Pick up any baby sleep book or read any website, including this one, the instructions are to put your baby to sleep "drowsy but awake" in order to teach him to sleep and not wake up at night or take a longer nap during the day. But, what does "drowsy but awake" really mean? Does this mean the eyes are closed or just relaxed? This article paints a picture of ideal sleepiness to help your baby or toddler sleep better.
Definition of "drowsy but awake"
In a perfect world, you would soothe your baby to the point of being calm, relaxed, and with your eyes closed. You would lay your baby down, he would reposition himself, blink his eyes, look at you briefly as he left the room, and fall asleep peacefully on his morphological pillow.
Of course, this doesn't always work very easily.
For some babies, they go from being awake to sleeping. There is not really a state of "drowsiness". In this case, your baby would be in a calm state, but not with their eyes closed. He may appear to be awake, but calm enough not to move, crawl, walk, or play.
What can I do to get baby into a "sleepy, but awake" state?
In a perfect world, we would have sleepy babies every time we put them down to sleep, but is that really realistic? Is it a good idea ? How long should we work in this ideal state?
When you first practice putting your baby to sleep , you want him to be as calm and relaxed as possible before you start teaching him a new routine or skill. However, I don't recommend that you take so long to reach the ideal state of what I call " drowsy, but awake " just for bedtime.
First of all, if you teach him a new routine, he's likely to wake up a bit, anyway that's what he will do once you lay him down.
Next, you don't want your baby to be too tired, which will work against you. He's likely to be more upset and resist the new routine even more.
Lastly, work long and you'll have to start over every time he cries, unless you're doing it anyway by controlling his crying or screaming. In this case, you are just dragging out the inevitable.
If you're using a no-cry sleep method , you wouldn't want him to be exhausted by the time he goes to bed.
A routine to help baby sleep
Ultimately, your goal is to create a consistent bedtime or naptime routine and stick to it. If you have an age-appropriate sleep schedule, your baby should be happy at the end of your routine, and over the weeks you should be able to make him less drowsy and more awake (depending on his temperament) as he falls asleep better and better, but it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and consistency to get there.
When you first practice putting him to sleep, I recommend spending up to 10-15 minutes putting your baby to sleep and then letting him go. If he isn't sleepy with your soothing methods, make sure you try to get him to sleep at the right time.
Too tired can lead to a lot of crying OR hyperactivity. Not tired enough, he can be playful and happy, smiling at you rather than sleeping. Cute, but not ready to sleep. Here are 10 tips you need to know to help your baby sleep.
And you, what does your baby look like when he is sleepy but awake? Share in comment!
I hope this article has enlightened you on the subject. Feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments.
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