Babies must eventually learn how to sleep away from their mothers. This transition takes some time, and new parents can help by establishing good sleeping habits for their newborns. The added benefit of creating good sleep habits for the baby is that parents also get more rest!
Most recommendations focus on developing routines and habits for babies that encourage them to associate sleeping with nighttime. The sooner parents can get their children to associate bedtime with sleeping, the more likely the children will be able to go to sleep without making a fuss.
However, the transition period, the time that exists between being awake and going to sleep, is often overlooked in these recommendations. Several techniques can be applied during this period.
One technique is known as fathering down. Just before putting the baby into the bed, the father should cradle his baby so that the babys head lies on the fathers neck. The father should talk to his child gently. Babies are often soothed by a male voice because it is deeper than the female voice, and they may fall asleep more easily after hearing the fathers voice for a time.
Another technique is called...