Key steps to help with babies' sleep

This page is part of a collection of short articles called Brief & simple, which together make up a quick summary of The Possums Sleep Program in plain language. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

Here's an overview of useful things to try that can help with your baby's sleep. Our research studies into The Possums Sleep Program have shown that these strategies are very helpful for most parents.

• If your baby is waking a lot at night, reset baby's body clock with a regular get-up time.

• Try gradually making your baby's bedtime later at night, closer to your own.

• Day-time naps might only be a few moments long, and that is normal. This helps to increase your baby's sleep pressure at night.

• Spend lots of time with your baby outside the home during the day, doing things you enjoy, such as walking, meeting with friends or attending parent groups.

Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to Professor Sophie Havighurst, Ros June, and Caroline Ma at Mindful, The University of Melbourne, for their feedback on the articles in the Brief & simple section of The Possums Sleep Program. They helped to keep the language plain and the concepts as accessible as possible. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

Recommended resources

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Gradually bringing your baby's bedtime closer to your own helps with excessive night waking