Natural Sleep Aids for Babies

Anyone who's ever had a baby knows the first year can be an adventure when it comes to sleep habits and patterns. Just like adults, babies can have trouble sleeping and falling into a normal sleep routine. But when it comes to helping babies sleep, the paths diverge. Whereas adults may turn to medicines or natural substances to help them fall asleep, helping baby fall asleep is all about actions and routines.

Perhaps the most important natural sleep aid for babies starts at bedtime. Making sure your baby has a consistent routine can head off problems with sleeplessness. Make sure your baby goes to bed at around the same time every night and in the same place. You can hold your baby and comfort him before bedtime, but you shouldn't let him fall asleep in your arms. Put him in bed after he has started to show signs of sleepiness. Avoid stimulating play and activities before bed, but some activities, such as baths, feeding, reading a book and singing a lullaby are fine. Just make sure you try to do the same things in the same order every night.

If the bedtime routine doesn't do its trick or your baby wakes up in the night, there are other natural sleep aids you can try. Swaddling involves wrapping a baby snugly in a blanket to provide warmth and security and recreate the feeling of being held by a parent. It can also help to calm a baby and may prevent them from waking up due to his own startle reflex. Swaddling works best for newborns and smaller babies. Be careful, though, not to wrap the baby too tightly or cover his mouth or nose.

Thumb sucking or sucking on a pacifier helps calm a baby. Babies are born with an instinct to suck, and that instinct is not totally satisfied by breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Thumbsucking also relaxes babies, which is why it makes a good sleep aid. Some people look down on thumb sucking, but the American Dental Association says it is safe as long as a child grows out of it by the time permanent teeth start appearing. Pacifiers come with their own benefit. A 2005 study by Kaiser Permanente showed that using a pacifier during sleep reduced an infant's risk of dying of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome by 90 percent.

Like swaddling and sucking, music and sounds help calm and soothe a baby that is having trouble sleeping. Music should soothing but not stimulating. Classical music is a good choice. If you choose to use sounds, they should also be soothing. Ocean waves or a heartbeat are good choices.

Pediatrician Richard Ferber, in his 1985 book, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems," gave rise to the practice of "crying it out," or letting your child cry himself to sleep. Generally, the method involves letting your baby cry and popping into his room occasionally to give him a soothing rub or pat on the back at increasing intervals of time until he falls asleep. Not all experts agree with this method and it generally does not work in the first 3 to 4 months of a baby's life, because they are not yet ready to sleep through the night.

If you can't handle the "cry it out" method, pick your baby up and hold or rock him. Feeling the warmth of his mother's body is calming and soothing to a baby, as is gentle rocking at a rate that approximates mom's heartbeat as he would have heard it in the womb. Remember, though, as with other methods, do not let your baby fall asleep this way. Once he begins to show signs of nodding off, place him in his crib.

These range from taking your baby for a drive in the car to placing him in a car seat or bassinet on top of a running clothes dryer. Remember, if something works and it is safe, it's worth giving a try.