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.

Go with what works for you and your baby! A quiet room they get used to sleeping in probably helps, but daytime naps in a basket downstairs helped me in other ways. When the night time wakings seem unstoppable and unbearable, remember "it's only a phase" and make sure you get enough sleep.

With both my young children I kept a daily routine involving winding down time in the bath, lavender in the room, bedtime story and I never had any problems (or it was just that I was extremely lucky to have great sleepers!!!!)

Make sure there is routine & a calm down time of at least an hour so no TV, running about or loud noises. just reading & getting ready to sleep

I breastfed my first son and always made sure I offered the breast frequently throughout the day. I tried to ensure less waking at night for food. However most importantly, you must have realistic expectations. I was so sick and tired of reading and hearing about babies that were sleeping through by 6 weeks. This is the exception not the rule. Babies are programmed to wake frequently, they have small tummies and cannot take huge amounts of food. Also, be aware of sleep cycles and the wonder weeks, I found both of these things really helpful.

In the end my son didnt end up sleeping through regularly until he was a year old. I am currently expecting my second and will have much more realistic expectations this time.

I found gradual dimming of the lights as bedtime approaches really helps.

Trying to have a good routine and calm quiet times to wind down before bedtime. Trying to stay calm yourself too and not be hard on yourself if its not particularly working!

Relaxing bedtime routine, a constant temperature and blackout curtains.

I always would bath them then spend some time with them and always read a story before they went to sleep

sorry misread thought it was about toddlers
bath milk having cuddles then up to bed on all of the last 3, I learned after the first one who was spoilt and ending up sleeping on the settee until the age of 3

Sleep gowns for super easy mid-night changes. Bed sharing best and easiest way to get a great nights sleep plus you wake up looking at that gorgeous baby face.

Just go with the flow. One of mine slept through the night at 6 or 7 weeks, the other was about 2yo! Neither had any truck with daytime naps, I used to be quite envious of people who had a few hours free in the afternoons while the babies slept.

Bf on demand and co-sleeping made it all a bit easier. And although it feels like it, it doesn't last for ever.

start a simple bedtime routine as early as possible & stick to it every day!

Go with the flow and be as accepting as you can about your babies sleep. Some people are lucky enough to have a sleeper others have night owls.

I ALWAYS HAVE SWADDLED MY BABIES, WHICH WORKS A TREAT.

My babies would fall asleep most quickly when their feet reached the same temperature as my tummy. They slept on a baby fleece in the cot- not a sheet (but I don't know if a fleece would work if you lay them tummy down.) And the best advice I read was -when baby sleeps, you sleep. I was lucky with one, not so lucky with the second, but I always had 4 hours core sleep each night.

It's all about routine so they know what's to come. Bathtime, then a story or two then bed with his favourite soft toy. If we're away from home we try and stick to a similar order of events where possible, and always have his favourite soft toy with us - a toy which incidentally stays in the cot all the time so is only ever associated with bedtime/sleep.

In the early months white noise was a god send, particularly the Ewan the Sheep toy/sleepaid.

try and get them into a routine early on

The most important thing is from the first day you are home with your precious little bundle start differentiating between day and night. Yes you have a beautiful nursery upstairs but daytime sleeps/naps should be taken in the carrycot, moses basket or pram downstairs in normal daylight until they are too big to fit in it by which time they should be fine differentiating between day and night. At bedtime move to the darkened nursery (or your bedroom if still sleeping beside you) and for nighttime feeds keep light levels low, minimal noise, and whatever the temptation be "boring" even when changing nighttime nappies.

Be led by your baby as to what bedtime routine works best - some babies relax after a bath, others find it invigorating! Go with the flow and sleep as much as you can when the baby sleeps.

reading with interest as I've finally reached the 'something must be done' stage with DC2 at 20 months. (DC1 was sleeping through at 8 weeks, god I was smug).

Anyway, we do have routine, which seems to be helping with getting to sleep in the evenings, I just have to work on getting rid of my midnight wake up call... (trying CIO this week, I don't like it, I've never left her to cry and didn't with DC1 - I fear Mummy will break before DC2 does)

A good feed before bedtime always got Finn through the night

The same routine every night where possible. In our case, a warm bath, last bottle and lights out with any tv etc on low even if you are watching it.

For me it's a routine of having a relaxing warm bath for my baby before bed and keeping the atmosphere calm and relaxed

A feed as you go to bed, even if it's a dream feed we've found gives us the best pattern so far. Waits to be proved horribly wrong

I can only say what worked for my sample of one! Swaddling when she was tiny saved my sanity, then a dummy at about 6wks. She went through a horrendous patch at 8-10 months and we did sleep training, using the Elizabeth Pantley book and gentle retreat method. DC2 due in June and fully expecting that the same things might not work at all!

Routine, time and calm
We have a good routine of bath, story, feed, bed. It takes time but feeding in a dark room in the quiet gets DS off to sleep eventually!