Ways to Connect With Your Baby Before Bed
One of the biggest struggles when sleep training your infant is the ability to leave the room when it’s time to go to bed for the night.
As much as we all want those nighttime feedings to disappear in the first few months of baby’s life, a new challenge presents itself for many parents.
“If I work all day and my baby goes to bed so early, how am I supposed to get any good quality bonding time with my baby?”
There’s good news.
A calming wind-down routine before bed is imperative to helping your child sleep through the night. And the even better news is that it’s nearly impossible to complete this bedtime routine without taking a moment to connect.
In this post, we’ll outline some things you can do with your infant before bed that will prepare them for a good night’s sleep and increase the bond you have with your baby.
Create a Bedtime Environment.
Take baby into the room they’ll be sleeping in. Dim the lights, pull the curtains, and create an environment that is conducive to sleeping. Even if baby isn’t going to sleep quite yet, a low-stimulus environment will signal to their brain and body that it’s time to begin preparing for sleep.
Low-stimulus environments are also more intimate in vibe. This environment won’t just cause baby to relax, it will help you do so as well, creating a moment for you to slow down and truly connect with baby before putting them to bed.
Give Baby a Night Feed.
Around 4 months of age, babies’ stomachs are large enough to hold enough sustenance to last throughout the night. This means, you guessed it, they’re officially able to sleep through the night.
Many babies have no issue at all with this transition. They fall asleep quickly and begin to sleep soundly throughout the night, no questions asked. But some babies will struggle and could benefit from some form of sleep training.
Either way, be sure to feed baby one last time just before putting them to bed. If it’s been a few hours since your child has eaten, you run the risk of hunger creeping in to wake them.
Not to mention, feeding (regardless of bottle or breast feeding) creates an automatic bond between you and your baby. There’s nearly always proximity, physical contact, gentle reassurance, and soothing movement associated with feeding. This, paired with the fact that you are the consistent caregiver to meet your child’s needs, increases the attachment your baby has with you and provides you a moment to spend some quality time - just the two of you.
Give Baby A Bath.
There’s likely no reason for your baby to take a bath every day, especially not until they become more mobile.
However, many babies treat bathtime like a form of playtime. This is a great time to play and connect with your baby by exploring new bath toys, splashing in the water, and interacting with eye contact, smiles, and laughter.
Bathtime also turns into a common part of bedtime routines once children get older, so starting this habit now is never a bad idea.
Spend Time Talking.
It may sound silly, but there are multiple times built into your child’s care that initiate connection and interaction. Simply talking with your child while rocking them, changing their diaper, or preparing their bottle before bed has an impact.
Babies can hear you, so even when they are too young to communicate back verbally, they are still listening to you and learning basic speech patterns. Not to mention, they can respond to you with their body language.
You’ll frequently see baby communicating with smiles, giggles, facial expressions, babbling sounds, reaching, pointing, and more, so pay attention to their movements!
Read A Book.
It is never too early to begin reading to your baby. We even recommend parents start while baby is still in the womb!
While read-alouds may not seem very beneficial to an infant, the results are astounding. Reading to your baby increases their potential in communication, visual thinking, early literacy, and more.
Plus, it’s a great form of connection for you and your baby before bed. It gives you a moment to be together, snuggle in, and enjoy a story together before separating for sleep.
Sing & Rock.
We’ve all heard the saying, “Mozart makes babies smarter!” And technically, it’s true. A good majority of child development can be positively impacted by music. However, music has been known to keep babies from entering into deep sleep when played during the nighttime.
Instead, we recommend swapping the Spotify speaker overnight with your own voice! If your baby benefits from rocking, sing a song to them while rocking them to sleep. If not, simply humming or singing a tune while swaying before you put them down in their crib does the trick.
Again, in terms of bonding, we’re creating 3 things: proximity, contact, and interaction.
