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Tell MAM the best baby sleep tips you wished you’d have known: £200 Amazon voucher prize!

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  • Just how different every baby’s sleep pattern can be. My first would only have a settled sleep in someone’s arms. Getting him to sleep was a stressful challenge every time. He needed complete silence to sleep. My second would fall asleep within 5 mins and would want to be put down and not held. She could sleep through any amount of noise. Every baby is different, you will find what works for you but wait until baby arrives before you buy things because you may not need them or need something completely different. 
  • You don’t need any gadgets or technologies. Just a calm soothing routine. There’s no need to “train” sleep. Babies aren’t meant to sleep long hours for the first few months, it’s good not to have that expectation.
  • White noise and a blackout blind can work wonders for creating a good sleep environment! 
  • We had a ewan the dream sheep for our first which was amazing. Did our second... No idea. Still trying to crack it lol x
  • I I found the rugby ball hold so good with windy babies. pressing your forearm into their tummy and rocking gently
  • There’s a culture that babies should sleep through the night early on. That they should be able to “self soothe”. Babies need you for comfort as well as food. They can’t regulate and need you to help them so that when they are developmentally ready, they can regulate themselves. - I wish I knew this so I didn’t waste hours reading advice from ‘sleep consultants’.
    I wish I’d listened when people said don’t buy a cot straight away- you don’t need it for at least 6 months. We have a floor bed and I thoroughly recommend this for any breast feeding mothers.
    white noise - get a speaker and use a 15 hour white/pink noise podcast for free.

  • So much I wish I’d known about sleep. All the pre baby courses focus on the birth and feeding but so much of this you have help with. When it comes to sleep you are on your own. I wish I’d known that babies feel apart of you for the 4th trimester and to put them down is impossible I should of bought a stretchy wrap sooner. 
    I wish I’d know more about sleep cycles and how they change as they develop. 
    I wish I’d known more about teaching my baby to sleep earlier, not sleep training but gradual and gentle. 
    Reflux!!! How to identify reflux including silent reflux and how to help them sleep more comfortably. ‘They’ll grow out of it is not good enough! 
    I’d love to know more about how to deal with two children that nap at different times. What do you do with a little one while you try to settle a baby and vice versa? 
    Sleep is so important for the brain to develop why are we having to pay for sleep consultants. 
  • Having a daily routine and and trying to stick with it helped me and my daughter with the sleep. Also songs , white noises and lullaby’s was another thing that worked for us.
  • I would tell myself to read about the "fourth trimester". I would tell myself "you are doing the best you can". Using white noise helped a lot. Using a sling in the day time was an absolute life saver! Read about safe co-sleeping, it helped me get a lot more sleep in the first few months. 
  • When feeding at night, keep interaction to a minimum. Keep lighting low and no talking/playing. 
    Makes an attempt to make night time distinctive from day and promote good sleep hygiene from the beginning. x
  • A nice warm bath soothing rain sounds and a feed works every time 
  • Keeping the bedroom a nice temperature and routine is everything!! 
  • All babies are different! Find what works for them and then develop your routine and try to stick to it as much as possible. Snuggly newborn sleeps on you are not going to mean they won't sleep on their own when older - enjoy them!
  • Sleep promotes Sleep.. Know your babies awake window times for their age and ensure you put baby to sleep before they are over tired… 
  • If you are breastfeeding when they and  you are ready to stop feeding at night let Dad (if possible take over) no smell or temptation of milk to wake up for worked wonders for my boys, obviously not before baby is ready my two were 14 months x
  • I wish I had known it was very very normal for babies to wake up constantly at night for a year or more. I felt so alone and frustrated. I felt like it was my fault and everyone else's babies were sleeping through. It really affected me mentally.
    Now I know it's such a lottery and often there's nothing you can do, but also there are many many babies like this
  • A dummy and white noise has worked wonders for both my children 2yrs & 2weeks. Do what works for you and your family :)
  • put them down when they are sleepy and play ‘white noise’ in the background.
  • It took me a couple of weeks to realize I needed to help my son sense the difference between day and night.  So naps were taken downstairs in his carry cot in normal daylight with normal sounds around.  At night I put on the minimum amount of light to allow me to feed and change him and I was much more quiet and boring than during the day while changing him.  This method also worked when my daughter was born as I made sure my son had something quiet to play with while she napped downstairs.
  • i wish i had knew about controlled crying
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