EXCLUSIVE: Get Dat Baby To Sleep!

It’s another helpful Q&A with Perezitos‘ pro party planner, organizer, and all around motherhood expert Amy Malin!!
This week’s question is something that’s a struggle for ALL new parents — getting your baby to sleep through the night. A perezcious (and sleepy) mommy asks Amy:

I haven’t slept in weeks. I’m so tired and frustrated because no matter what I do, I can’t get my 6 month old daughter to sleep at night and she is up every two hours. It is brutal. HELP!!!!

Amy’s Answer:

I feel your pain and like any new parent can empathize with the sleepless nights. My husband and I feel really blesses as since our son turned three months old he has been sleeping between 9-12 hours a night without getting up.
I’m happy to share my secrets for a Sleeping Baby so that you and your little cutie can enjoy some much deserved rest.
#1 If you’re breastfeeding your baby, you are your baby’s sole source of nutrition. So whatever you eat that doesn’t agree with you, will in turn not agree with your baby, so you should be extra careful of what you eat. Cut back on spicy foods and anything with garlic. Food that can give you heartburn are bound to do the same to your lil’ cutie and so if you’re up all night with indigestion, your baby will be too.
#2 Now that this next tip might seem difficult to do, but please trust me from personal experience, the benefits for you and your baby are worth it. Brace yourself, because what I want you to do if you’re a breastfeeding Mommy is CUT BACK DRASTICALLY ON YOUR SALT INTAKE. You’re right if you’re thinking salt is in practically everything you eat, but there is a way to change that. While I love eating out at restaurants, chefs love to add salt to everything because they think most diners think it makes their food tastier. The only way to really know what you’re eating is to cook at home as often as you can. You’ll save a ton of money and if you buy fresh and organic as much as possible your body and your baby will thank you. When you eat salty foods your body gets incredibly dehydrated, you’re bloated, your mouth becomes dry and you probably get uncomfortably hot. You unknowingly pass on the salty foods to your baby in your breast milk and he/she experiences the same discomfort. Case in point, while on vacation with my family, we were eating out for every meal and I found the food I was eating to be so salty that I was up all night so uncomfortable, peeing 10 times a night and with a bad stomach ache and my poor son who is such a rockstar sleeper at home, was also up every few hours restless and needing to eat because he was so dehydrated. Cut back on the salt and you will see your baby will sleep much better at night and not need to wake up as often to eat. The added benefits to your own health and your body make it doubly important.
#3 My amazing doula Andra taught my husband and I about this final tip and it is the “3 B’s to help your Baby Sleep” and it is genius! Establish a bedtime routine of Bottle or Booby (depending on if your baby is drinking formula or breast milk) first. Then give your baby a bath. It is important you do the bath the right way. Trust me from personal experience after having screwed up my son’s first bath in which he cried the whole time. If you have a double sided kitchen sink, put your baby bathtub in it and make sure your baby’s head is on the side labeled “newborn.” Put a warm washcloth on your baby’s tummy. This will prevent your baby from getting cold. Run a constant stream of warm water from the faucet on your baby during the bath which relaxes your baby’s central nervous system and will prepare your cutie for sleep. Lay your baby’s pajamas and new diaper out on the changing table ahead of time so that way you can dry your baby off and make sure she is warm and snuggly. Already have the lights off in the nursery (or your room if your baby is sleeping in a bassinet) and have the night light on. If you use a noise machine to help your baby fall asleep turn it on. The final step is to either read or sing your baby to sleep. Pick out a bedtime story or sing a lullaby while gently rocking your baby to sleep. Put your baby down in the cradle or bassinet while almost asleep, this will teach your baby to help him/her fall all the way asleep on their own which is crucial for long term sleep habits. Stick to this routine and you are bound to see great results.
Please keep in mind that nothing is 100% going to work for every baby because every baby is different. Some babies experience colic or other factors that might interfere with their ability to sleep. If your baby is having trouble sleeping and this persists for a long time, do consult your physician to make sure everything is OK.
Sweet dreams! You and your baby deserve it!

She is a life saver!!!
And for more motherhood tips, follow her at @TrueheartEvents!!