How can we help a child fall asleep? Here is a list of common and useful remedies that can relax your baby and prepare you for rest.
- Swaddling.
- Motion sickness.
- Booing.
- Singing.
- White noise.
- Using an electric swing.
- Exposure to fresh air (open window or walk).
- Walking with a baby in a stroller.
- Walking with your baby in a carrier or sling.
- Breast/formula feeding.
- Pacifier (not recommended, see below).
- Suction diaper (better than a pacifier).
- Carrying on hands.
- Soft toy (for children over one year old).
- Blanket (for children over one year old).
You can use some of the above to calm your child and help him fall asleep. Remember that it is very important not to let him sleep all day, so use these products minimally during the day. For example, you can put your baby in an electric swing to help him fall asleep faster, but you shouldn't rock him for several hours at a time. Turn off the swing when it's time to wake up so your baby wakes up on his own.
Below, I'll go into more detail on how to use some of these assistive techniques to help your baby fall asleep during the day, while keeping in mind our main goal: getting your baby to sleep peacefully until the morning.
Swaddling
Swaddling can be very useful when laying down a newborn baby, because he is accustomed to a position in which the movements of his arms and legs are limited: this is exactly how it was, cozy and cramped, for him in the womb.
Newborns have the Moro reflex - a startle reflex in which the baby instinctively throws up his arms when he thinks he is going to fall on his back. This is a protective reflex. It gradually fades away and fades away by the age of six months.
When newborns sleep, naturally occurring twitching triggers this reflex, and then throwing up can wake the baby. Therefore, it can be difficult for a small child to fall asleep and sleep peacefully. Limiting hand activity may help.
Swaddling recreates the cozy closeness of the mother's womb and prevents arousal due to the Moro reflex, and many mothers (including myself) testify in favor of swaddling.
The effectiveness of this method is based not only on individual observations. It was tested in sleep research laboratories at Washington University in St. Louis. Using a variety of instruments and techniques, including polysomnography, which records the electrical activity of the brain during sleep, electromyography, which shows muscle activity, and special swaddles that capture the movements of children, researchers have proven that swaddling can reduce the number of arms raised during sleep and, as a result, , awakenings by 90% compared to the statistics of awakenings in children who are not swaddled.
Swaddling seems like an ideal way to help your baby sleep, but it's extremely important to do it only at night, otherwise your baby will get used to sleeping too much during the day, which will have a detrimental effect on nighttime sleep. Use other means during the day (swings, walks with a stroller, fresh air), save the most important weapon for the situation when it is really difficult to do without it, that is, for going to bed at night.
It is recommended to swaddle the baby until he learns to roll over; This usually occurs at the age of five to six months, but it can happen earlier. From this point on, swaddling becomes unsafe, because at night the baby may roll over onto his stomach, without being able to use his arms. He may lie face down, thereby making it very difficult for himself to breathe. Stop swaddling as soon as you notice that your baby begins to roll over from back to stomach or vice versa.
It's scary to stop doing something that helps you put your baby to sleep so well every day. Instead of a diaper, start putting him in a sleeping bag: this is a cozy blanket that wraps your baby's legs, leaving his hands free. The great thing is that your baby's sleep will not be affected by such changes if all other signs of nighttime routine are maintained.
This is the advantage of my technique: you provide the baby with a stable rhythm using a variety of factors, including light, routine and rituals. Swaddling is only a small part of it. You stop swaddling, but all the other evening rituals remain the same, and the baby is just as tired at the end of the day - and now your baby sleeps peacefully, even though his arms are suddenly not tied by anything.
Exercise therapy doctor, pediatric medical nutritionist
Sleep disorders can affect as many as two in five children or teenagers. Sleep problems can occur even in infants. Poor quality or quantity of sleep is associated with a variety of problems, including learning, behavioral, developmental and communication difficulties, weight problems and other health problems. Sleep disorders in children not only affect the child's health, but can also affect the sleep of parents and siblings, or even worsen family relationships. In addition, the normal development of a child is associated with the quality of sleep.
Children may suffer from problems falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up early. They may have serious physiological problems such as obstructive or central sleep apnea, upper airway resistance syndrome, abnormal or disruptive sleep behaviors such as sleepwalking, or other parasomnias that occur before the onset of sleep such as restless legs syndrome , early delayed sleep phase syndrome in adolescents, and daytime symptoms such as excessive sleepiness. Although similar disorders can occur in adults, the causes of sleep disorders in children and their manifestations in children and adolescents can be very different. To understand the child’s sleep disturbances, parents need to seek help from a doctor who will conduct the necessary diagnostics to establish the causes of the disturbances and determine ways to restore the vital function of sleep.
Eye contact
Try to avoid eye contact with your baby when putting him to sleep. Psychologists have long proven - and this fact is familiar to each of us from our own experience - that looking directly into the eyes increases nervous arousal and changes the algorithms of the brain.
Direct eye contact with the mother excites the baby so much that he stops wanting to sleep. During the curfew, this is the last thing we want. Therefore, try to train yourself to look at your baby's chin or tummy to make it easier for him to fall asleep.
Prayer for baby to sleep better
There are many reasons why a small child cannot sleep - noise, colic, teething and more. Accordingly, if the child does not sleep, then the parents do not sleep either, because it is simply impossible not to pay attention to the suffering of your own baby. As a rule, if a child has insomnia, he is immediately taken to the doctor, but there are situations when the doctor claims that the child is absolutely healthy, it’s just that some external factor is interfering with his sleep. In such a situation, prayer is considered the only salvation from insomnia for a child.
A prayer for a child to sleep better is as follows:
“Jesus, Son of God, bless, sanctify, preserve my child by the power of Your Life-giving Cross.”
After pronouncing these words, you need to cross the child. It is worth noting that prayer becomes more effective if the child is already baptized.
Choose a place to sleep at night
If possible, place your child to sleep during the day in a different place from where he sleeps at night. At night, always put him in a crib that is always in the same place. For naps, using another crib, crib or bassinet, and a sling or stroller if you're going out are all great options.
One of my favorite stories is how I helped Max, a young dad who was complaining to me about his daughter’s naps. He said that Olympia has great difficulty going to sleep during the day if she is not rocked in the cradle.
This conversation happened in the summer, the weather was beautiful, and I suggested that Max start going out with Olympia for a walk, every day at the same time. I said that this would make it easier for my daughter to fall asleep, and he would be able to leave the house, which is also important for a change of scenery. A week later, Max reported that Olympia was sleeping in the stroller, there was no way to wake her up with a gun, and he and his wife were having a great time walking around the area. A win-win!
Conspiracy prayer
“Mother Mother Maria rested in old Jerusalem. She had a dream about Her beloved son Jesus Christ. They tortured the son of Jesus Christ and crucified him on a cypress tree. Jesus Christ ascended to the Zion Mountains. There is a bluestone on the Zion Mountains. The Archangel Angel sits, reading angelic parables. Don’t cry, Mother Mother Maria, your dream will be written down in the lists and passed on to the myrrh-bearing wife. And the myrrh-bearing wife will spread it all over the world, all over the world. Everyone would know, everyone would see and say it three times a day. And he will be saved from all diseases, from all misfortunes, from burning fire, from lost forests, from drowning floods.”
White noise
Many parents claim that white noise is the best way to put a child to sleep. In 1990, London scientists reported that white noise allowed 80% of newborns aged two to seven days to fall asleep within five minutes. At the same time, without white noise, only 20% of participants in the control group fell asleep during the same time.
White noise muffles all other background noise that can disturb a child's sleep, but also has a calming effect. It is believed that this sound is similar to the one that the fetus constantly hears in the womb.
White noise is a wonderful aid, but use it sparingly as its effect wears off over time. Turn it off during night feedings and turn it back on only if your baby starts crying when you put him back in his crib. During the day, try to avoid white noise. If used only at night, it will be another signal for the child: it is night and he needs to sleep at night.
Use other sounds to comfort your baby during the day. Many swings have built-in sounds, such as lullabies or nature sounds, and are often used to help parents put their baby to sleep. There are special white noise generators on sale, and you can also download an application for your smartphone.
Baby Baptism
This Great Sacrament of the Orthodox Church opens for a believer, as well as for a newborn, the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. In addition, during the ceremony a personal Guardian Angel is given. It is he who will protect his owner throughout his life. Parents should know that prayer will help. In order for the child to sleep well, they ask for a Guardian Angel. When baptism occurs, a person must renounce earthly life and open up to spiritual life. During the sacrament, this is expressed by uttering aloud three times the denial of Satan and the oath of devotion to Christ. Instead of babies, these expressions are spoken by godparents. Their main task is, when children reach a certain age, to tell them about the essence of the Orthodox religion.
After the Sacrament of Baptism, when a person has opened himself to the angels and turned to the heavenly world, he receives a church title. Usually babies are named after the saint revered on this day. As a result, the heavenly patron becomes another protector of the newborn and watches over him from above. Another important point for parents is to whom the prayer is read. In order for a child to sleep well, you must definitely ask your child’s heavenly patron.
So, after reading the prayers and dipping the baby into the font, the priest puts on a cross. It depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which is considered a symbol of protection. By the way, in non-Christian communities it is also regarded as a talisman. A body pendant in the shape of a cross protects any baptized person from troubles and evil. In this case, asking the Lord for the baby in the form of prayer will help. In order for a newborn baby to sleep well (the text is presented below), you need to read a prayer. And not only in case of poor health, but also in different life situations.
Pacifiers
When your child cries, you are ready to do anything to calm him down. I have never been keen on the idea of giving children pacifiers, yet in moments of desperation I have offered a pacifier to both Leah and Noah. With Leah, everything turned out to be simple: she took the pacifier and spat it out - and the fairy tale ended. Noah took it... and how peacefully the next month passed in our family! Imagine: I just fed the baby, he got excited and fussed - I take out a pacifier. The son immediately calmed down, the pacifier helped him fall asleep. During the day we hardly heard him cry.
At night things were completely different. He often woke up and started crying. To calm Noah down, I either had to feed him or give him a pacifier. After about five weeks, it dawned on me: I had very successfully trained my son to fall asleep exclusively with a pacifier.
During the day there were no problems with this: the pacifier fell out and we simply stuck it back. At night, a pacifier falling out of his mouth meant that he needed to get up and find it, because without it he simply could not sleep. This is how my son became addicted to the pacifier!
I realized that the pacifier only distances Noah from his goal, that is, from the ability to calm down on his own. And she made a radical decision. We gave up pacifiers. They just threw every single one out of the house one fine day and completely changed the program. We had a rather fussy baby squirming in our arms for about a day, and I won’t deny it, I eventually broke down and turned a blind eye to the feeding schedule, switching to on-demand feeding whenever Noah’s mood got worse.
For a while, I became a “living pacifier”, but at the same time I gradually reduced the number of breastfeedings until Noah returned to the original schedule.
Although many parents swear by pacifiers and, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, they actually reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, I cannot recommend them based on my personal experience and the experiences of other parents who have faced similar problems. A soothing alternative that is not as addictive is a muslin wrap.
When Noah was about four months old, he began to love holding cloth in his hand and occasionally sucking on it. The lightweight, transparent material is breathable, so you don't have to worry about SIDS. And yet, do not forget: it is better to give the baby a diaper during the daytime and at the same time closely monitor him.
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Birth of a child or personal boundaries? Why we don’t want to have children and how psychology makes parents neurotic
Who should you pray to?
Guardian Angel
Divine Angel, Guardian of my child (the baby’s name is indicated), protect him with your shield from demonic arrows, from the sugary seducer, keep his heart pure and bright. Amen.
Matrona of Moscow
Holy Matrona! I ask you, I conjure you with all your mother’s love, ask the Lord to give health to his slave (the name of the child is indicated). I ask you, Holy Matrona, do not be angry with me, but help me. Ask the Lord to give my child (the child’s name is indicated) good health. He got rid of various ailments both in the body and in the soul. Take all diseases away from his body. Please forgive me for all my sins, both those committed by my will and those created not by my will. Say a prayer to the Lord for the health of my child (child’s name is indicated). Only you, Holy Matrona, can save my child from suffering. I trust in you. Amen.
We recommend studying Psalm 113
To the Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus
Oh, holy youths of Ephesus, praise to you and the entire Universe! Look from the heights of heaven at us, people who stubbornly honor your memory, and especially look at our children. Save them from illnesses, heal their bodies and souls. Keep their souls pure. We worship your holy icon, and also sincerely love the Most Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is interesting: Prayer to all the saints and the Ethereal heavenly powers - we describe it point by point
Where should your baby sleep?
The question of where a child should sleep - in bed with parents, in their bedroom or in a crib in the next room - is widely discussed in the parenting community. Adherents of the so-called “natural” parenting advocate co-sleeping and avoiding any reasons for crying. And while hearing your baby cry is hard for any mom or dad, is it really the best thing you can do to ensure your little one sleeps soundly until the morning?
In addition to safety concerns (the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes co-sleeping as an unsafe practice due to an increased risk of SIDS), there is evidence that creating a separate space in which a baby can learn to comfort himself helps promote a restful night's sleep.
In 2021, researchers from University College London compared children sleeping in the same bed as their parents with those sleeping in their own crib, using video footage and sleep diaries.
They found that parents who practice co-sleeping respond to their baby's night awakenings in a matter of seconds and immediately begin to feed him. Those parents whose babies sleep in a separate crib, in comparison with the first group, react a little slower and, accordingly, delay feeding for a short time.
And here's the trick: scientists have proven that at the age of three months, only 25% of children in the co-sleeping group sleep more than five hours at a time. In contrast, 72% of children in the second group, who regularly had to wait at least a minute to be calmed and fed, slept more than five hours a night without waking up. In other words, delaying feeding a small baby by just one minute has a profound effect on how long it takes to fall asleep after waking up at night.
It is almost impossible to postpone feeding if the baby is lying next to you in bed, but if he sleeps in a separate crib, or even better - in a separate room, parents quickly learn to restrain their impulse, giving the baby the opportunity to calm down on his own.
Who needs to pray
An Orthodox prayer for a child’s restful sleep to the Monk Maruf, Bishop of Mesopotamia, helps the baby fall asleep faster and relieve anxiety.
In 414, the bishop managed to win over the Shah of Persia and convince him to preach the faith. Thanks to the saint, Christian churches were restored; he asked to transfer the relics of the martyrs to Tigrit. The bishop died there and was buried in Egypt. The holy relics were placed in the monastery.
A prayerful appeal to the seven youths of Ephesus works miracles. The story of their life is as follows - in the city of Ephesus, seven young men were friends - Maximilian, Martinian, John, Constantine, Antonin, Dionysius, Jamblichus. They served in the military and secretly preached faith in the Lord.
Seven Youths of Ephesus
One day Emperor Decius came to the city. He ordered people to make sacrifices to the pagan gods. The guys refused to do this, they were against idolatry, which angered the head. The Emperor thought they would improve and gave them a chance. But the young men went into the cave and began to pray fervently.
We advise you to study the driver’s prayers before the road
Decius, having learned about this, ordered the entrance to the cave to be walled up so that they would die of hunger and thirst. Many years later. One day, the owner of the land where the cave stood dismantled the entrance and found sleeping youths there. The guys slept for 200 years, and when they woke up, Christianity had already become a recognized religion. They told the residents about the persecution. Soon they fell asleep completely. They wanted to bury them in separate tombs, but in a dream the young men appeared to the emperor and asked to leave them in a cave.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XPgvtmY2Py8
They invisibly help children, relieve them of anxiety and fears.
Prayers to the Reverend Irinarch, the recluse of Rostov, at bedtime help a child well. The saint lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. At the age of 30, he entered a monastery in the Rostov district. He spent more than a dozen years in monasteries, loading himself with heavy physical labor and wearing chains. This is how he achieved humility.
Venerable Irinarch, recluse of Rostov
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BBRJwyim38I
After help comes and the baby begins to sleep peacefully, we must not forget about God. Turning to Him must be regular
For those who rarely pray, it is important to accustom themselves to faith, go to Temples more often, and take their child to Communion
Prayers for a non-sleeping baby
