Soothing Activities to Prepare Baby for Sleep

Regular readers will know by now how important it is to set the scene ready for sleep, whether it’s nap time or nighttime. But did you know that this setting the scene should start long before your nighttime routine? Here are three of my top soothing activities to prepare baby for sleep.

Full tummies

Making sure your baby is fed and burped before sleep is essential- my number one tip. A hungry baby is not going to sleep for a long period of time, but that said it doesn’t make sense to feed your child when they aren’t hungry either.

If possible, plan your child’s meals around sleep times, to make sure that you have enough time to ensure they are fed, changed, and burped before it’s time to settle down. A full tummy will mean a longer stretch of sleep for you all.

Relaxing music

It’s so important to keep things low key and calm when you’re preparing baby for sleep, and relaxing music can play a huge role in this. This is such a lovely sensory experience that children of any age can enjoy, and the effects of calming music can work wonders for all family members too- win win!

Make sure that the music is not too loud, and that you gently encourage your baby to listen. You may find that the music sends your baby to sleep, and your baby may sleep well if it continues to play too.

Meditation and massage

Babies are very sensitive to their environment and can pick up on our stresses and strains quite easily. So in this tip, the meditation and massage applies to you too! Take five or ten minutes each day, if you can, to concentrate on your breathing and centering your mind on nothing but that moment. This can take practice, but over time you’ll find yourself more able to stay calm when situations are posing a threat to your sanity. It’s not always easy to carve this time out, some people do this first thing in the morning or when their child is napping.

Babies (and parents) really benefit from massage too, and this can be a really lovely way to end your day ready for sleep. The sensory experience is like no other, and there are so many emotional and physical benefits for both parent and child- it makes perfect sense to incorporate this practice into your daily routine if you can.

And just like meditation, there is no reason why you cannot enjoy a massage from time to time too! If you are taking time for yourself to reconnect and enjoy some headspace when you need it, you are bound to be a much better parent in general- and more able to project a sense of calm and relaxation to your baby. Don’t feel guilty for taking some time out because you deserve it and your baby will sleep better for it too.