Sleeping well is the basis for a nice rhythm for you and your baby. A baby who has slept well drinks better, cries less and then sleeps better again.
Moreover, sleep is important for your baby's development: during sleep he grows and develops his brain. At the same time, sleep is not always easy: many babies sleep little or only have short hazy naps during the day. Do you want to work on this? Then read on!
How much sleep does a baby need?
To answer this question, you need to look not only at sleep quantity, but also at sleep quality.
Number of hours of sleep per day
Does your baby sleep less? Then he gets too few hours of sleep, becomes overtired, has a harder time falling asleep and also wakes up earlier. You get into a downward spiral and it's hard to get a rhythm in your day.
If your baby sleeps well at night but not during the day, you have a shaky balance.
There is no good sleep base and that eventually translates to the night.
Sleep Quality
Good sleep quality occurs when a sleep cycle is completed. Here's how it works. A baby's sleep cycle lasts 45 minutes and consists of different sleep stages of lighter (REM) and deeper sleep. When a baby completes a sleep cycle, there is both adequate deep and REM sleep.
Does a nap last less than 45 minutes? Then we call it a hazy sleep and your little one is not sufficiently rested. So it may be that your baby sleeps enough hours a day, but is still tired: sleep quality is then insufficient. We see that today's babies have much more trouble completing a sleep cycle than they used to.
This is not surprising because our lives are much busier now and your baby is included in this. This affects your little one's sleeping.
Rust, rhythm and regularity are often lacking. This is reflected in a baby's different sleeping places: the playpen, the crib, the stroller, with daddy/mommy on your lap, the baby carrier, at grandparents, on vacation, at daycare, etc.
All these different sleeping spots make sleeping unsettled and unpredictable for a baby.
As a result, it does not feel familiar, he sleeps more restlessly and wakes up more quickly.
Sleeping more during the day
If your child sleeps few hours and/or has short naps during the day, you can help him sleep more/longer. You do this by putting him to bed at the right time and by offering him predictability.
Putting to bed at the right time
How well your baby falls asleep is determined by sleep drive and by sleep hormones. If the sleep drive is high (your baby is tired) and the cortisol level is low (your baby is not kept awake by this hormone), then it is the ideal time to put your baby to bed. This is also called the optimal "sleep window. Do you put your little one to bed earlier? Then there is not enough sleep drive yet. Do you put him to bed later? Then cortisol is produced again and your little one is over his sleep.
The optimal sleep window is increased when you offer your child predictability with a familiar bedtime routine and a fixed sleeping place.
Because of this predictability, the body knows what is coming and the hormones adjust accordingly. When is the right time to put your baby to bed? For this, you can pay attention to your baby's sleep signals (looking away, yawning). Do you doubt the sleep signals? Then keep the wake-up time as a guideline. Awake time is the time between when your baby wakes up and goes back to sleep.
Bedtime
With a set bedtime ritual, your child knows what is coming. This feels safe and familiar and ensures that your child can easily "let go" and fall asleep. Such a ritual does not have to be very complicated, as long as you do the same thing over and over again so it becomes recognizable for your child. During the day the ritual can be shorter than in the evening, as long as it remains recognizable. A bedtime ritual can look like this: changing -> sleeping bag -> close the curtains -> cuddle -> put your child to bed -> put on some music and say goodnight. Although the ritual doesn't have to be long (preferably not, because then your baby gets overexcited) you do want to do this with all your attention. This way it also feels very familiar and secure for your baby.
Fixed berth
A fixed sleeping place, like a bedtime ritual, provides predictability. Make a sleeping environment really a fixed sleeping place where your baby always sleeps. With a fixed sleeping place, the environment becomes recognizable for your baby and he knows what is coming. This way, habits become ingrained more easily, your baby will make his own sleep associations and will fall asleep more easily and sleep longer. How to do it. Let your baby sleep in his own bed from birth. Is there turmoil at play? Then you can alternate his own crib with the baby carrier or stroller. As your child grows, this can become more difficult. You want to go out yourself (visitors, weekends away, on vacation, daycare) and a fixed sleeping place is then difficult to realize. But no less important! We recommend limiting the number of places to sleep to a maximum of two.
How the PIKO helps
The PIKO is a total solution that helps you get your baby sleeping better within 3 weeks:
- the low-stimulation sleep environment brings the peace needed for good sleep
- you can easily take it everywhere, so habits become ingrained and your baby falls asleep more easily
- with the corresponding appropriate advice, you no longer have to doubt whether you are doing it right, but find a rhythm that suits you and your baby well
Give yourself this opportunity and see if the PIKO works for you, too.
If you want more information about the PIKO, check out our PIKOsleeper- specially developed by sleep coaches.
Still have questions? Then send us a message, you will always get an answer.
Sleep well, Francien (sleep coach and founder PIKO)
