All babies are different and prefer various soothing methods, some may like motion, another may like music or white noise and one may prefer silence, it really all depends as you realise soon enough that what worked for your friends baby may not work for you.
To get my daughter to sleep I dim the lights and use rocking motions. For example, when I have her in my arms, I would rock her for a while then place her in her bed once she's settled or sometimes instead of rocking her in my arms, I place her in her bed and rock her back and forth from her side letting her know i'm still there but also encouraging her to sleep independently.
If she is still unsettled from there I progress to stroking her back up and down which tends to set her off and sing for her whilst doing either of those motions.
This worked like a charm until she went through a growth spurt then changed on me, the whole stage was quite stressful but thankfully so far she tends to fall asleep in my arms before I transfer her to bed and sleeps pretty much through the night. Especially once she is fully fed, so I make sure she has bigger meals for dinner and a bottle of milk to set her off.
One thing for sure is that she does not like me leaving her in the room by herself so I stay with her until she falls asleep, for me this is easier than having a crying baby, stressed before sleeping. She wakes up happy and in a good mood which works for me.
I find that routines are also good and can make a difference as babies eventually learn and realise at particular times they must get ready for bed.
Understanding your babies sleep rhythm is also helpful but i've realised there is no set method towards aiding your baby to sleep so it's important to keep calm otherwise you will probably end up not getting much sleep yourself.
My system may not work for everyone but do share some of your hacks for making your baby go to sleep?
By Sewa Adebayo
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