Raising a baby is physically exhausting not only because of all the extra work you have on top of your regular day but also because you will lack sleep. They say that after 100 days, your sleep cycle will return to normal but in reality, that’s not the case for many moms out there. Many moms experience lack of sleep because the baby mixes up day and night.

Your baby might be snoozing peacefully during the day and at night be wide awake and wanting play. That’s why it’s so important to teach your baby the difference between night and day.

Getting your baby to develop a healthy sleep pattern doesn’t only benefit the parents but has huge benefits for the baby as well. Plenty of sleep at night enhances the baby’s physical and mental development and a healthy sleep habit will ensure that your baby will have a good sleep cycle even as an adult.

Before we get into the specifics about baby sleep, you must have in mind one factor: every baby is different both physically and mentally. Therefore after reading this article, and no matter how informative it is at the end of the day, it’s up to the parents to patiently examine and understand their baby’s natural rhythm and to use what you learn in this article as a foundation in teaching your baby a healthy sleep pattern.

For a first times parent and for even an experienced parent, putting your baby to sleep is one of the toughest task and repeat of waking up, night feeding, getting the burp out, and putting the baby to sleep again, there’s hardly time left to get yourself some good night’s sleep. This task is difficult during the day as well. You might wonder why your baby won’t just naturally develop a normal sleep cycle but in fact, it’s actually an obvious phenomenon. It’s because he’s been living and growing in his mother’s womb for 9 months, where it is completely dark. Your baby is experiencing everything for the first time since coming out of the womb and experiencing sunlight! That’s why it is the parent’s job to teach the baby when it is time to sleep and when it is time to be active.

First, you must have patience. Your baby doesn’t know he’s supposed to sleep at night and stay awake in the morning. It’s a concept you need to teach. Examine what your internal sleep cycle is and what your baby’s natural rhythm and adjust your baby’s sleep schedule and yours to make it work for both you and your baby.

For the first few weeks after the birth of your baby, we recommend that you make a routine so that your baby can get a sense of day and night. You can, for instance, have a set of clothes for daytime and another set of clothes made of different fabric for nighttime. You can also have a longer playtime during the day and reduce the amount of playtime considerably during the night. Don’t block any outside noise and keep the house bright and airy during the day and do the opposite like keeping the room dim and reducing noise at night time.

Differentiate the setting of the house from little to big things to teach your baby the difference between night and day. Do this, and the process of getting your baby to have a normal sleep cycle will go a lot smoother.