Soothe Her to Sleep

Breastfeeding moms always have one secret weapon to help soothe their babies to sleep:  their breasts.  But it can still be difficult getting a baby to drift off into dreamland, especially for naps or in the middle of the night when they've awaken.  My daughter's habit lately has been waking in the middle of the night and taking about an hour or so to fall back asleep (in bed with us even).  I'm usually too tired to remember my usually tricks.  I just whip out the boobs or a binky, switch her from one side to the other, pat her back, etc.  The best thing I can do to help her fall asleep when she's having a hard time is to sing to her. 

It rarely fails to calm her body and mind and give her that extra bit of comfort she needs.  I've found that "You Are My Sunshine" and "Hush, Little Baby" (mockingbird song) work the best, along with three songs that I have created.  The three that I have created ALWAYS help soothe her.  As soon as I start singing them, I can feel her body relax.  It's like she knows that those are her songs, created with love by me just for her.  One that I have deemed "Angel Baby" used to be the only one that would work like a charm, but now the other two seem to work better.  I think because they have a slower melody.

Creating songs is a fun way to soothe your baby.  I came up with mine while singing my daughter to sleep every night.  Babies don't care if you have a terrible singing voice as long as you use soothing tones and lots of love. Mine personally is terrible, but my daughter still loves it when I sing to her.

Try singing in a whisper voice.  It's quiet, so it doesn't stimulate as much as a louder voice could.  Also, I've found when trying to sing in a regular voice, but quietly, my voice would crack at certain words (tones).  I also found that just whispering comforting phrases in her ear can also be soothing, like "mama dada baby" or "mama dada love baby".  I like to think that it sets her up to drift into sleep thinking good thoughts and thus having good dreams  : )

If you don't sing to your little one, you should try it.  You might be surprised at the power it holds.  Just another way to show your little one how much you care.