What do you do to avoid waking your baby?

[Tithonia]

I've noticed that when I/DH come to bed (after DD has been asleep for a few hours) DD often wakes up, even though we don't turn lights on or anything and try to come in very quietly. Do other co-sleepers notice the same thing? Is there anything you do to avoid waking up your LO?

[AJHCFamily]

It depends on the night. Sounds like you are doing everything you can. Do you go to bed around the same time each night? Trying a little earlier might help if your LO is sleeping more soundly at that point. DD is 16 months and recently she started staying asleep when we come to bed most nights.

[Tithonia]

Thanks for the suggestion--going to bed earlier sounds like a good idea for more reasons than one! *yawn* Now that I think about it, I do feel like we are often coming in at the time in her sleep cycle when she's a bit restless anyway.

[Mallory]

Some simple things that make a big difference here--

-White noise- lots of it
-A dark room, I know you say you don't turn on any lights, but some peoples rooms are just light anyway. For my little ones the darker the better.
-Comfortable temp, and pjs. This can very so much, you have to find out what works for your kid. My middle has always slept much better cold then in pjs. From the time he was a newborn, he slept better in just a diaper. For many kids tags or organic pj can sometimes help.
-Comfortable humidity. Espcially in the winter, a dry stuffy nose can make it more difficult to sleep soundly.


None of these are magic cures, just things that seem to make my kids more likely to roll over and go back to sleep after a mild disturbance then wake all the way up.

[PatchChild]

I take out his hearing aids.

See, there are some perks to parenting a child with a disability. Nights have always been time for sleeping for my babe because days are noisy and nights are boring. But then, we never had the option of shhhing or using white noise.