Baby won't sleep? Tip #11

Working with a few babies this week that have trouble getting to sleep, and one trick has emerged as the current victor. For those babies that seem to not be able to close their eyes when their body is clearly saying goodnight, try using a small cloth or light blanket to cover their line of vision.I am not talking about putting a cloth over the face and leaving it there, but draping it over the top of the sling or just over the eyes so the baby gets a little less visual stimuli to engage with. Sometimes with sensitive babies we find that they are not able to shut off the stimulation and "reboot" or defragment their senses for sleep, which leads to over tired newborns (which means cranky behavior and not much fun for their parents!). So give it a try when you might try taking baby in a dark place (but don't want to leave the room). Grab a burp cloth and lightly cover the opening of the sling or take the blanket and lay a corner over the eyes while you soothe them. Worked this week for a super fussy 8 week old and a hard-to-keep-asleep 5 month old! Maybe it will work to add to your bag of tricks too.