What are some ways to effectively put a baby to sleep?

Newborns should always be put to bed swaddled (wrapped) until 3–6 months of age– it makes them feel secure as it replicates how they felt in the womb. There are swaddling guidelines indicated in page 234. Next is to create a unique evening bedtime routine. Something like bath-time, massage, dressing, last feed, a lullaby, swaddling, kissing goodnight, lights out, etc. every night. During the day, use a shorter routine. If the noise is quiet, add some droning noise (e.g. put a radio on outside baby’s bedroom door) but refrain from sudden loud noises. When your baby cries after you put her down to bed– just allow her to self-settle. Babies crying themselves to sleep also have a predictable crying pattern: as they are getting ready to fall asleep, the length of crying gets shorter, and the pauses of silence between cries gets longer. As much as possible, do not make routine use of sleep props or sleep aids so as to prevent the babe from being heavily dependent on outside influence to induce them to sleep.  Vary your baby’s sleep locations at least once or twice a week — this will teach them to go to bed whenever they’re due, wherever they are. At night, give the baby, the turkey-dinner feeling, express some of the fat-rich-milk each morning to top baby up with late at night. Or if your babies are formula-fed, it may be time for the thicker ‘for hungry babies’ product for the last feed in the evening. A couple of really helpful do’s and don’ts for mums are in pages 246- 248.