Conditioning a sleeping routine for your baby to adapt can sometimes pose difficulty especially to new parents, among others. Waking up in the middle of the night can be quite distressing and often affect the way you perform the next day. Here are a few tips to help you and your baby get that well-deserved sleep.

But then again, you have to always keep in mind that as every other individual, each child is special and unique and there are no guaranteed surefire rules on how a baby is to adjust to a normal sleeping schedule. It is not as easy as something you can just impose on; rather it is something you can try to condition together as a habitual practice.

• Babies need to have a normal and “should-be-followed” sleeping routine. Therefore, once you have designed a routine for his sleep, stick to it. Avoid making sudden changes as this would distort the idea of having a sleeping schedule. When babies feel that they are in a specific sleeping schedule, they would know when bedtime is coming and that it is now time for them to sleep.

• Newborns need to sleep 14 to 18 hours a day for the first seven days and then 12 to 16 hours a day by the end of the fourth week. However, most babies sleep irregularly and wake up every 2 to 4 hours at a time during the day or night in the first few weeks after birth. Encourage nighttime sleeping patterns to your baby especially if he or she is awake most in the night than in the day.

• You should also try to consider his feeding habits especially for newborns. They need to wake up to eat for the first 3 months of age.

• Developing children need longer hours of sleep. Newborn babies aged 0 to six months need an average of 21 hours of sleep each day. For children aged six months to two years, they need to slumber for at least 12 hours daily. Sleep is essential in their growth and developments as much as food and nourishment is.

• A father's deep voice usually offers a more soothing and calming effect on the child and is likely to make babies fall asleep more easily. It is advised for fathers to have bonding time with their little ones, too.

• Babies that often sleep in their mother's arms generally are more at ease and sleep better. However, if you have been sleeping with your baby, nursing or rocking him or her to sleep, or just holding your baby until he or she falls asleep can often cause your baby to depend on you specifically for him or her to sleep. You must stop this habit because you are making it difficult for both of you. The child may experience trouble falling asleep on his or her own.

To break this habit, lay your baby to bed and sleep on its own. Try not to comfort him immediately if he cries. Wait for at least four to five minutes before you go to him. Gradually, increase the time interval until your baby learns to sleep on his own.

These are but tips to help you reach your long-term goal that is to get your little one to follow a sleeping routine. Do not be afraid to test a few strategies and stick to the ones that work for both of you.