Any sleep tips?
 

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone has any interesting or unusual tips for getting their babies off to sleep? Singing, dancing, switching the hoover on?? Whatever works for you would appreciated. And I'd be interested to know if there are any cultural differences between Japan and the west.

Thanks,

Kieran

In the first few months, it helped my niece if I carried her belly down (instead of the normal position) in my arms. Helped with the colicky, when her digestive system started to work. But it all depends on what the baby prefers. Some like to be put directly to sleep, others like to hear you talking, singing, or just move them around.*


* please don't ask me how I know all this :vsign:

My friend developed a rocking "dance" which seemed to work. Hope you're able to find a solution.

Forgot I told you about that :D . It worked a charm though so hope it helps.

I find rocking to be effective, such as the 'rocking dance' mentioned, but it drove my friend insane after a while . . . as the baby gets older it gets a lot heavier, and once it's used to being rocked it's the only real way to get it to sleep, and have you ever tried rocking a child over six months from side to side for more than five minutes? Ouch, the arms really do ache!

The carrying a baby belly down seems to work for some babies too, but - from experience - I always find walking them in a pushchair or driving them in the car the best way . . . but as a babysitter I can afford to do that, if I was the actual parent then doing that every time I wanted the kid to sleep wouldn't be feasible, lol.

Truly

[/quote]I always find walking them in a pushchair or driving them in the car the best way . . . but as a babysitter I can afford to do that, if I was the actual parent then doing that every time I wanted the kid to sleep wouldn't be feasible, lol.[/quote]

lol my friend did that and was out of the house for hours each night. It did the trick but drained the petrol :D

Apart from the 'rocking dance' which really worked, singing and just holding her hand in the crib worked. If the baby is old enough for a baby bouncer, that worked a treat for missy (and so funny especially when she would hop as she dropped off)

Ah yes, that was adorable

My sister use't to have to drive her daughter around in the car to get her to sleep when she was young. It worked very well, but extreme.

one thing I would do that works great is kind of subliminal.

picture a few things.

get somewhere very quiet, maybe with a tiny bit of background noise, very simple. let the baby see you relaxing. let the baby see your eyes slowly close a few times once in a while, very relaxed. let the baby get bored but keep him juuust entertained with tiny carresses, like holding his hand, or petting his / her hair.

once they start to close their eyes slowly, (and of coarse reopen them many times), slowly softly gently run your fingers across their eyebrows. It will trigger the baby to blink very slowly (close their eyes naturally for a moment
not repeated blinking).. make sure to give a soft caress massage to a cheer or chin once in a while, so that later, once the babies eyes are heavily closing once in a while, you can softly move your open hand past the babies eyes, gently bumping the eyelashes once in a while, if the baby forgets that she want to close her eyes ^ ^.
after 10 minutes of that, and the baby will be asleep. lol.

works best while holding the baby.
if you can do this in a quiet environment, where the its just you and the baby, the baby will not have much to watch besides you, and will happen to notice your eyes looking heavy.
subliminal bonding with the baby.

subliminal bonding is the key to many many, many teachings for babies : )
its just a way that babies learn from their parents.
which is why babies learn from their parents.
idono. worked many times for me. not to mention, that special feeling you get.