Good nights are mostly built at 4 p.m. — in how the room is set up, not in how the night goes. Four choices that quietly do the heavy lifting.
Dim it early
Warm, low light for the last hour tells small bodies the day is ending. A dim lamp for feeds beats the ceiling light every time — nobody negotiates well under stadium lighting.
Keep the crib boring
A firm mattress, a fitted sheet, a well-fitted sleep sack — and that is the whole show. Save the beautiful blankets and plush friends for supervised awake time; the crib is for sleeping, not decorating.
Mind the temperature
Slightly cool beats slightly warm. Dress the baby for the room, not the season, and check the back of the neck rather than the hands — hands run cold and lie about it.
Repeat the same three steps
Feed, book, song — or any three steps you can do on autopilot. The order is the lullaby; by week two the routine itself makes eyelids heavy.
