Bedtime

Always an important time in a parent's life (finally time for some me-time). But it's not always easy to put your loved one to sleep, is it? It's not always easy for me either: sometimes Victoria just doesn't want to! And that's okay (for me anyway), as long as it's only for a few more hours and not the whole night. If she exceeds my time frame of an extra 2-hour-awake-time, then I turn to my secret weapons:

Secret Weapon #1: Chamomile Tea
It is well know that Chamomile tea has some kind of soothing magical power. Even for us adults! So if it works for us adults (who are bigger than a baby), imagine what it could do for our little angels!

Secret Weapon #2: Bedtime Story
A bedtime story might always work (might being a keyword here, as every baby is different), but you should be careful of HOW you read it to your baby boy/girl. The tone of your voice plays a key role in putting you little one to sleep (but more about the tone of voice below). The most important thing to remember is not to show your baby the pictures or get them involved in any way! If the baby gets involved, he/she will get stimulated and his/her brain will go on full-working mode. We don't want that if we want our baby to sleep.

Secret Weapon #3: Tone of Voice
Always keep your tone of voice around your baby as quiet as possible. Speak as softly as you can to them, even when reading a bedtime story. If you need to communicate with your partner or other member of the family within the same room as your sleepy/sleeping baby, please do so in a whisper. This way, your baby's brain will continue working in sleep mode.

Secret Weapon #4: Don't Stimulate Your Baby
Most important thing to remember is that you cannot allow yourself to stimulate the baby if you wish to put him/her to sleep. Any kind of playfulness has to immediately be put to a stop as soon as you decide to put your baby to sleep. Otherwise, you can kiss sleepy-time bye bye, my friends.