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World Sleep Day 2019 - Tips for a good night's sleep for you and your baby
Tips for a good night’s sleep for you and your baby!
World Sleep Day is an annual event that is sponsored by the World Association of Sleep Medicine to raise awareness of sleep disorders. The slogan for this year’s event is, “When sleep is sound, health and happiness abound.”
Numerous studies show that getting the right amount of sleep is directly correlated to good health. Getting the right amount of sleep is not a luxury; it’s a basic human need.
As parents of young babies and toddlers it makes it particularly challenging to get the right amount of sleep. That’s why we have made it our mission at Baby Loves Sleep to help parents and babies get better sleep.
Here’s what you can do to ensure you and your little ones get good sleep:
{Read to the end to enter our World Sleep Day Giveaway to win over $1300 worth of prizes that help you and your little one sleep better}
- Establish a regular sleep time
During the first weeks of life your baby does not yet have a set day-night rhythm. You can help create this rhythm by setting regular times for going to bed and waking up.
Your baby’s sleep times will change to cater for their growing needs. In their first year, babies will go through 3-4 changing sleep times – from needing 4 day sleeps at the beginning dropping to 2-3 day naps by the end of their first year.
The more regular the hours, the stronger the sleep-wake cycle will be. This helps you predict when they need sleep.
Regular hours are important for toddlers too.
- A bedtime routine
Introducing a bedtime routine helps your baby understand that they are getting ready for sleep. Simple things like a bath, some quiet time including reading to your baby, a final feed and a kiss can be part of this routine. Babies thrive on knowing what will happen next and helps them feel secure, so it’s important to keep your routine consistent.
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A dark room is best for sleep time
A dark room encourages the release of melatonin. Use red lighting (instead of white or blue light) as numerous studies have shown this to be less disruptive to the circadian rhythm. (Circadian rhythm is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of your brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. It's also known as your sleep/wake cycle.)
- Maintain an ideal room temperature
If your baby wakes too early in the morning, it may be due to being cold. The coldest part of the day is around the break of dawn. The recommended temp for baby’s room is between 19C to 22C. Maintaining this room temp will help ensure your baby will not be too cold or too hot in the night. It is safe to use a thermostat controlled heating system. If using a heater, always position at the farthest part of the room away from your baby's bed to ensure heating is distributed evenly around the room.
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Appropriate clothing and bedding
Make sure your baby is dressed appropriately. Try to use clothing made only of natural materials such as cotton or bamboo to ensure breathability. For newborns up to three months, a swaddle wrap offers security for the startle reflex. For older babies, a non-restrictive transitional swaddle, sleep sack or sleeping bag will give more freedom to move safely while giving additional warmth in cooler nights, since we all know that blankets will almost surely come off in the night.
Our range of newborn swaddles and transitional swaddle suits covers all babies ages and developmental stages.
As with bedding, it is equally important to use cotton or bamboo made sheets and blankets for breathability and to avoid overheating.
Babies are born with very porous skin and can easily ingest toxins from synthetic or chemically treated materials. Choosing organic bedding gives your new baby the best possible start to safe sleeping. We know that anything organic comes with a hefty price tag, so our friends at Little Earth Co are giving you 25% off their gorgeous organic cot sheet sets.
- Time for YOU
Life as a parent is greatly rewarding. But it can be a very tiring and demanding time for you. Make sure you have plenty of downtime too. When your baby is awake, you want to be able to enjoy the interaction. Use the time your baby is sleeping for rest or downtime.
For parents with multiple children, getting some downtime can be challenging. Arrange with your partner, friend or family member to have some time off. If you can get just one day of time for yourself, this will do wonders for your well-being and contribute to being happier, brighter and better able to cope.
- Sleep Aids
There are a number of sleep aids that can help soothe and settle your baby. Here are some of our favourites:
- Lulla Doll
The award winning Lulla Doll is designed to comfort babies, toddlers and even older children with it’s built-in recording of a Mum’s real heart beat and breathing for up to 8 hours. After many years of scientific research the Lulla Doll proves how closeness improves sleep, well being and safety for your baby.
Where can you get this: In New Zealand from Sleepytot and in Australia from Sleep Tight Babies
- AuCuTee S5 White Noise Sound Machine
Forget white noise machines that turn off after 30 minutes!
The AuCuTee Sound Machine has 20 Smooth and Soothing Sounds for you to choose from including - White Noise, Pink Noise, Cracking fire, Clock ticking, Train, Crickets, Frogs, Birds, Rain, Thunderstorm, Stream, Ocean, Shush, Womb Sound and lullabies.
The rechargeable battery gives you more than 10 hours playing time and comes with a USB plug. It's lightweight, slimline and very portable, it fits easily into your nappy bag.
Where can you get this: from Sleep Tight Babies Australia
- Aroma Snooze 6-in-1 Sleep Aid
This is a real game changer when it comes to ultrasonic cool mist diffusers! It has a built in ionizer that eliminates allergens, bacteria and pollen from the air. It helps to purify the blood, balance the autonomic nervous system, promotes deep sleep and healthy digestion. It has a red light function to promote melatonin production for deep restful sleep and unique sound therapy settings with built in voice recorder. Wow!
Where can you get this: from Snotty Noses Australia
- Kippins Cuddle Blankies
What’s not to love about the Kippins cuddle blankies? Not only are they made from organic materials, they are non-toxic, natural, safe, breathable and nasties free for babies to chew on, and they come in the most adorable characters.
These guys will keep your little one company all sleep long! And you can attach multiple dummies at the knotted ends and your baby will soon learn to find their own dummy if they lose it in the night.
Where can you get this: www.kippins.co
- Reach out for help
As parents of young babies it's natural to experience a disruption to our sleep cycles as we have to wake to feed, change and comfort our babies during the night. This is completely normal. As your baby grows and develops, they will also reach the stage of sleeping through the night. Even when this happens, you may experience some disrupted sleep from time to time as they go through developmental changes – again all normal.
However, if you are experiencing extended periods of sleep deprivation and it's starting to affect your ability to function and your relationships then it’s important to reach out for help. Talking to friends and family may not be enough. Perhaps you need a helping hand from a qualified sleep expert or sleep consultant. Their job is to help you navigate through the sleep challenges and help get your babies sleep back on track.
A good sleep consultant will carefully tailor a gentle solution that meets your family’s needs. At the end of one consultation session you will know whether it is right for you. And when you feel like life is back on track, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
We love our sleep consultant friends! See our list of recommended Sleep Consultants, many offer free initial phone consultations. Sometimes one little phone chat is all you need.
JOIN OUR 'WORLD SLEEP DAY' GIVEAWAY
WIN our ULTIMATE SLEEP PACK worth over $1300
in celebration of WORLD SLEEP DAY 2019!
Hey Mamas, if you’re feeling sleep deprived, listen up – we’ve got an AMAZING prize for you to win to help you get through this lack of sleep and feel reenergized and ready to take on the world!
We have teamed up with our wonderful friends at The Nursery Collective to celebrate WORLD SLEEP DAY this coming Friday, 15thMarch, and to celebrate this event, we are giving away an incredible ULTIMATE SLEEP PACK worth over $1300.00!
Joining us are some amazing businesses with the most amazing products and services to help you and your little ones get the best night’s sleep - here is what we’ll be giving away to one lucky winner!
YOU CAN WIN:
1 x Baby to Toddler pack from Baby Loves Sleep (value $250.00 AUD)
1 x Lulla Doll from Sleepytot NZ – (value $110.00 NZD)
1 x AuCuTee S5 White Noise Sound Machine from Sleep Tight Babies Australia - (value $63.95 AUD)
1 x Aroma Snooze 6-in1 Sleep Aid from Snotty Noses Australia - (value $110.00 AUD)
1 x $100 Gift Voucher from Kippins – (value $100.00 AUD)
1 x Eucalyptus Grey Organic Cot Sheet Set from Little Earth Co (value $79.00 AUD)
1 x $40 Voucher to be used on the Mamma-Pillo ECO range + Free AUS Shipping - (value $40.00 AUD)
1 x Infant (5mth-2years) Sleep Consultation Package from The Sleep Dept (value $455.00 AUD)
1 x Keepsake Gift Box from One Chew Three – (value $46.95 AUD)
2 x Organic Burpee Cloths and 1 x Organic Cotton Muslin Wrap from Bubnest – (value $50.00 AUD)
To ENTER, simply head to this page and answer our easy question and leave your details – that’s it!
ENTER HERE: WORLD SLEEP DAY GIVEAWAY
There's also some special discount codes you can access at the bottom of the giveaway page from now until midnight Friday, 15th March!