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.

What really helped our family was to take the little one out in the pushchair for an evening walk and fresh air before bed time. It took away the restlessness and she drifted off quite easily soon afterwards

Routine really helps. We do a bath, Pjs, a story, a little classic fm with a nightlight and then just the nightlight. Keeping the room warm enough while it is so cold outside is also important.

I think it depends on the baby. My son was a sleeper, my daughter wasn't/isn't. Same routine for both - bath, warm milk, nightlight, story and cuddles.

Lots of play in the day, Nice warm bath with Johnsons baby bedtime bath, massage and then bed, My son has slept through from week 2 ?

My first slept well from an early age but the others didn't. I just rearranged things and tried to sleep when they slept. It wasn't worth getting stressed or miserable about it as that would have made the situation worse. I knew that eventually they would get into a better routine.

A bed time routine and a drink of warm milk.

pearls of wisdom about babies' sleep

Its is a simple as keeping to a routine

I love the fact that people with babies who sleep think it was something they did that made the baby sleep.

The answer to sleep is be lucky. Get a baby who sleeps well. End of.

At night keep the lights low. Don't change your baby unless you need to.
Don't play with baby just before bedtime.

Establish a routine and make a calm environment.

There are no pearls. My baby doesn't give a hoot about the calm and consistent bedtime I impose and hits the roof when I try and put him down 'calm, but awake'.

You get a nice baby or a milk gremlin depending on what you did in a previous life.

*drowsy but awake, that should read.

A routine that you stick to no matter what, until they get used to it. Same time every night in a dark room.

A routine, started as early as feasible, is very helpful.

Beyond that, both of mine slept better once they approached 6 months and we stopped 'helping'! We discovered that DD2 in particular likes to grizzle to herself for a few minutes before settling, and us rushing in at the first squeak to help her sleep had the opposite effect.

Putting our daughters to sleep in those zip-up sleeping bag style suits really seemed to help - no more losing the covers and they could still move their arms around. Would definitely recommend :-)

I find that stroking under his eyes always works like magic!

I find simply singing a lullaby the best way of putting babies to sleep.

If you're breast feeding, feeding to sleep at least in the early days really does help! Hormones in the milk knocks them right out!

Quiet time to wind down a good thirty minutes before bedtime is a must in our household. We've found it helps everyone to relax - Mummy and Daddy included!

I'm pretty sure that some people think that new babies cannot learn routine & believe they can start after a few months. I believe that they can learn both bad & good habits from the off, so start as you mean to go on. It's no good keeping your baby asleep downstairs until you go to bed & then expecting that when you try to assign an actual bedtime that things will go smoothly.
Our son slept downstairs in his moses basket through the day, but at 7pm when he went to sleep, we put him in his cot in our bedroom. For the 1st month, we put him in his moses basket & laid that in his cot & after that started putting him directly in his cot.
We have never had a single problem with him sleeping, maybe it was just luck, but I believe it was due to a good routine from the start

don't leap up the moment they make a noise - give them a minute or two often they will cry out but go straight back to sleep

I am a firm believer in swaddling and making sure the baby is well wrapped up and warm.

relax and remember that they will eventually sleep! I've got 5DC and they've all been very different and liked different things so I don't think any tip will always work with every child - they are all individual. It does make the sleepless nights easier when you remember that it will get better.
Also, they like different things as they get older so although you think you have it, be prepared to change/adapt!
Don't stress if they don't sleep how you want them to - if you want them in their cot but they're sleeping in your bed, just go with it. At least they're asleep :)

DC1 slept 7-7 from 12 weeks. DC2 woke once per night until 1, and then woke at 5.30 until he was 2. My top top? Be lucky. And don't brag.

Tried & tested A relaxed atmosphere leading up to bedtime, a warm bath followed by a warm bottle of milk & a cuddle, then quietly put baby down in a darkened (but not blacked out) room, wind up the baby mobile & then walk away! Should work every time