5X Sleep tips for babies and children from a sleep coach

Children and sleep, it is a subject that many parents cannot stop talking about. While one baby sleeps through the night from a few weeks, other children sleep in their parents' bed until puberty. We spoke with sleep coach Simone ( @slaapmoon ) and got a few handy tips & tricks to help our children (and ourselves ;)) sleep better.

1. SLEEPING ON A PARENT IS NORMAL

We received many questions about babies who only want to sleep on one of their parents and therefore do not fall asleep 'independently'. This is biologically very normal: certainly in the first 3 months after birth, also called the 'fourth trimester', babies still have a lot of skin hunger and most babies continue to have this for a while afterwards. From about 8 or 9 months, many babies also develop separation anxiety and the proximity of a parent provides security and safety. So it is beneficial for the well-being of your baby, but it must also be good for the well-being of the parent. So ask yourself whether it is really a problem for you, or whether you secretly like it but think that it is not 'supposed to be like that'. Do you still want to see if you can change it? Then add some other sleep rituals, such as music, a salt stone lamp or a sleeping bag. If the physical contact is then gone, these other sleep associations are still there and the transition is more gradual. But don't put too much pressure on having to put your baby or child to bed while awake: biologically speaking, it is very natural to only put your child to bed while he or she is asleep.

2. EXERCISE BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP

“I don’t want to go to bed!” is the most pronounced sentence in the evening at our house. The older your children get, the more aware they are of ‘having to go to bed’ and being separated from their parents for a longer period of time. What can help then is to move a little before going to sleep. Playing , dancing, climbing : if the energy can come out, this helps to regulate emotions. End the playing quietly to go into the night.

Movement also helps babies fall asleep, such as rocking them in your arms, walking around with a baby carrier , walking with a stroller , or driving a car .

3. CONNECT WITH 1 ON 1 MOMENTS

Our children nowadays receive a lot more stimuli during the day than before. It is important to help them de-stimulate in the evening. If this does not work well, children can go to bed very late, have trouble falling asleep or have a restless night. As a parent, you can help them by building in a 1 on 1 moment during or at the end of the day: put your phone away and give your child your full attention to consciously make that 1 on 1 connection. For example, play a game together , involve them in cooking or discuss what you have done that day.

4. BUILD INTO RHYTHM? OBSERVE YOUR BABY

The first weeks or months with a baby, there is often little rhythm to be found. Do you still feel the need to build in a bit more structure? Then you can start paying attention to how long your child is awake (in the beginning this is often only 45 minutes), and what the signals are when they get tired. This way you can increasingly recognize what your baby's rhythm is and respond to that with certain times for certain naps. But: don't let yourself be driven crazy by all the schedules and routines you find on Google. Look carefully at what feels good for you as a parent. They are not robots ;).

5. TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS

Oh how frustrated we can get when our children don't want to sleep! Our children can sense us perfectly in that respect. A simple tip but with immediate results: try to breathe in and out slowly and deeply a few times when you hold your child. Your baby will feel that calm immediately.

BONUS TIP: USE A CO-SLEEPER

A co-sleeper helps a baby sleep better because you as a parent lie close to your baby, which provides reassurance and security. Your baby then feels connected and can find comfort more easily. A co-sleeper also makes feeding and soothing during the night easier, which minimizes interruptions. The co-sleeper makes parents more aware of their baby's needs, which can create a more relaxing sleep environment for both your baby and yourself.

Because you often only use a co-sleeper for a maximum of 6 months, this is ideal to rent. View our co-sleepers here .