Sleep...
From the first day we came home, I focused on helping my baby understand the difference between day and night.
Night Routine…
At night we kept everything dark and quiet, with only a small bed lamp on, even for diaper changes, so she clearly knew it was nighttime. She always slept beside me. In the beginning the helper used to put her on her leg and gently cradle her to sleep, and she got so used to that style that later we also had to do the same. First we tried cradling her in our hands while standing, but it became really hard, so when she was around three months I bought a cloth cradle. I would make her sleep in the cloth cradle and then shift her to the bed. Around eight months I stopped using the cloth cradle, and after that I would sit on the edge of the bed, keep a pillow on my lap, place her on it, and cradle her on my legs because that was the only way she would fall asleep. Before putting her to sleep each time, I used to feed her, but she almost never fell asleep while feeding, it happened very rarely.
Morning Routine…
In the daytime we kept things normal with natural light and regular sounds. We spoke normally and all the usual household noises continued, so she understood it was daytime and didn’t get used to complete silence. Even for her morning nap, she would usually sleep continuously only for the first 15 to 20 minutes, then she would keep waking up, so we would pat her or gently cradle her back to sleep, and someone was always around. In the beginning she mostly slept on the bed, and after we got the cloth cradle, sometimes she would nap in the cradle and sometimes we would shift her to the bed after she fell asleep. After her morning bath she usually slept once, and then she slept again in the afternoon. As she grew, her nap lengths became more predictable, roughly around 1 to 2 hours in the morning and around 2 to 2.5 hours in the afternoon, and this pattern continued for a long time. Later, naps started reducing, and some days if she slept well in the morning she wouldn’t sleep again in the afternoon. On many days I tried to focus on an afternoon nap so the gap between sleeps wouldn’t become too long, and in a week it would be a mix of some days with two naps and some days with only one.
Month by Month...
1 to 3 Months
• Bedtime around 6.30 pm
• Full-sleeve bodysuits for sleep
• Waking many times at night to feed
• Several naps during the day
• Normal light and sounds in the morning
• Sleep needed: roughly 14–17 hours.
3 to 6 Months
• Bedtime slowly moved to 7.30 pm
• Still woke up frequently at night
• Morning wake time usually between 6.30–7.30 am
• Sleep needed: roughly 12–15 hours
6 to 12 Months
• Bedtime around 8 to 8.30 pm
• Sleep stretches became a little longer but still not continuous
• Morning wake-up usually around 7.30–8 am
• Sleep needed: roughly 12–14 hours
• From around 8 months bedtime stories became a regular part.
After 1 Year
• Bedtime at 9 pm
• Falls asleep by 9.30 pm
• Full-sleeve pajamas for sleep
• Still wakes up during the night
• If she wakes early in the morning, I put her back to sleep
• Morning wake time usually between 7.30–8.30 am
• Sleep needed: roughly 11–14 hours.
My takeaway...
One thing I learned is that whatever sleep habit we start early usually continues. In our case, she got used to being rocked or cradled to sleep in the beginning, and later it became the main way she could fall asleep. If I could go back, I would try to avoid making rocking the default and instead focus more on settling her on the bed with patting and a calm routine. I’ve seen some kids who can just be placed down and they fall asleep, and I feel that happens because their routine was built that way from the start, and it becomes much easier later.
The Key… Consistency
Routines take time, sometimes months, but staying consistent with lights, sounds, and bedtime helps the baby understand what to expect. It is normal for babies to wake many times during the night even after one year. Consistency makes the rhythm clearer, and patience makes it easier.