Baby
5th Aug 2020

Bringing home a new addition to the family is an exciting time. You finally start getting to know the incredible little person you waited nine months to meet. As well as exciting, introducing bub to life on earth may sometimes be exhausting for all involved.

Getting your baby to quieten those killer vocal cords and settle into an uninterrupted sleep isn’t always easy.

While some babies take to it like a duck to water, it can be more difficult to settle some babies than others. And that’s ok because every baby is different.

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to settling your baby. What works for some, won’t work for others. Because having a parenting manual drop out of the sky and into our laps would just be too easy.

Here are four tips that may help settle your baby:

Establishing Consistent Routine

Structured and consistent routines aren’t just for grown-ups. People of all ages enjoy having reliable routines in place.

By structuring your baby’s day around their feeding and sleeping you may find a routine that works for you and your baby at each development stage. The age-old words of advice “sleep when baby sleeps” are really great help, you need to rest when caring for a young baby as much as they do.

For some, it could look like “eat, play, sleep”, for others it may be something different.

Try Swaddling

Learning how to properly swaddle or wrap your baby is a great tool in helping to settle and soothe.

Why might it work? Because just like being wrapped up in your doona makes you feel secure, swaddling reminds bub of being in the womb.

Other benefits include helping to keep your baby’s temperature constant.

Baby Wearing

If your baby does not want to be put down to sleep, a baby sling or wrap may help. Baby wearing is when your bub is wrapped and attached to you, leaving your hands free so you can move about and do some of your other tasks.

The close contact with your skin combined with the sound of your heartbeat is comforting and relaxing.

Practical and versatile, baby slings provide maximum bang for your buck. Suitable for nursing, carrying and sleeping, the sling allows your baby to rest in a ‘froggy’ style position (with their legs up like how they sit in the womb).

Massage

Not only may a good massage help settle a restless bub, but it’s also a great opportunity for bonding. An ideal time to massage your baby is straight after a bath.

Be sure to create a calming environment with a warm, quiet space and massage oil.

Look for local baby massage classes you can attend with bub so you can get the right technique, and meet some other new mums too!

Bath Time

Bathing your baby is one of the most intimate and rewarding experiences for new parents. A part of the bonding experience, bath time can be used as a part of a bedtime routine to settle your bub.

That said, some people aren’t born water babies. Some bubs will take to bath time easily, while others can find the experience a little harder to get used to.

If your baby doesn’t love the feeling of water on their skin, wrapping bub in a hand towel before placing them in the water may help make the experience more comfortable. Washing with plain water is best but as bub gets older you may want to add a baby wash to the bath. Choose one that’s free from parabens and SLS, and rich in hydrating ingredients.

If you found this information useful, you may enjoy the following:

How To Put Your Baby To Sleep Safely

Self-Soothing Strategies Every Mum Should Know