Share your pearls of wisdom about babies' sleep with Pampers and you could win a £200 John Lewis voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

We’ve been asked by Pampers to find out what Mumsnetters’ pearls of wisdom are for getting your little one to sleep as much as they need.

Pampers say “Getting your baby to sleep as much as they need is the holy grail for parents, and everyone loves hearing their baby wake up in the morning with a giggle. Whether it’s teething, wind, or a damp nappy that’s disrupting those golden hours, every parent has their own tried and tested methods to help guarantee their little one has a restful slumber. Pampers Baby-Dry nappies with Micro PearlsTM stay up to 2 times drier than ordinary nappies, giving your baby the sleep they need to wake up giggling.”

Pampers are asking Mumsnetters to share their own pearls of wisdom for babies' sleep. They want you to post the useful nuggets of advice, the most valuable tips, which worked for your baby and which could help another baby to get a bit more shut-eye.

Whatever your top baby sleep tips are, Pampers would love to hear them.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Please note your comments may be included on Pampers social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

PS: To be in with the chance of winning a pack of Pampers Baby-Dry visit //facebook.com/PampersUKIre or tweet @Pampers_UK and use #BabySleep and nominate another parent to do the same to help more babies get enough sleep! See //facebook.com/PampersUKIre for T&Cs.

[DifferentNow]

Routine. A warm bath, milk, a cuddle and a song or story. Making sure that if your baby falls asleep during the day, you put her in her bed so she wakes up there.

[cookiefiend]

Relax. If you get anxious and grumpy at their not sleeping it stresses them so they can't sleep. Stay calm, talk nicely and in a soothing voice. Weeping silently because you haven't slept for more than five hours since 2012

[WowOoo]

I've always used calm music as a sign that it's sleep time. Failing that, it's quiet, relaxing time.

My children still enjoy it and they are far far past the baby stage - sometimes classical, sometimes mellow folky tunes or soul - as long as it's relaxing and slow it soothes us all.

[chozzy1]

Tried everything, routine, warm baths, lavender, cry it out. Reflux meant both boys couldn't like flat.

[worldgonecrazy]

Turn off the telly and let them sleep downstairs until you go to bed. Don't bother with what anyone else thinks, do what works for you.

Don't make sleep a battle.

Use "baby going to bed" as an excuse for you to have an early night. There is nothing wrong with not having "adult time" in the evenings, you don't need to stay up until 11.00 p.m to prove you're grown up - just go to bed when you're tired. It's not for ever and it makes life so much easier.

"An hour's sleep before midnight is worth two after" applies to adults and children alike.

*disclaimer, we have had no sleep battles and DD has never had a problem going to sleep when its bed time, so I appreciate that we have been very lucky.

[confusedofengland]

If DS3 (11 months) doesn't seem sleepy or had a bad night the night before, I make sure to give him a bath with some 'sleepy' bubble bath - the sort that's infused with lavender. Works every time

[Scatlett4456]

WrAp baby warm and have a coolish room. mine always slept best outside or in a cool room.

[diamondsrock]

Mine have tended to be late sleepers and what has worked best for us is to go with that. So they've tended to be put to bed at 8pm or later, I've never felt the need to put them to bed to allow for 'adult time'. Any attempt to put them down earlier would just have them lying awake for hours. The bonus is that they always got up late, so I've never had to complain about ridiculously early starts.

[StickChildNumberTwo]

I had an awful sleeper and learned to just go with the flow - if I'd fought it I think I would have got more tired and stressed and it would have been even worse. Co-sleeping made life easier, but mostly it was just getting on with it and trusting it would get better (which it did eventually). I'm convinced that some babies are good sleepers and some aren't, and not a whole lot changes that (although obviously different things will help/hinder different babies).

[Theimpossiblegirl]

I established an evening routine very early with my two. Evening feed/tea then a bath and a relaxed atmosphere with stories/cuddles/minimum stimulation until bed. Gradually the gap between bathtime and bedtime lessened and we settled into the routine well.

[Fizzyplonk]

I think it helped me to lower my expectations. My mother had said that we all slept through from 6 weeks. With my 1st child I eagerly awaited this mark and he still didn't sleep. Then as different people told me about there children I clung unto 10 weeks, 3 months, 4 months etc
With my 2nd I didn't have these expectations which made it easier.
Both mine slept better from 15-18 months.
Both co-slept at times
Both breastfed when woke

I think it helps once you know they will get there eventually!
Plus with your 2nd I think you are more used to sleep deprivation. On that note, if you can help it fresh air really does make you feel better.

[CMOTDibbler]

Your baby is an individual - that means, what other babies do, and what other people do, is not necessarily applicable to your baby.
I know adults who always need a drink in the night, but think their baby doesn't past an arbitary age. Other adults who need to be tucked up tight, others who like to be able to spread out and so on.

So look to what your baby wants, and ignore other peoples views or opinions

[Fairylea]

Swaddling and dummy!

But also waking every 2-3 hours during the day for a feed from day 1 and keeping it dark and silent at night as opposed to noisy and bright in the daytime. Both dc sleeping through from 6 weeks and I'm sure this helped!

[MummyBtothree]

I had a two moses baskets, one upstairs and one in the lounge so they could sleep in the one downstairs rather than napping in the carseat/travel system. I think this is the cause of babies not liking lying flat - cos they arent used to it. Ive got three boys and they have all been perfect little sleepers!

[Cintacmrs123]

Routine routine routine
We bath, then read, then bed
Once couldn't bath and she didn't settle

[ethelb]

We find that our friends children sleep better with us when we keep their routine and remain relaxed.

[icklekid]

Bed time routine seems to work - bath, gro bag on, milk, story, ewan dream sheep on and lie down.

Trying a mini version for naps as otherwise taking for a walk /drive always helps!

[InAndOfMyself]

I found my attitude had a huge impact of my babies. If I could remain calm and relaxed it had a positive impact on my babies.

I know it's stressful when baby won't sleep or will only sleep in your arms.

I tried to get them used to going into their cribs when they were sleepy but not yet asleep. This helped them learn how to fall asleep on their own.

[mellicauli]

When DS2 was unsettled as a baby he liked me to walk with him over my should and rock him. He always needed far longer than I would ever voluntarily want to do. And if I put him down too early, before the miasma had set in, we'd be back to square one. So I used to pick an unfeasibly large number (maybe 100 or even 200 if he was really bad) walking and rocking. If you look at your watch before and afterwards, you'll see that is only 5-10 minutes (feels like an eternity!) Better to invest the time earlier on than do it half heartedly and have to do it again 10 times over.

[Annbag]

I think babies are all different and it takes a bit of time to get used to their personality and what works for you both.

With DS there is a very short window to put him down for a nap. Miss it and you get a full on melt down! It's a kind of staring into space and stopping what he's doing...once yawning and eye rubbing starts (which all the books mention) its too late for him.

I also think (although not sure if I'm right!) that preemies sleep differently. Most of the advice I get from term parents doesn't seem to work anyhow!

[Cherryjellybean]

I've had not so good sleepers. And different things have worked for different babies at different times. At the moment it is making sure she is well fed and played with in the day. Then keeping the room warm during the night.

[fish88]

Have realistic ideas about babies and their natural sleep patterns. They are programmed to wake frequently through the night, not to sleep through.

That said my tips for settling to sleep in the evenings were to watch for signs of tiredness and then bedtime routine. Ours was a simple routine of changing into pj's, reading a book then feed to sleep.

[SoMuchForSubtlety]

Don't be silly, babies don't sleep.