Consistency, consistency, consistency...
To get your baby to sleep, there is probably nothing more important than being consistent. This very simple idea - having a routine for putting your baby to sleep, and sticking to it - is the foundation on what good sleeping babies thrive upon. If every night you change what you do to get your baby to sleep, it doesn’t matter if you’re using the best techniques in the book. They simply won’t work.
Now, there is certainly something to be said for experimenting to find something that works for you and your baby. Not all babies are alike, and they certainly don’t come with instruction manuals. Experimentation is a necessary part of being a parent. Most parents aren’t blessed with the intuition or skills to know exactly how best to soothe and calm their babies from Day 1. Trial and error plays a big part in learning what works, and what doesn’t work, with your particular baby. However, once you find something that works, it is best to stick with it, and repeat night after night after night…
For example, if you purchase the Pediasleep – Baby Sleep Package of soothing sounds, and you learn by trial and error that your baby sleeps best to the electric fan sound, then by all means, play it each and every time you want your baby to sleep. Put it on repeat, think about buying the extended length electric fan sound so it will play for 75 minutes or even 12 hours rather than 10 minutes… but whatever you do, keep doing what works. Don’t suddenly switch to playing womb sounds or baby white noise at sleep time. Keep it consistent, and your baby (and you) will sleep better for it.
Andrew Dolbin-MacNab
Pediasleep LLC
About the Author:
Andrew Dolbin-MacNab is a father, sound-engineer, and the founding member of Pediasleep LLC, a leader in the production of white noise and other soothing sounds to aid the healthy sleep of infants, cosleepers, and parents. Having successfully survived his daughter's early sleep problems with the help of white noise, he is also an expert on infant sleep problems and their solutions. Pediasleep can be found online at http://www.Pediasleep.com.
