A baby who can fall asleep on their own at bedtime is a baby who's going to fall right back to sleep when they waken during the night. A baby who's rocked to sleep, nursed to sleep, driven in the car to sleep, pushed in a stroller to fall asleep at bedtime is going to need that exact same thing to fall back asleep at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 every time they naturally awaken.
Number two
Avoid unusual middle of the night routines to put baby back to sleep.
JODI MINDELL, PhD: I hear stories all the time of all the things that parents do to get their babies to sleep. Some of them put their baby in a car seat on top of the dryer, which, of course, you want to be there so they don't fall off. Or, taking them for a drive in the car and so they're driving at 1 in the morning and 3 in the morning to get them back to sleep. Whatever habit you instill is what you're going to be doing several times that night as well as for the next month, six months or a year.
ANNOUNCER: And the last and one of the most important tips for new parents.
Number one
Get some sleep yourself!
It's crucial for parents to get enough sleep, too. So they need to nap when the baby naps. They need to not worry about what the house looks like and get to bed on time. They need to ensure that they get enough sleep at night and that may be switching off with another parent, if there's someone in the household. Single parent, getting some help once or twice a week.
The better rested a parent is, the better a parent they can be the next day.
