!Used the above tricks but didn’t see the ‘light’ at the end of the dark night? Time to make your better half prove he is better!

Here’s the hack: Comfortably express your milk with our special Morisons Baby Dreams Comfort Feed Breast Pump and store it. Voila! Let your darling hubby wake up and feed the tiny night owl! You can buy this comfortable, easy and light weight electric pump at https://www.jlmorison.com/shop/comfort-feed-electric-breast-pump.html

That’s how smart mums get their share of rest. Right?

Sssshhh, good night mommy!

This post is also available in: English हिन्दी (Hindi) বাংলা (Bengali)