Setting Up Your Child's Sleep Space
The first step in creating healthy sleep habits is setting up your child’s sleep space. The most important part of the sleep space is not WHERE they will be sleeping but HOW they will be sleeping. Your baby should be sleeping on his back, on a flat surface, and bare (with no pillows and blankets). In order to practice safety sleep habits, you want to make sure your child is separated from your sleep space in either a bassinet, crib, or pack-n-play. (If you choose to co-sleep, you can, but you must make sure you follow the correct guidelines for co-sleeping.)
After setting up your baby’s sleep space you may want to take a few other things into consideration:
Darkness: Make sure the room is dark, and shades are closed for naps and night. While you don’t need to go out and purchase the most expensive black-out shades, (you can purchase temporary shades, or put up aluminum foil or a plastic table cloth), I do recommend closing the curtains during nap time to make it darker and so your child knows it’s “time to go to sleep.” For the older kids (2 years old and up), you may want to put a small little night light as they may scared of the dark.
Temperature: Research suggests the ideal room temperature should be between 68-72 F. I full recognize that for some that can be too cold, depending on where you live and how you use your ac (or not). Take into account that your child won’t be using blankets and doesn’t have the body warmth of someone sleeping next to them. Take a look at the air vents, is the room small or big, does the room warm up with the sunshine during the day?
Music: During those first few months, you can have soft lullaby and music playing throughout the day, as this can help them distinguish night vs day. But as your child gets older, it’s better not to have the music playing while they sleep, as it can distract them and even cause more of the light sleep.
White Noise Machine: This is definitely my favorite part of the sleep space. If you have other children in the house, a loud dog, or live on a noisy street, the white noise machine really helps drown out the exterior noise. It is recommended to have it on a medium to low setting, not so close to the crib, and on the whole time your child is sleeping. Check out a few of my favorites here.
Mobiles: These are OK to use the first few months. It’s great for entertaining and relaxing your newborn. However, I don’t usually suggest keeping them once your child is 5 months or older. As your child gets older, the mobile can become a safety issue when he starts standing and pulling on it. Mobiles can also cause a distraction. Too much noise and sound can actually distract and stimulate your baby, rather than relax and get him ready to sleep.
Pillows, blankets, and bumpers: None of these are suggested to have in the crib if your child is under the age of 12 months. Some parents choose to use mesh bumpers or even individual railing bumpers. Pillow and blankets are not needed and they should wait until he is closer to 3 years old to use them.
Bed railing: If your child is in a bed, it is important to have a bed railing on the side. Most toddler beds come with one, but the bigger beds don’t.
If you have specific questions on your child’s sleep space, let’s talk!