I came from far when it’s about managing my little one to sleep easily.
And yet, I cannot pretend that it is perfect all the time. 
Obviously, like most of parents, you have experienced that your newborn baby wake up several time at night to be fed.
And, of course you do expected this for a few months until his find a rhythm.
However, what is not so great is when at 12 months and over, your little one is still not sleeping through the night.
For my son, it’s only about a few months ago that I can say that he is falling asleep easily and through the night.
I know I have already spoken previously about ways I was using to help my son sleeping.
But, now I am kind of providing you with feedback since the last post about my baby sleeping pattern.
So, I can say on a steady and regular way, my son goes to bed much earlier than before. He used to go to bed at 10pm or more now he goes at 9pm (sometimes earlier) or 9.30 pm.
Needless to say that I am relieved for this achievement even though from time to time he could wake up during the night (well, very early morning for instance at 3 am).
Nevertheless, other parents might be struggling with other sleeping issue with their children.
Either you find it difficult to make your baby sleeping through the night or having a nap during the day, the issue remain the same.
Yesterday, I spoke to a mother who share with me her sorrow. Her 18 months son has stopped napping for a few weeks now.
Despite the fact he wakes up early in the morning, around 6.30, he still doesn’t want to have any rest during the day.
The mom told me that she was exhausted.
It’s is quite understandable!
What I think must be frustrating for her is that most of the time she told me she could see that he’s tired but he fought with the sleep.
My son used to do that but it was in the evening.
Thank God, he’s stopped doing that.
Anyway, I will be sharing what have worked for my son to help him sleeping easily.
Tip #1: Stick to a routine that works
I have already described the routine that I am using, you can check it out in this post.
And, I just want to emphasis that routine or ritual does work well. It gives clue and signal to your child.
After dinner, I let him play a bit for half and hour to an hour depending if he had an early dinner or not. But, also I give him time if he needs to poop.
Then, he has a bath where he generally starts to wind down. Sometimes, I do put a few drops of essential oils (for instance, chamomile or lavender) to relax him.
And, when I bring him in his bedroom where the atmosphere is already set up: dimmed light, smell of essential oil (very light for babies) and soft music.
He knows the signal that it is time for going to bed.
The mistake I was doing in the past was after a bath (without the room set up) to let him go downstairs and continuing playing. He was too excited to go to bed later on.
Anyway, I have learnt my lesson and this tip works quite well with him.
Another tip that I need to use from time to time with my son is to tell him what I expect from him.
Tip #2: Tell them what you expect from them
This tip won’t work on very young babies but might work on toddlers.
As I still breastfeed him, my son had this tendency to wake up for it very often during the night. But, I had to stop this because it was not necessary.
Since he can understand what I am saying, I talk to him. So, I’ve repeated several time that I wanted him to sleep through the night.
Sometimes, as a reminder just before going to bed, I say to him in French and English: “Remember, no need to wake up at night. If so, you will get only water, not the breast”. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.
Of course, he will always try to test me even after several months since I have implemented this rule.
I have to say this have worked very well too.
The last tip that makes a big difference with my son is to spend time outside.
Spending plenty time outside
Like all children, they like going outside especially in the park.
My son is no exception to that.
However, 1 hour is not enough for him. Sometimes, I find myself going to a playgroup in the morning for 1 hour. Then, in the afternoon, we go to the park for staying minimum two hours.
Fresh air has a magic effect on most children. They need it to be ‘recharged’ or to ‘calm down’.
Sometimes, it happens to me that I just put my son in the buggy after lunch and walk around the block of houses until he falls asleep.
Well, I am still discovering with my son and I can never be too sure if I need to find new ways of improving his sleep.
And you? What do you do to help your little one sleeping easily? Do not hesitate to share your experience here.
