Baby insomnia

From the very beginning, try to encourage your baby to be happy alone in bed when he wakes. Put an interesting mobile just above the cot that will swing in the air and make patterns for your baby to watch whenever he's awake.

Once he can reach up, put a string of objects within arm's reach so that he can move and play with them. These need not be expensive; they can be simple household articles, such as a small wooden spoon, an empty spool, or clothes pegs strung on a length of string and attached to the cot. It will also help to put a few favorite toys in the cot so he will always have something interesting to play with, and not need to scream for your attention. Make sure the room isn't too dark in the go to sleep at a more convenient time for you. This won't harm your baby, and having his schedule conform to yours will make life easier for the whole family.

Leaving the baby alone?

Until your baby is about six months old and requires a regular routine at bedtime, you can take him with you whenever you go out at night. Parents - especially mothers - need to have some relaxation during their child's first months, and infants will sleep anywhere. Once he starts sleeping through the nigh t, however ¬especially toward the end of the first year when sleep isn't always predictable - try to stick to a regular bedtime routine. You can't expect infants to be as adaptable as adults, and if you want trouble-free bedtimes, you're going to have to follow a consistent routine.

If the room is very dark, leave a night light on near the cot or hang thinner curtains.

You can help to train your baby to stay happily in bed by training yourself first. Don't lie there waiting for the first wakening murmur and then leap out of bed to see if he is all right. Let your baby chatter to himself as long as you can, and only go to him if he appears to be getting restless and upset. Always wait to see if he quiets down; it will be teaching him self-reliance and independence, even at this early age. If he becomes fretful, however, go immediately and give all the comfort and affection that you can.

Young babies waking up at night

It is absolutely essential that you get enough rest. If you have a baby who wakes at night, you and your partner should bear the burden equally from the very beginning and take alternate nights on and off duty. Whatever the cause of the crying, you should always go to your baby immediately. If you don't, he'll become increasingly stressed and difficult to pacify, and you'll become distraught.

 Until your baby stops his night feeding and sleeps through, you're always going to have to get up at some point during the night. To cope with this, try the following:

 -Work out a routine with your partner so that you can go to bed early at least once or twice a week.

- If you are bottle-feeding your baby, make the night feeding as little trouble as possible by preparing everything before you go to bed.

- If you are bottle-feeding, get your partner to do it every other night.

 -If you are breast-feeding, and your milk is well-established, prepare a bottle of expressed milk for your partner to give at night. There is absolutely no reason not to do this, although your baby may not readily accept the rubber nipple.

 -If you breast-feed your baby, make sure your partner helps you by bringing you the baby if he’s in another room, by changing the diaper after feeding, and by putting the baby back to sleep.

 - Many mothers find it difficult to get back to sleep once they have been woken up. Don't lie there fuming with resentment: try some relaxation exercises, read a book, tackle some work, or get up and do something that you've been putting off.

 -If you've lost sleep during the night, you must make it up the following day. Completely relax your routine and do as little in the house as possible so that you can have a nap when the baby's sleeping.