Baby sleep stories

Hello! Does anyone have any interesting or unusual tips for getting your babies off to sleep? I've heard of some people using the air from a hair dryer or the sound of the hoover to get their little ones off. Any tips or stories will be gratefully received.


Thanks,


Kieran

Not original but here goes:

- Be patient.

- Make sure there is a daily routine.

- Movement works, whether it be stroller or car.

- Cold is better than heat. Baby should be warm and bundled up but cold air around the bundle is good for sleep. Hands should be slightly cool but not cold. If hands are quite warm baby is too hot. The core needs to be warm, not the hands.

- Calm, quiet and not a lot of light for a while before sleep time.

A good routine. Not for everyone but I found the Gina Ford guide very helpful. It made sense, if a little militaristic like......make sure the baby doesn't get too much sleep during the day so they are sleepy at night. Good sleep hygiene, quiet room, darken the room, bath, book routine ect.

One problem esp if you are a working mom is making sure your helper/in laws sticks to the routine. For example my ex helper would let my little baby sleep for 6 hours a day so she would not sleep much during the night. I noted that this did not occur during the weekend or during our holidays, so placed a camera over my baby's bed, which soon diagnosed the problem. Nonetheless, it was still a problem for several weeks after the camera went in, with me having to ring my helper from work after the 2 hour afternoon nap to insist that she wake my little one up. The discrepancy between the best laid plan and its execution!

I had a friend who recorded himself going "shhhhhh" quite loudly into a tape recorder, and that's what they would play to their baby to get her to sleep and he said it worked really well!! They seem to like those humming and shhh noises.


For my current baby, she falls off asleep when I put her on her side. I just make sure she's tired enough, then put her into bed and pat her and put her on her side. I think it's comforting for her because I breastfeed lying down so she's probably used to feeling comfort while lying on her side.