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Does your infant sleep with his mouth open? Or snore? Or wake with an abrupt, loud snort? These behaviors may seem funny, but they could all be signs of sleep-disordered breathing, or SDB (also called obstructive sleep apnea) - a serious, but treatable, problem. Good sleep hygiene (getting the environment right) is always of benefit and babies will feel comforted by routine; this can be nothing more than being put down in the same space to sleep, making sure the room is dark and quiet and doing night feeds in a quiet way rather than singing and playing! Having a bedtime is useful once baby starts to sleep for longer periods and doing all feeds after that as night feeds will encourage baby to go back to sleep calmly. Capitalize on a principle of early infant development: patterns of association. Baby’s developing brain is like a computer, storing thousands of sequences that become patterns. When baby clicks into the early part of the bedtime ritual, he is programmed for the whole pattern that results in drifting off to sleep. I can’t tell you how many parents tell me their kid hates the swaddle. But nothing could be further from the truth. In my experience, while there are a few babies that truly hate the swaddle, most parents mistake their child’s fussing for hate. Try to implement use of the swaddle for naps and at bedtime. Try it for several weeks for each sleep period before writing it off. You can never underestimate the staying power of a bedtime story. There is no reason why you can’t read to a newborn - they will know your voice and as they get older, they will look forward to a nightly story with mum or dad and learn to associate it with bedtime. If you think you may fall asleep in bed with your baby you can help to prepare for this by making sure there will not be pillows or adult bedding near to baby and that pets or other children will not join you in bed.
A hidden medical cause of night waking is allergies to formula or dairy products. Such as milk-based formulas or in dairy products in a breastfeeding mother’s diet. Clues that milk allergies may be causing night waking (and colicky behavior) are bloating, diarrhea, and a red rash around baby’s bottom. While sleep regression will very likely end on its own given some time, never hesitate to call your doctor if you have concerns or questions about your baby’s sleep or the potential cause behind sleep problems (like persistent nightmares). Sleep is a powerful drug and entire movements have sprung up, especially in Europe and North America these past decades, to try to help babies see sense when they insist on interrupting their parents’ night of much- needed kip. The thing is, though, research has shown that not that long ago we all, regardless of our age or location, would have slept in shorter bursts. You may have heard this classic sleep advice before: just put them down while they are awake. Sure, in an ideal world, children could be put down while awake and then sleep peacefully through the night. However, this method simply does not work for most babies. If you need guidance on
then let a sleep consultant support you in unlocking your child's potential, with their gentle, empathetic approach to sleep.
While you don’t need a baby monitor for safety reasons, some parents feel it can help with creating good sleep habits. If you have one with a video monitor, you can check the screen instead of entering their room after every movement and teeny yelp, and, ideally, watch your baby swiftly and safely resettle on their own without you worrying or intervening. It’s a good idea to teach your baby that night-time is different from daytime from the start. During the day, open curtains, play games and don’t worry too much about everyday noises when they sleep. Always place a newborn down to sleep on their back. This keeps their airway clear (newborns don’t possess the ability to move themselves away from dangers) and helps to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Co-sleeping with baby is very much a personal choice so we would just advise you to read all the information on safer co-sleeping so you can make an informed decision. That way even if you decide not to co-sleep you can make your bed a safer place for your baby if you doze off accidentally. By three months, your baby’s shreds of sleep are increasingly woven into longer naps and nights. He’s getting better at being soothed back to sleep (by himself or you) and not erupting into tears. Yet some aspects of your infant’s slumber are similar to those in the first months. For example, both newborns and three-month-olds nap a lot and sleep about fourteen out of twenty-four hours each day. If you're looking for a compassionate, effective and evidence-based approach to sleep or just advice on one thing like
then a baby sleep specialist will be able to help you.
Other caregivers find that a busy day full of noise and activity makes it hard for their baby to switch to resting mode. It can seem challenging to follow safer sleep advice when you are very tired and it may be tempting to do something different. Following safer sleep advice for every sleep; day and night, is key to reducing the chance of SIDS. Unfortunately, for some babies, doing something different such as sleeping a baby on their tummy on one occasion can put them at risk. A baby's startle reflex, also known as the moro reflex, can cause babies to startle awake when they are placed in their cot or cause them to wake between sleep cycles if they are not swaddled. Babies, like adults, also have different types of sleep, and active sleep cycles could have them jolting and moving about. Keeping them snug in a swaddle could stop them from waking themselves up. Most 2- to 3-month-old babies, particularly breastfed ones, still need to fill their tummies at least once or twice during the night. Waking up every two hours for middle-of-the-night chow-downs, on the other hand, is typically too much of a good thing by this point — and for most babies, not necessary. There are multiple approaches to
and a sleep expert will help you choose one that is right for you and your family.
If you teach your baby to rely on a crutch to get back to sleep, like being nursed or rocked, as your infant gets older, that habit may become ingrained and hard to break. A better habit to start as soon as possible: put your baby into the crib when your little one is drowsy, but not yet asleep. A bedtime routine helps your child recognize time-to-sleep signals and physically helps their body to get ready for the night. Keeping interaction calm and lights low at night is crucial to keep them ready to go on sleeping without waking up completely. You don’t want your baby to sit up too straight because her heavy head might slump forward and make it hard for her to breathe. While some babies have tragically died when they were left to sleep in an upright car seat or infant seat, to date there have been no reported cases of babies choking while sleeping in a fully reclined swing. It is fine to swaddle your baby. However, make sure that the baby is always on his or her back when swaddled. The swaddle should not be too tight or make it hard for the baby to breathe or move his or her hips. When your baby looks like he or she is trying to roll over, you should stop swaddling. Newborns should get 14–17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, says the National Sleep Foundation. Some newborns may sleep up to 18–19 hours a day. The gentle approach and caring manner of a baby sleep expert allows them to assist you in the most preferable way to deal with
and to assist you and your family in any way possible.
Whilst it can be tempting to rock your baby to sleep, be prepared that this may be building up problems for the future. If your baby is used to you always being in the room when they fall asleep, they may find it difficult to fall back to sleep when they wake up during the night. Separation anxiety peaks and troughs throughout the first 2 years of life. It often intensifies around times when you baby is learning new skills that allow them to move further away from you on their own, such as learning to crawl, learning to walk and then around 18 months/2 years learning to talk. At night, you need to make things more calm and quiet. So, don’t play games or get them excited, avoid loud noises and talking, and try and keep lights low and curtains shut. This way, your baby will gradually learn that daytime is for activity, and night-time is for sleeping. A good night’s sleep for your baby means a peaceful slumber for you. In the first year of parenthood, being able to get a few hours’ unbroken rest every so often is important for your physical and mental wellbeing. To begin with I would worry that Katie was waking up through the night, but I soon learned that this was completely normal and discovered some simple things that would help her to sleep through the night. If your infant snores or chokes at night, try relieving his breathing with a cool mist humidifier and placing a folded towel under the mattress, to raise his head two to three inches. But if the noisy breathing continues, call your health-care provider for advice. Sleep consultants support hundreds of families every year, assisting with things such as
using gentle, tailored methods.