A cot bed is a compact bed made particularly for babies. Choosing a good cot bed for your baby is more than just a matter of interior design. Protecting your child during his/her first year of life is important, and having your child’s sleeping room as pleasant as possible will make it easier for them to settle down and fall asleep peacefully. It could also get you a couple of extra hours of precious sleep in the daytime. Most parents have issues in making their babies get used to sleeping on a cot bed, so knowing how to make a cot cosy and safe for a baby is something you ought to know to make it easier for them to get used to it.
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It is not rare for infants to hesitate at the thought of sleeping alone in their cots away from the cozy body of their mother they used to cuddle up to. Luckily, there are things you can do when sleeping in a cot bed to make your baby feel healthy and relaxed. Note that in a single day, you can’t change a baby’s habit. Babies are lovers of routine and they still need the comfort of their parents to feel comfortable. The tips below will make your baby’s cot bed more comfortable. Let’s take a look at them;
1. Provide your Baby with Sensory Comfort
If your kid just wants to fall asleep next to you, it may be that they find your scent soothing and will like to cuddle up. Roll up the shirt you were wearing, and take it next to your baby’s head as part of the cot bed. Your baby is more likely to be better in their cot bed if it scents like you. Note that for a few months, even twins can share a cot bed.
Infants are surprisingly able to sniff out the scent of their parents. It has been confirmed that the scent of a baby’s mother has a mild effect on the baby, and it increases the chances of the baby getting a good night’s sleep in the cot bed. Ensure you do this every night to make them feel more relaxed. Doing this regularly will make the cot cozy and safe for the baby.
2. Create White Noise to Make Them Feel Asleep
Babies are accustomed to the sounds of the womb; other noises are blocked out by the sound of white noise which can successfully help them sleep. By shutting out all other possible noise, it can also serve to make them feel calm.
Many parents agree that it has a huge influence on making their baby feel relaxed in their cot bed. You can use a hairdryer to try to make a white noise for your kid. See the steps below.
- Place your baby inside the cot bed.
- Place cushions around it
- Switch on a hairdryer and keep it from the baby at a discreet distance.
- Leave it for a few minutes like that.
- In no time your baby will fall into a comfortable sleep.
As good as it may sound to make a homemade white noise, you can easily get a white noise machine at an affordable price on Amazon. Check out the HeimVision N600S Baby Sound Machine with WiFi, Smart Night Light, it works with Alexa and has 27 different white noise soothers. It is much safer than the hairdryer.
3. Swaddle Your Baby to Make the Cot Bed More Cozy
Most parents love swaddling their kids because they enjoy it and it works effectively in making them feel more comfortable. Most infants enjoy swaddling especially when they feel like they’re being cuddled up and kept nearby. It has a way of making the cot cozy and safe for the baby. However, not every kid enjoys swaddling. It’s only going to work for a few months if it makes your baby feel healthy. After the baby is three months old, you better stop swaddling him/her. Here is a comfortable swaddle you can use for your baby – SwaddleMe Easy Change Swaddle.
4. Eliminate Motion
If you know your child is used to sleeping in a car, gently eliminate motion to give him/her healthier sleeping patterns. The motion may have an irresistibly soporific effect that can be beneficial, but it’s not necessarily the right way to make them sleep at night. Aim to interrupt the baby’s sleep cycle by eliminating motion steadily during nap time.
To minimize motion, there is another technique parents’ use: by using sleeping bags. Sleeping bags will limit the mobility of your baby while sleeping, especially if there is not enough space at the bottom for their feet to kick around. They come in a wide variety of sizes, patterns, and thicknesses and they’re easy to get. The only challenge is having the perfect temperature since they come in multiple seasonal varieties. Check out the BABYINABAG Baby Sleeping Bag and Sack on Amazon.
5. Maintain a Good Temperature in the Room
Ensure the cot bed is not too cold before putting your baby in it. Before putting your baby down, you can either put a warm water bottle or something similar in the bed for a while or, better still, use a sleeping bag for your baby. Your kid will enjoy the same temperature more or less all the time in a sleeping bag, allowing him/her to remain comfortable.
Babies are fond of warmth. Since the womb was warm and cozy for them, so are your arms to them. You can put a hot water bottle beneath the cot bed to make them feel warm. Ensure you remove it before bringing the baby down to sleep because they do not sleep in the cot bed with a hot water bottle.
How to Make a Cot Cosy and Safe for a Baby
If you are looking for how to make a cot cosy and safe for a Baby, the five points discussed above will help you. But if your baby is not willing to sleep in the cot bed after trying what is needed to be done, you can decide to move the baby to another type of bed. For younger infants, moving them to some other sort of bed means different things. Anything bigger than a cot bed, like a cradle, is typically more suitable for younger infants. However, it is the reverse for older infants after the age of 5 or 6 months because cradles are too narrow to allow them to move about easily and comfortably while sleeping.
Another option is to consider allowing the baby to sleep in your bed. Most babies sleep even easier during their first months of life together with their mum. We know how tough it can be for new parents to transition their baby to the cot bed and find it relaxing, but I hope that the suggestions and tips outlined above on how to make a cot cozy and safe for a baby will help you get him/her used to it.
