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How to Put Baby to Sleep at Nig… 11 minutes

SLEEP BAG

How to Put Baby to

Sleep at Night: Identify
and Utilize Sleep Cues
Wouldn’t it be nice if baby brought you his sleep sack and binky the minute he felt tired? That way, there’d be no
guessing that he was ready for bed. Reality isn’t so black and white, or night and day, so to say. Baby actually
communicates he is sleepy in several subtle ways — ways that we parents need to learn.

These communications, or sleep cues, might not signal sleepiness in the typical way we are used
to. For example, yawns are a common way people show tiredness; but in children, a yawn means
they are nearing the point of no return when it comes to falling asleep. The following subtle yet
certain sleep cues must be observed closely so that baby gets to the crib on time and not too
late.

Early Sleep Cues

Below is a comprehensive list of several possible sleep cues. No baby will show all of these, but
all babies will show some of these. It’s up to you to Dgure out if this act is just part of your
baby’s personality or if it is a communication or sleepiness.

● Decreased activity: Baby will stop moving around and stare oH.
● Slower motions: Fewer and slower gross motor movements. This can be a dramatic slow-down or gradual.
● StiHening the body: Your baby may have rigid or tense hands and legs. She may keep her Dsts clenched.
● Jerky movements: As baby’s body feels sleepiness setting in, the arms and legs might jerk suddenly.
● Less social: Babies smile and vocalize less. They engage you less.
● Less babbling and cooing
● Appears disinterested: Baby may go from being fully engaged in an interaction to acting as if nothing
happened.

● Sucking is weaker or slower: During the pre-sleep feed, she or he might have trouble latching or staying
latched. If self-soothing with a paciDer or Dngers, he or she will slow down.

● Quieter and calmer

● Avoiding eye contact: A tired baby tends to avoid looking at you directly. Her eyes may appear to go in
and out of focus. She may even stare blankly into space.

● Red around the eyes: Especially in infants, eyes get pink around the edges.
● Rubbing eyes: Sleepiness is a diHerent feeling than wakefulness, so babies try to comfort themselves.
Sometimes, they rub their eyes to feel better.

● Eyelids drooping
● Fussiness: Frowns, whines or softly cries. This is a sure sign that it’s time for bed, especially if baby has
already had a diaper change and a feed. Then, you know they aren’t fussy about a soiled diaper or
hunger.

● Hard to distract and keep happy: When a baby gets a little too sleepy, he or she might become irritable
and harder to please.

● Disobeying: For older babies, toddlers and preschoolers, sleep is on its way when these babies act deDant
or throw more tantrums.

● Time awake: Ask yourself, has baby been awake long enough or too long? Is it time for another nap?
(Refer to the wake times below.)

● Making grunting sounds: DiHerent sounds than hunger or awake sounds.

● Tugging or scratching ears
● Eye roll: Eyes roll in the back of the head.
● Not fully themselves: According to Rachel Norman from WavHello, baby will act “slightly “out of it,”
meaning his demeanor and attitude change.

● Scratching ears
● Scratching head or pulling hair: Again, sleepiness takes a toll on baby’s body so baby will cope through
touch. Sometimes, this scratching will actually cause more stress so try to get ahead of this.

● Becomes clingy: A very tired baby needs more consoling, so she will attach herself to you.
● Asks for a feed
● Autonomic signals: Sumana Maheswari of Mom Junction notes that “after a while, your baby may exhibit
autonomic signals, which happen without her conscious control. They include

● Sneezing
● Hiccups
● Sweaty palms
● Quick breaths
● Blueness around the mouth in infants
● Yawning: More than usual. This can be a sign that you’ve waited too long to put baby down to rest.

How To Read Cues

Observe baby intently over the next few days and write down some of the behaviors baby
exhibits right before naptime. The purpose of this exercise is to notice a pattern. Are there two
or more signs baby shows consistently before falling asleep?

If so (and there deDnitely will be), then this is a sleep cue! Watch for this cue before upcoming
nap and bedtimes and act on it. Put baby down to sleep at the very Drst sign or exhibit of this
behavior. That way, baby’s needs are immediately addressed and he or she might have an
easier time putting herself all the way to sleep.

Another way to discern if a behavior is actually a sleep cue is to track wake times. By tracking
how long baby is awake, you will know when his or her next naptime should be. Or at the very
least, you’ll know when baby might show signs of sleepiness. For example, if an older baby (not
a newborn) has been awake for 30 minutes and begins to fuss and whine, then she might not be
tired. Thirty minutes is too short of a wake time for an older baby. Rather, she may have a soiled
diaper, gas or be hungry.

If you know your baby’s wake time, then you have a great hint at knowing when his or her next
nap time will be.

Wake Times By Age

Here are approximate wake times for babies from 0 months to 1 year old. These times come
from Valerie Plowman, also known as The Babywise Mom.

0-4 Weeks old: ~30-45 minutes.

4-6 Weeks old: 40-60 minutes

6-8 Weeks old: 40-70 minutes was optimal. Many can stay up for 60 minutes at this age.

8-12 Weeks old: 50-80 minutes

3-4 Months old: 60-90

4-5 Months old: 80 minutes to 2 hours.

5-6 Months old: 1.5-2 hours

6-7 Months old: 1.75-2.25 hours range. Most this age can do about 2 hours, give or take 15
minutes.

7-8 Months old: 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes is best for baby. A 2-hour nap is a good
goal for this age range.

8-9 Months old: At least 2 hours, most can do a little more.

10-12 Months old: 2.5 hours.

What Comes Next?

You’ve taken notes on baby’s behavior right before bedtime. You’ve identiDed a few consistent
sleep cues and now you’re ready to act on them. But what actually happens next?

Your wind-down routine. At bedtime, this often involves a warm bath, singing, reading books,
changing into pajamas and putting to bed. But you don’t have time to do all these rituals before
naptime.

For naptime, do an abbreviated version of your nighttime wind-down routine. Sing a song or
read a book and rub baby’s hair. Whatever your routine is, do it as soon as you notice baby’s
sleep cue. The quicker you get to the crib, the easier it will be for baby to fall asleep, even put
herself to sleep.

One thing that you can include in every wind-down routine day or night is putting baby in a
sleep bag, or wearable blanket. The habit of dressing baby in this before every sleep trains your
baby to expect sleep soon after wearing the sleep sack. It is an eHective cue from parent to
baby. Our bamboo sleep bags are a source of comfort to sleepy babies because they are ultra
soft and keep baby bundled in a warm environment with just enough room to kick, stretch and
roll.

In addition to doing your naptime routine and dressing baby in a sleep bag, keep babies room
cool, dark and quiet. These ideal sleeping conditions help baby get enough eHective sleep. A
sound machine that plays white or pink noise can also be soothing for a tired baby.

Missed Sleep Opportunity

Even if you take meticulous notes and are extra vigilant, you may miss the small window of time
for baby to fall asleep peacefully. This is common since parents don’t realize how short the
window of time is and end up putting baby to bed too late. When this happens, baby becomes
overtired. Overtiredness is a condition between tiredness and exhaustion. It is a state of
physical fatigue that activates the stress-response system.

The stress-response system makes so much sense. Take a very tired baby for example. They cry
and fuss and jail around inconsolably, as if they are stressed. Why is this? Maheswari explains
that baby “will have to produce more cortisol and adrenaline hormones to stay awake. Now, this
is stress! The cortisol and adrenaline hormones jood into the bloodstream, making it dikcult for
the little one to relax.”

Overdue Sleep Cues

When it gets to this point, young babies cry without any apparent reason, pull up their legs as if
in pain, and may arch their backs. Older babies act miserably, throw tantrums, reject food, Dght
sleep, scream and cry.

● Crankiness or irritability: Extreme fussiness is typically a sign that baby is overtired. A good piece of
advice is put baby down before he or she gets very fussy. Many parents wait until baby becomes fussy,
thinking that is a sign of tiredness. Wrong! It’s a sign of overtiredness and will interrupt baby’s schedule.

● Eye rubbing or drooping: Plowman says, “If your baby is rubbing his/her eyes, it is probably beyond the
ideal time to start nap time. Also, once you are beyond the super-sleepy newborn stage, eye-drooping is
akin to fussiness. Baby needed to be in that crib sooner.”

● Dikculty in latching: Maheswari says the following, “Overtired newborns have dikculty in latching or cry
at the breast.

● “Older babies may throw food, toys or things that are in their hands. Some babies may even hit or smack.
● “Self-soothing: If you ignore the early signals, the tired baby sends self-soothing signals like sucking the
thumb, searching for a dummy and so on.”

Recap
Now that you know early sleep cues from tardy ones, you can put this knowledge to work by
observing baby during wakeful hours. Notice what kind of cues he or she exhibits. Does baby
tug the ears, suck their thumb, become quiet all of a sudden, grunt or moan? These quick and
simple changes in behavior could signal exactly when baby needs to go to bed. By paying
attention to them, you can help baby sleep better and longer.

For optimal sleep, make sure baby doesn’t stay awake for longer than two hours and keep his or
her room cool, dark and quiet. Dress baby in soft, comfortable pajamas that give her freedom of
movement and prevent her from overheating. Our footies and rompers made of 97% bamboo
regulate body temperature, insulate ekciently, keep baby cool and are buttery soft to the
touch. Our sleep sacks have also proven to be an eHective sleep cue from parent to child.

And last but not least, be consistent! Follow the same sleepy time ritual every day, including
dressing baby in a sleep sack, turning on white noise, singing a song or reading a book and
letting baby drift oH to sleep before it’s too late. Signs that it is too late include yawning, crying,
extreme fussing and even thumb-sucking.

You can prevent it from getting to this point by acting on the subtle cues. The quicker the better
and you may even get to nap yourself.

By Abby Walraven

Jun 13, 2019

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