Babies and Sleep:
Your Essential Guide

Simple steps to encourage a more peaceful night’s rest:

All babies need to sleep so that they can grow and develop. But every baby’s sleep pattern is different – for every baby that sleeps through the night, there’s another that doesn’t. If your baby isn’t settling well, there are some simple steps you can take to help encourage a more peaceful night’s rest:

• Keep lights low while feeding at night
• Talk and sing in a soft voice – so baby starts to see a difference between day and night
• Start a simple bedtime routine - bath, feed, bed
• If you can always try to put your baby in his/ her cot (or moses basket) so he/she associates it with bedtime.
• Have 'wind down' time after any play

Safer sleeping for your baby:

Your baby can sleep safely if you follow some useful guidelines, based on reducing the risk of cot death, or SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome):

• Place your baby on her back to sleep
• Place your baby in the 'feet to foot' position so there's less chance of her slipping down beneath the bedding
• No-one should smoke in the same room as your baby
• Do not use a duvet, quilt or pillow until your baby is over one year old
• Keep your baby's head uncovered indoors (or whenever you go into warm places)
• If your baby is unwell, seek medical advice straight away