Tips to Help Your Baby Sleep

Pediatric behavioral psychologist Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offers the following tips to help ensure a good night's sleep for babies and parents:

• Learn your baby's signs of sleepiness. Most babies provide signals when they are getting tired: rubbing their eyes, pulling their ears, getting cranky. Once your baby starts showing these signs, head right to bed. If you wait, you will have an overtired baby who will have more difficulty falling asleep.
• Establish a bedtime routine. Try using calming rituals that follow the same pattern each night. Set the mood by giving your baby a bath, reading stories, cuddling, rocking or singing lullabies.
• Put your baby to bed awake and give her time to fall asleep on her own. Usually between six to eight weeks of age, you can start putting your baby down to sleep when she is still awake, giving her a chance to "self soothe."
• Put your baby to sleep on her back. To reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies be put to sleep on their backs.