Encouraging good sleep habits

For the first few months, middle-of-the-night feedings will disrupt sleep for parents and babies. But it's never too soon to help your baby become a good sleeper. Consider these tips:

• Follow a calming bedtime routine. At first, your routine will be set by your baby. But you can set the tone for the future by keeping the bedroom quiet and the lights low.

  Avoid playing with your baby right before bedtime. And keep your voice low and soothing to help limit how interested, also called stimulated, your baby is by your presence.

  If nighttime caregiving is shared with others, it helps if everyone follows the same routine.

• Put your baby to bed drowsy, but awake. When you see signs of tiredness, such as when babies rub their eyes, head to the bedroom. Putting drowsy babies in bed helps link it with the process of falling asleep.

  Remember to place newborns on their backs to sleep unless your health care provider says another position is better for your child's medical needs. And clear the bed of blankets and other soft items.

• Give your baby time to settle down. Your baby might fuss or cry for a few minutes before falling asleep. Allow a short time to pass before you check on your baby. If your baby is still upset, offer comfort and try again.

  Some babies fall asleep faster when they are swaddled. Swaddling a baby means wrapping them in a blanket or a swaddling sleep sack. If you swaddle your baby, make sure it isn't too tight. Babies need to be able to bend their legs.

  Swaddling should stop once your baby shows signs of rolling over, around 4 months.

• Consider a pacifier. If your baby has trouble settling down, a pacifier might do the trick. And research suggests that using a pacifier during sleep helps reduce the risk of SIDS.

  But if you are breastfeeding, consider holding off on a pacifier for a few weeks while you and your baby are figuring things out.