The Nose Stroke and Other Infant Drowsiness Techniques

Sometimes it’s easy to get a baby to sleep. Sometimes it’s not. Once I cared for a 3 month old who had vaccinations and started teething all in one week. He wasn’t a happy camper.

After a day or two of this, I settled on a routine that seems to settle every baby I’ve cared for. The Nose Stroke is a particularly magical technique, and is widely known and followed by baby care professionals and mommies.

The First Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is rapid responsiveness to cries. In some cases, letting the baby cry is a necessary part of sleep training, but for young infants 0-8 months, catching them early de-escalates what could otherwise turn into a prolonged wailing session. When baby’s eyebrows pinch together and its face turns into a little red prune, jump into action and practice the Diaper, Hunger, Gas, Contact routine. If baby is dry, fed, deflated, and cuddled, catch its attention with a rattle, mobile, or wiggling fingers. Keep doing this every time it starts to cry. Encourage it with soft phrases whenever it’s quiet, even for an instant.

The Second Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is comfort and warmth. Most babies with a milky tummy will get drowsy if someone holds them close in their favorite position, ideally in a very warm, dark room. Once I see a yawn or two and drooping eyes, I quickly transition them to their sleeping location.

The Third Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is to lay baby down correctly. Dumping a fussy baby in a crib with a blanket usually won’t cut it. For young babies, skillful swaddling provides security and lessens startling. Mats with built in pillows cradle the baby’s head and add stability. Stability mats can be replaced with a rolled blanket placed on one side of the baby (usually an infant has a specific side it rolls onto most). Another rolled blanket beneath its legs will provide more support if it tends to kick a lot. Bouncy seats with a vibrate feature are really wonderful too.  After getting baby to sleep in one of those seats, a super adept baby handler can usually transfer the infant to a cradle or crib.

The Fourth Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is white noise. This needs to be a somewhat harsh, medium volume sound so that it mimics the noise a baby hears in the womb. A loud gurgling ocean or wind sound is pretty effective. For less technologically advanced situations, singing also works.

The Fifth Ideal of Baby Sleepiness is my favorite. Rub some baby powder on your pointer finger to reduce friction and gently stroke between the baby’s eyebrows. Let your fingers pass over its eyes without touching them. At first, some babies don’t like this, but gradually their eyes will close and eventually stay closed. Often a baby will transition directly from complete alertness to a deep sleep within two minutes when I play my cards correctly! Even when the baby is crying and its brows are crammed together; rubbing that spot will calm the baby by releasing a lot of tension.

There you have it. An expanded statement of my favorite sleepiness techniques. Did it put you to sleep?

Got some favorite tips and techniques to add? Please drop me a line. I can use all the help I can get!