After spending a lot of time in the evening, the baby has fallen asleep in your arms you softly rest her in her baby cot and her eyes open and starts screaming. You have to pick her up again and start again. It is very frustrating with a baby who does not want to sleep in her bad and you are aware that she is tired as you are also exhausted.

Are there any solutions to this exhaustive problem?

One learns a lot through routine, but it is not easy to get into one. It requires a lot of time and patience from you side, but by the end you will be a happy family with the baby.

Try to fix a regular bedtime and as it comes near, look for signs of tiredness in the baby. She can become cranky and become quite when you pick her up or pull her ears and rub her eyes.  Be on the lookout for these signs otherwise it may get tough if she gets exhausted. 

Give a warm bath to get the baby ready for sleep. If you like, add a little essential lavender oil as or specially prepared sleepy baby bubble bath. The baby will like a massage after a bath and you can play soft music while massaging her. If she likes you can rub her with some oil, this will relax the baby. Do is softly and slowly and you will get to know if she doesn’t like it. You can try again next night.

Give her a cuddle once the massage is over and dress her for sleeping. Do it slowly to keep the baby calm. There are kids who like to be fed before sleeping and you can feed her after the bath. In case she is a breastfed baby she will sleep while feeding and wake her up a little before putting her in the cot as the baby may get scared to wake up in a different place.

New or even experienced parents can be confused about the right way to settle the baby in her cot. They wonder about several things like should the room be dark, does music help or is it better to keep it silent. 

In case the baby does not like you placing her in the cot, be there for some time and then say goodnight firmly and leave the room, but stay close by. Let her cry for a few seconds and come back to the room to say goodnight again, but don’t talk. Make her lie down if she is standing, but she may get up again. Go out again and every time takes more time before coming back. You can be around the room but not inside. Talk to your partner and don’t maintain silence. It is good for the babies to sleep with some noise. In case the baby gets very upset go back and hug and comfort her and lie her down. It may be very difficult to stop yourself from picking her up but you have to be strong and she will eventually fall asleep.

It will take two to three nights after which the baby will not protest and will understand bedtime. There are some infants who will lie down happily and go to sleep when they know the routine. This will result in a happy baby and you will also be relaxed and happy. 

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