Lights Out:
Syncing Sleep Schedules By Brooke Smith
M
any new challenges come with a newborn baby. Minimize the number by starting tackling the stress of syncing your newborn’s bedtime schedule with your older child(ren)’s. Take these tips into consideration as you figure out the best nightly routine for your family.
Put the Baby to Bed First
Danielle Daly, Pediatric Sleep Consultant of Bedtime Bliss Pediatric Sleep Consulting, states, “The best time to put your baby to bed is sometime between six and eight o’clock in the evening.” What happens between dinner and bedtime is super important for toddlers and preschoolers. It is a time to connect and engage. If your baby is four months or older, start putting them down first. You will not only have time for intentional connecting with your older child(ren), but you will also get a better hold on any potential bedtime routine disruptors before you hit them. 22
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If both parents are home in the evening, take turns taking care of one or the other. Alternate some of the time, so each child knows how to go through their bedtime routine with each parent. Make sure both children get a few special goodnight moments with both parents
Babies Younger Than Four Months
Babies younger than four months have bedtimes that tend to naturally fall a bit later in the evenings as their sleep rhythms haven’t yet fully developed. Putting your baby down for bedtime after your older child(ren) may help result in a
little longer stretch of sleep for all of you before the baby wakes for the first feed. Newborn babies will sleep so much in the beginning. Many parents find it beneficial to use babywear, a swing, or a bouncer for the baby while going through the bedtime routine with big siblings. It can be a fussy time for young babies, so just do what feels best. Daly also adds, “If your baby wakes in the night, wait a few minutes before intervening. If they continue to fuss or cry for more than a few minutes, you’ll want to go in and offer some comfort, but it’s important to let your child do the work of falling back to sleep.”
