How to get your baby to sleep through the night

This is the hardest stage to go through. Especially if you were like me who did not "train" your child to sleep through the night until after 1 year but I have accepted it and I am thankful now that it has been achieved. Some days.

Before you begin, make sure every single issue has been resolved:

Your child is having a balanced diet throughout the day.

Your child is ...

not hot

or cold

thirsty

or needs a diaper change

sick

not overly exhausted from not having a good nap during the day

wearing comfortable clothes

eczema is not flared up

actually tired to go to sleep.

THE ROUTINE

I know, you probably get that prickly annoying feeling when someone says to you "yeah, my son is on a strict schedule because like, that's the only way I get things done. I am like a very organised person. It's the only way I-like- function."

Sureeeee.

 I know, it is super annoying to hear that but there is truth to it but no need for an over exaggeration.  I always thought that the"routine" meant this very strict schedule and sounded very intimidating, but it's not. The idea is to generally do the same thing every day so that your child body clock starts working and understands what the time is for and what's happening next.

It would be best if your husband/partner does the night time routine  so that your child doesn't think it's time for another feed with you. My son was only able to sleep through the night when I switched to fresh milk from a bottle  and Amar gave him the night time bottle feed. However, if you are still breastfeeding, make sure your child is still awake before you place him or her in the cot. You don't want to associate sleep with the feed. Or else, they will continue to wake up during the night. 

Before you give baby the last bottle, read him or her a bed time story, dim the lights and whisper to them. Mention every once in a while that it is sleep time. Associate a word like "nom" (arabic for sleep) or "nigh nigh"   as if ya3ni you are trying to hypnotise them. Just say it every once in a while and subconsciously it will click.  Then give him the bottle and a cuddle and sing a song to help them fall asleep ( you can ditch all that except for the bottle once your child learns its time for bed) 

Afterwards, gently put baby in the cot. Don't get too excited an run out of the room.

Tap baby gently on the back and tell them its nom time and whisper. DO NOT pick baby up after that. If baby is still crying, leave the room and return after 10 minutes. Tell your baby that you are leaving the room and make sure they see you leave. You don't want to freak your baby out by leaving as soon as they turn their head.

When  you return, gently tap their back and and tell them that it's nom time (gently). Then leave the room. Come back after 20 minutes if baby is not settled and then eventually 40 minutes, etc... Eventually baby will understand and sleep through the night. It takes some people 2 days for it to happen and for others around 2 weeks. It is recommended that you stay home during those days so that you put your baby to bed at the exact same time.

Now, this whole read your baby a story, give them the bottle, sing a song, cuddle, etc...etc...etc...was wayyyy to long for me. I remember when people told me this routine,  I was just like, oh my God...say wallah you think I am going to do this every single day???

Eventually when Hasouni learned that 830 pm meant bed time and that going to his room, dimming the light and giving him a bottle meant sleep time, I ditched the book and singing. I gave him a cuddle bes ya3ni that's as far as I took it. Half the time I use to forget to go to the bathroom before I started the freagin routine so I kept trying to hurry up. And honestly, the idea is to get your baby to realise it's bed time. You don't need to make it this long ass story for them to understand. Just do the same thing every day and khalas. BUT, you will need to do the long version in the beginning because it is a huge change for them and these stories and songs and blah blah blah help them transition. You can read him a book during the day.

But none of these will work if you do not make sure your child has a good nutritious diet throughout the day. Or else, you will be trying to put a hungry baby to sleep. There are many  guidelines that you can follow online or perhaps consult a dietitian. Dinner time is usually the most difficult meal because your baby is probably already full from all the fruits, dairy, and veggies that you gave so stock up on carbs to help them be full through the night.

If all else fails,  you can always go to a sleep clinic with your baby. They are a great help for that moment when you think you are doing everything wrong and they reassure you that the process is normal. 

Good luck to you all! Let me know what you have done to settle your baby to sleep. Would love to hear about your experience.

Coming soon...How to get your baby to sleep through the night

Travelling with a baby

Sorry, I know. I took forever with this post. But, the experience was so traumatising, I needed a few months to recuperate.

I'm okay now.

Here are my top 10 tips on traveling with a baby on flights but even so, gooood luck buddy.


NUMBER 1 - LIMIT YOUR CARRY ONs!!! I was allowed to take one carry on, a diaper bag, and a purse or backpack. I decided to ditch the purse and take the backpack since it would be easier to carry through terminals. But, taking a diaper bag and a carry on as well was just a disaster. Next time, I will try to just take a carry on and MAYBE a small bag.

2 - If your baby is under the age of 9 months, take advantage of baby jar food. Some people told me that they freeze meat dishes and by the time they get to the plane it will be good enough to eat. I am just like, oh my Goddd just relax. Your baby can be vegetarian for just one day and they will survive by not having a home cooked meal for just a couple of hours. My God. There are meaty baby jar food as well for the carnivores who just can't resist. But I was all like, ummmm it aint Halal.

3 - Put all of your food into one or two bags max so that when you get to customs, you just pull the bags out quickly to declare.  They will appreciate your organisation skills  as it speeds up the process.

4 - Put wet wipes, spoons, few nappy bags, disposable or cloth bibs in each bag that you have your foodin. I had one smaller bag that had enough for each plane ride as well which I tucked into the little pockets in front of my seat (where they put the magazines) so that I didn't have to keep carrying that one massive bag of food. I recommend using disposable bibs because you don't want to be stuck with wet bibs throughout the flight. Use your bibs to keep him from wetting his shirt from drooling if he is teething. You want to limit the number of times you need to change his clothes.

5- Make sure you get the bulkhead seat so that you get a bassinet on the long haul plane rides. The bassinets was useless for Hasan because all he wanted to do was crawl or walk, but it was great for me to chuck in his toys, wipes and food without all of it being on my lap. Call the airline a couple of times to make sure they secured your seat and check in 24 hours before your flight. Once you check in, your seat is secured.

6 - Let your child crawl or walk across the aisles. It might seem weird at first since everyone is looking at you and your baby walking back and forth but it is way better then them crying and disturbing everyone. The show off flight attendants might get annoyed so just avoid eye contact. Hasan was much quieter when he was walking and eventually he got tired and was more willing to sit later on and then eventually by the grace of God, fall asleep.

7 -  As soon as your baby falls asleep it would be a great time to go to the bathroom, clean up around your area as I am sure you are covered with biscuits and plastic cups and all that jazz, and have your meal. You will feel so much better when you clean up and much more patient when the little devil wakes up again ( <3 )

8 - Don't give your baby all the toys that you took with you at once. Give him a few at a time so that he doesn't get sick of it by the first couple of hours.

9 - Reading books helped me keep Hasouni in his seat while the seatbelt sign was on. He was also so fasincated by the plastic cups that the flight attendants gave us. I don't know why but it didn't matter to me. He loved it and I loved it.

10 - Only take with you small toys and books but make sure they are no smaller than the size of your hand.  The last thing you want to do is find the little car that he dropped which you know is underneath the man sitting beside you who just had enough.


I hope that helped!! On my flight to Canada, these tips saved me. On the flight back, Hasan decided that he no longer liked baby jar food, was definitely way too big for the bassinets, and chucked every book I gave him. It was much harder because we had 3 stop overs and the first two were right in the beginning so by the time we went on our 14 hour flight back to Sydney, he just had enough.

I will try to write more often! Sorry we also had to learn how to get Hasouni to sleep through the night and that has been quite the experience. Maybe I will write about that one day !

Love,

Oum Hasan.