How Dads Play a Major Role in Healthy Infant Sleep

Many new dads may feel like they don’t play a big role in helping baby have healthy sleep, especially if the baby is breastfed. (I remember when my husband and I were brand new young parents yeeears ago and he would just kind of hand me the crying baby and say “he needs a boob”)

But that’s just not so! Here are some of the reasons dads do such a great job helping their children sleep well…

1. Things like expert swaddling techniques and calculating wake windows are almost like engineering for some guys. 😄 I’ve even seen a couple of dads invent their own swaddling techniques!

2. Dads tend to be a lot more vigorous when it comes to shushing, bouncing, and jiggling a fussy baby. Sometimes that’s really what an overtired kiddo needs to be able to pass out for a nap 😴

3. Dads tend to engage in more physical play such as wrestling, tickling, chasing and roughhousing which wears the child out for sleep. Even with very young infants dads may do more talking, eye contact, moving about, etc. which is plenty of stimulation to tire out an itty bitty brain. It’s a change of pace from mom’s soft coos and tender caresses. Both kinds of sensory input are important for a growing baby!

4. Babies love to hear the sounds of familiar voices, and the switch to a lower, more deep and rumbly voice can be so soothing, calming, and grounding. It’s a change of pace from their mom’s familiar softer voice!

I think as moms we tend to feel like we’re the only ones who can and should do everything for the baby because we’ve read the books and taken the classes and we want to do everything “right”. Dad needs to be given the time, space, and opportunity to learn his child’s cues and figure out how to take care of them in his own way. Maybe the diaper will get put on backwards at first but let him learn, make mistakes, and figure it out as he develops his relationship with his child and builds his confidence in all areas of parenting - including sleep!