QOTD #00130: “What’s your secret to getting a baby to sleep?”

“Not just to get them to go to sleep, but the biggest baby life hack I have is don't have them. It's basically like there's a sleeping baby in my house at all times. It's fantastic.”

“My secret for getting a baby to sleep is...let my wife do it. [Laughs] I'm not very good at getting the kids to sleep, so I don't know, but what she does is she'll sit in the rocking chair with them and rock back and forth for almost an hour sometimes and then gently lay them into the bed without wakin' them up. So, rocking chair. That's what I'll go with. The secret is rocking chair.”

“Secret to getting a baby to sleep... Well, I've had two, and I can tell you that, uh, there is something like the Five S's. I just remember the ones that work for us. And they were swaddling. Babies love to be swaddled. Shushing, that "shhh" noise. Um, what's that other one that worked for us? There were three. Oh, it's not shaking, definitely not shaking. It was swinging, kind of rocking back and forth. Those three, uh, methods helped a lot.”

“It was like the Three S's where you like swaddle, sway, and shhh, like, that really loud in their ear, which, eh, was a little harder for me. But the swaddling, yeah, just like baby burrito them. And then I'd put them in like the Ergo and sit on a yoga ball and bounce all night. You know, I mean, they slept like babies. I did not, but that's how to get them to sleep.”

“Hold them close to your heart. Make sure you have a calm and soothing heartbeat. Hum a little song. Don't talk. Just allow for them to feel your calmness. And it calms them, and it soothes them, and it works.”

“My hot tip is...baby wearing. Mhm-hmm. Strap that baby on! The closeness, the smell of you, the movement, everything...just gives them a great sleep throughout the day and your hands free so you can get a lot done. Oh, you can get so much done hands free. And the other best thing about it is if they're a bit colicky, the upright positioning that they're in all day, or most of the day -- all day in my case -- means that they sleep better at night. So, that means you get a better sleep as well. So, huzzah.”

“I've always thought that just make kids work out, you know, before they go to bed. You know, make the baby do push-ups, sit-ups, maybe some jumping jacks if they can stand up, you know. If they can't walk, make them hold their rattle over their head, you know, a few times. Maybe you can exercise their arms. Um...kidding. There is no secret. You just get them up, you rock them, and you freaking pray. That's it!”

“Okay, this is gonna be rich coming from someone who doesn't have kids. But with my friends' kids, what I do is I just sing to them about random stuff in the room, and then I rub between their eyes like this, and that, like, forces them to close their eyes. And babies don't understand English, okay? I just sing to them about random things like the painting on the wall or the broom by the door or something, and they fall asleep.”

“So, there is actually a life hack in my family. Um, there are two for getting a baby to go to sleep. Um, if you rub a baby's jaw back like this, then -- it works for dogs too, actually. Um, they yawn and in turn it makes them more tired, and they fall asleep easier. Um, and then also, if you rub a baby's eye down like this, it makes them keep their eye closed very gently. But um, they close their eyes, and they go to sleep because they're always sleepy. They just need a little push.”