Ways to help your baby sleep

As a first time Mum I am by no means an expert when it comes to babies. In fact half of the time I don't know what I am talking about and I just go with what my intuition tells me to do. I think that's all a Mother can do and should do.

Noah has been a good sleeper from a young age but when he goes through a leap it all changes. Just when you think you have cracked the whole sleeping and napping malarkey a big development leap rears it's head and sets you back to square one. It can be frustrating but with a little bit of patience and persistence you can get back to where you were.

Today I thought I would share with you my top tips on how to make nap and bedtimes times easier and hopefully drama free.

Unwind. About half an hour before I take Noah up for a nap or to bed we will snuggle up on the sofa together, I will stroke his hair, give him kisses and cuddles. I think this is one of the key stages for us.

Be quiet. As well as unwinding before sleep I talk to Noah in a soft and quiet voice. I will turn the TV down if it's on. I like to have everything calm right before I take him up to his room.

Lullaby. I don't sing to Noah because it doesn't ease him into a relaxed sleep but instead has the opposite effect and makes him laugh and dance, which is just charming really! We have the Vtech Scout Puppy and we play it's lullaby for 15 minutes at naptime and bedtime. Noah finds it really soothing and it's also good to have a little background noise to cover up your footsteps and that creaky door when you are trying to make your escape.

Comforter. Babies either love them or don't bother with them and Noah loves his. He has two teddy bear comforters which we call his "Kiki's". He's had them since he was a few weeks old and as soon as he has one in his hands, his eyes begin to roll. He takes so much comfort from them and I think some babies just need that extra comfort to get to sleep.

Blackout Blind. Noah usually doesn't mind about it being too light or too dark but when he is going through a leap he seems to be more sensitive to it. I don't know if many other Mum's experience that too? Noah's nursery can become really light in the mornings so I have been looking at blackout blinds and the Itzala webshop have some great choices available.

Night light. Again Noah doesn't usually mind his room being light or dark but he does go through patches of not liking it to be too dark. He has a couple of nightlights so we have started to use them at bedtime and it's nice not leaving him in pitch black.

Do you have any tips you would like to share with me?