0-4 Month Baby Settling Techniques To Try!

A few weeks ago I did a post on 0-4 month baby sleep tips. You can find that here.

Do you struggle to settle your newborn baby? Hunting the Internet for settling techniques you can try? Well look no further here are a few techniques to help you out!

Being a new parent is like learning an entirely new job that you’ve never had training for.

It can be hard and let’s face it, by the end of some days you just feel like crap!

You then start doubting yourself, should you let them cry? Should you pick them up? Are they not tired or perhaps overtired? Are they still hungry? Do they have wind? It becomes so confusing, and by around 5/6 weeks you can be so sleep deprived and exhausted you just want a bit of guidance and help!

When I had my first baby..

The thought was that I would just pop him into bed and he would sleep. – goodness wouldn’t life be easy if that was the case!

We knew nothing about the 45-minute sleep cycle, settling techniques or over tiredness. When my baby was nearly three weeks old I started to do some research on baby sleep to help me gain structure to my day.

 

The first few weeks..

Thankfully I had help and visitors.  I think it’s only natural that in those early days you just want to hold, cuddle and enjoy baby as much as possible. It wasn’t until my husband went back to work and the visitors ended that I started a routine and putting some of the settling techniques I had read about into practice.

So, here are a few baby settling techniques I have tried and I’ll let you know what worked for me. If your baby has colic or reflux there is a possibility that none of these may work or you may need to adapt a technique to suit your baby.

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Before I even attempt to put the baby down for sleep I ensure the following:

• My little one is clean and dry
• Well feed
• Properly winded
• Been up for a set time (for the first 12 weeks around 1-hour uptime should be sufficient)
• Room at the right temperature 16-20 degrees (so the baby is not too hot or cold, and naturally adjust it to the seasons)
• Tip: if its Winter in your area try popping a warmed up heat pack in baby’s bed first to warm it up so it is nice and cosy. Just remember to take it out before placing baby down.

I would take my baby to his room, close the curtains, swaddle him and finish off his bedtime feed. We then would have cuddle time until he became sleepy and drowsy.

Once he reached the drowsy stage, I would place him in bed, kiss goodnight and leave the room.

Right – this is where the settling techniques come in.  If the baby goes to sleep, pat yourself on the back and do an awesome happy dance!  If your baby starts to grizzle (on and off cry – more just making noise) you can try the following things (note this can take a few days of doing these techniques consistently for them to work):

In and Out Settling Technique:

Wait about 5 minutes; sometimes babies make noises while settling to sleep. After 5 minutes go into the room, don’t say anything apart from “shhh” and then gently pat baby’s tummy for about 30 seconds, leave the room regardless of the outcome.

If your baby continues to grizzle wait another 3 minutes and then go back into the room making the same “shhh” sound as before and start patting your baby again.

Stay in the room for about 1 minute then leave.  If your baby continues to grizzle, leave them for about 2 minutes and then if need, go into the room and settle baby until calm and nearly asleep with the “shhh” patting method.

If baby still doesn’t settle, you may want to top up baby’s feed and rock them to sleep and try again at their next sleep.  If you need to use a dummy, do it – this was a great soothing item for our baby.

Music Settling Technique:

Try using music – I used music for baby #1 and #2, and it worked a treat.  After placing my baby to bed I would put on a CD that played quiet music and preferably the same song.

Once I left the room if he started grizzling/crying, I would leave him for about 5 minutes.  If he continued to be upset, I would then sneak into the room…sometimes crawl on the ground so he wouldn’t know I was there (Oh the things we do) and turn the music up loud for a second (now this is only for a SECOND).  What this did was distract him enough to stop grizzling/crying and then I would gently rock the bassinet.  Once he was calm, I would leave the room.

I would try this about two or three times before getting him up and doing a top up feed or rock him to sleep.

Sounds crazy but this worked so well for baby #1 and #2 by a few days of consistently doing this they would start to relax and self-settle by themselves.

I don’t know if playing the same song at bedtime was the key (let’s just say it was), as it was almost like they knew when that song started it was bedtime.

Shhh Patting baby settling Techniques:

You could try just doing the “shhh” patting technique.  You place baby into bed and then “shhh” pat until they drift off to sleep.

This one may mean they learn to fall asleep with your help so over time you may like to gradually reduce the amount of time you do this, so it doesn’t become a habit.

 

Pick up and Put Down Baby Settling Techniques:

Another settling technique I have heard about is where you leave your baby to grizzle/cry for 5 minutes and then rather than settle baby in their bed you go in and not say anything apart from “shhh”.

You then pick them up and settle him/her with a cuddle until calm and then place baby down into their bed.  You may like to try this technique about 2 or 3 times but if you have no luck try topping baby up with a feed and rock to sleep and try again their next sleep.

What worked for me:

As mentioned the music technique used to work for me with baby #1 and #2 but not so much for baby #3.

What I did for baby #3 was pretty much the first technique I explained, but I used a dummy (if you prefer not to that’s fine, some baby’s don’t seem to take to them). When I walked into the room, I would loudly “SHHHH” to distract him which then stopped the grizzling/crying and then I would just rest my hand gently on his chest.

Then in a much quieter calmer tone start my “shhh-ing”. I don’t know what it was about the hand on the chest, but it calmed him down super quick.

Once quiet and nearly sleepy I would leave the room.  If he started crying again, I would wait about 3 minutes and then go in and do the same thing.

I always settled him in bed unless he was really upset and unhappy.  If he continued to be unhappy, then I would just top up his feed and rock him to sleep and try again his next sleep.

This technique took me about three days of doing it consistently until I could place him down awake and he happily go to sleep.

Cry It Out:

I’m sure you have all heard the “Cry it out method” – I don’t agree with just leaving a baby to cry, after all, they may be trying to tell you that they are hot, cold, wet, hungry, not feeling well…..you get the idea.

There are all sorts of studies out there about why you shouldn’t do it and not to mention it just sounds awful!  I feel okay about leaving my baby to grizzle/cry for a small amount of time and then try to calm and comfort them.

I would have off days where baby #3 might get overtired and grumpy and is quite hard to settle resulting in me rocking him to sleep but usually by the next sleep he will be happy just to be placed down awake in his bed.

My advice is:

To try whatever you are comfortable with and amend the baby settling techniques to suit yourself and baby. Remember that it may not happen straight away, but it should get easier after a few days.

Hopefully, our baby settling techniques has provided you with a bit of help and guidance in getting your baby to settle off to sleep.

If you think this post will be helpful to anyone you know, please feel free to share.

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