No one expects a new born baby to be able to sleep through the night straight away, and for most people the first weeks are a complete blur, but thankfully many babies are able to sleep through the night by the time they are 9 months old. So why do we recommend a baby toy to soothe your baby to sleep?
Babies do need a lot of sleep. Up to the age of 6 months babies will need 14-18 hours of sleep a day and will usually need a nap around 1.5 hours after they first wake up.
By the time they get to 9 months this gap between waking and nap will stretch to 2 hours but babies will still need around 14 hours sleep in a day and should be sleeping through the night.
The things which normally cause sleeping issues are caused by temporary things like illness, teething, and other developmental milestones.
However if your does baby struggle to sleep it’s usually due to one of 3 main reasons
- Physical discomfort. If your baby is hungry, thirsty, hot or cold then they will obviously struggle to sleep. Even babies who had once slept soundly through the night can regress if they go through a growth spurt or if the seasons change and they need more or less blankets. Thankfully these issues are the easiest to solve and peace can be restored relatively quickly and easily.
- Over stimulated or over tired. It may sound counter intuitive but an over tired baby can find it very hard to sleep. This is because when a baby gets tired or has been stimulated for too long they have a stress reaction, their brain releases adrenaline and cortisol to help them cope and this obviously makes it very difficult for them to relax and go to sleep. A regular routine with scheduled naps will help as will a clearly defined wind down period before bed time. If your baby does get over tired for any reason then a top tip is to put them to bed earlier than normal. If you leave it until it is their normal bed time then they may be too exhausted to stay asleep for the whole night.
- Separation anxiety
It is natural for people to go through both active and passive sleep cycles, but as adults we are able to go back to sleep easily enough not to even notice slight periods of awakeness.
However when babies transition from one to the other, and this can be every 45 to 60 minutes, they will wake briefly and often can experience separation anxiety and become upset and this is the main reason for frequent night waking.
If your baby has become reliant on you rocking or nursing them to sleep they will not be able to transition from active to passive sleep on their own, and will require you to act as a “sleep prop”, ie help them get back to sleep. Your baby will need to learn to self soothe in order to go back to sleep or their sleep will be interrupted and that is bad for both baby and parents.
This is why we think a baby comforter is the perfect baby toy to help soothe your baby to sleep. A lightweight baby comforter which can be left in the cot with your baby will give sufficient comfort for them to be able to transition back to sleep which is why they are often referred to as a transitional object.
If the parent wears the baby comforter next to the skin for a couple of hours before they give it to their baby then the baby comforter will absorb their scent and this will reassure your baby when they wake in the night. Unlike a dummy they cannot be lost, and unlike many other baby toys which are promoted as sleep aids they do not require batteries, cables or other paraphernalia.
Why do we think Best Years organic baby comforters are the best for your baby?
Made from soft organic Egyptian cotton they are 100% organic, even the stuffing is 100% organic cotton.
Fair trade – be assured that your baby comforter has been made by a fair trade workers cooperative offering fairly paid and flexible work.
Upcycled. Our baby comforters are made form fabric left over from the manufacture of organic baby clothes which would otherwise have gone to waste.
Lightweight. Easy to carry in your handbag or even jean’s pocket no faff or bother taking them out with you
Affordable. Organic, fair trade and Egyptian cotton all for under £10. Perfect!
Do you use a baby comforter for your baby? We would love to hear your thoughts on our Instagram or Facebook pages.
