History has unfairly treated people with tattoos, loud hair colors, piercings, and unusual hairstyles as the antagonists in society. As if their self-expression and individualism are indicative of the values they hold as people, but that’s not true at all. People with tattoos and hair colors can be good parents, maybe even better than those who claim that they’re the epitome of parenthood.
So, try not to let those misconceptions affect how you raise your child. If anything, you should be more focused on the most challenging obstacle of all—putting your baby to sleep. Here are three tips you can use to make that parenting hurdle even slightly easier:
Build a Sleeping Routine
Every person has their own circadian rhythm, which acts like the body’s personal clock. It tells people when they need to eat, pee, or drink. And it also signifies when they need to sleep, which manifests in yawns or heavy eyelids. The same thing applies to babies, even though they still need their parents’ help for those activities.
If you want your baby to get enough sleep for the night, which in turn will grant you a few hours of uninterrupted sleep as well, then you need to start building a sleeping routine. This can include dimming the lights at least 30 minutes before the fixed bedtime schedule and talking in hushed tones. Keep in mind that you have to be consistent with the routine so your baby can get used to it.
Make Your Baby Comfortable
Unlike grown adults, babies still don’t know how to fall asleep independently during the first few months of their lives. But that’s why you’re there to help them get comfortable and learn how to sleep on their own. Fortunately, you don’t have to rely on your skills and wits alone to put your baby to sleep.
You can use sleep-inducing devices to help your baby sleep faster without you by their side. For example, you can use a white noise machine to block out the unwanted noises outside your baby’s nursery or the house itself, especially if your baby is a light sleeper because sudden noises can wake them up.
Another option is to make sure that your baby’s crib is comfortable enough to sleep on. You can even use a soft three-layer baby quilt to help keep your baby warm and toasty during the night since you won’t be there to provide body heat. But make sure that your baby can still move around and breathe comfortably.
Try Sleep-training Techniques
There are different sleep-training techniques that you can try, but that’s only if you still don’t have a go-to method for putting your baby to sleep. However, keep in mind that every baby is different, so what may work for some may not work for others. That said, here are four sleep-training techniques you can use:
1. Cry-it-out Method
This may sound a bit barbaric for some parents, but the cry-it-out method is basically that: once you’ve finished doing the sleeping routine, you’ll leave your baby to find their own way to sleep. So you won’t snuggle with or rock your baby until they fall asleep with this method. Instead, you’ll leave them to their own devices until they fall asleep on their own, even if it means leaving them to cry it out.
2. Pick-up and Put-down Method
Much like what the name implies, the pick-up and put-down method means that you’ll pick up your baby when they cry and put them down when they stop. You can do this technique over and over until your baby gradually falls asleep. However, there you need to be careful because your baby might wake up when you’re trying to put them down in their crib.
3. Chair Method
With the chair method, you’ll be sat by your baby’s crib when they’re trying to fall asleep. But take note that you’re not supposed to pick them up even if they cry or make a fuss because that’s the main technique. Each night, you’ll move the chair further away from the crib until you’ve reached the door. By doing so, you’ll gradually get your baby used to fall asleep without your presence in their room.
4. Ferber Method
Similar to the cry-it-out method, the Ferber method’s end goal is to encourage independent sleeping and self-soothing among babies. But unlike the aforementioned method, the Ferber strategy involves providing comfort to the crying baby at gradually increasing intervals.
So, for instance, your baby starts crying after you’ve left the room. Instead of going back in immediately to pick them up, you should wait at least three minutes before going back in. But note that providing comfort shouldn’t involve picking your baby up. Instead, you can slowly pat your baby’s back or talk in a soft voice for two minutes at most before leaving the room again. This method is repeated until the baby can fall asleep on their own.
How you look or what you do in life won’t affect your parenting because it’s not something that you are. Sure, most parents in the past didn’t usually have vibrant hair or tattoo sleeves, but that doesn’t make you any less of a loving parent. So, don’t let societal misconceptions affect how you raise your kid.
