SLEEP PART 1: 7 Steps To Surviving 0 to 4 Months
Newborns have a hard time distinguishing between night and day, which explains their short bursts of sleep around the clock. But once your baby is a few weeks old, you can start to teach them the difference – and establish healthy sleep habits.
1. Use light strategically
- Lights push your child’s biological ‘go’ button. Darkness triggers the brain to release melatonin, a key sleep hormone. Keep your baby’s days bright and nights dark and they will quickly figure out when it’s time to sleep.
- During the day, allow plenty of sunlight into the house or take him/her outside. Put your baby down for daytime naps in a well-lit room
(unless he has trouble falling asleep at nap time).
- To induce night time sleepiness, consider installing dimmers on the lights in your baby’s room, but also in other rooms where you both spend lots of time. Lower the lights in the evening (up to two hours before bedtime) to set the mood.
- It’s fine to use a night-light in his/her room, but choose a small, dim one that stays cool to the touch. (Don’t plug it in near bedding or drapes.)
- If your child wakes up during the night, don’t turn on the lights or carry him/her into a brightly lit room. The shift from dark to light tells the brain it’s go time. Instead, soothe them back to sleep in their dark bedroom.
- If early morning sunlight prompts your child to wake too early, or if they have trouble napping in the afternoon, consider installing room-darkening shades.
- Put your baby to bed when they are drowsy, not asleep
This is a tall order, especially for breastfeeding mums, but master the timing and both you and your baby will rest easier. Babies who drift off on their own are more likely to learn to soothe themselves to sleep.
Try to put your baby to bed as they quiet down, just before they nod off. Creating a sleepiness scale from 1 to 10 when your baby is 6 to 8 weeks old. (1 is wide awake and 10 is out cold.) Wait until your baby hits 7 or 8, then put them down to sleep.
- Wait a moment before going to your baby
If you jump at every squeak heard over the baby monitor, you’re only teaching your child to wake up more often. Wait a few minutes to give them time to settle back to sleep on their own. If they don’t, and it sounds like they are waking up, try to reach them before they escalate into a full-blown howl. Stepping in before a meltdown means you’ll catch them before they are too worked up to fall back asleep.
- Try not to look your baby in the eye
Many babies are easily stimulated. Just meeting your baby’s gaze can engage their attention and signal it’s playtime.
Parents who make eye contact with sleepy babies inadvertently encourage them to snap out of their sleep zone. The more interaction that takes place between you and your baby during the night, the more motivation they have to get up.
So what to do instead? We suggest keeping it low-key. If you go to your baby at night, don’t make eye contact, talk excitedly, or belt out her/him favourite song. Keep your gaze on her/his belly and soothe her/him back to sleep with a quiet voice and gentle touch.
- Relax the rules on nappy changes
Resist the urge to change your baby every time they wake up – they don’t always need it, and you’ll just be jostle them awake. Instead, put your baby in a high-quality, night time nappy at bedtime. When they wake up, sniff to see if it’s soiled and change only if there’s poop. To avoid waking them fully during night time changes, try using wipes that have been warmed in a wipe warmer.
Give your baby a “dream feed”
If your baby has trouble sleeping, waking them up for a late-night feed (between 10 p.m. and midnight, for example) may help them sleep for longer stretches.
Keep the lights dim and gently lift your sleeping baby out of their crib. Settle them down to breast feed or take a bottle. They may wake just enough to start feeding, but if they don’t, gently nudge their lips with the nipple until they latch on. After they’re done, put them back to bed without burping them.
- Wait until they are ready for sleep training
Following these tips helps establish healthy sleep habits, and you can start as early as the first month of your baby’s life. Although, as desperate as you may be for some solid shut-eye, your baby won’t be ready for formal sleep training until they are at least 4 months old. By then they will not only be ready to sleep for longer stretches, but they’ll also be much more receptive to the techniques you use.
- Brace yourself for sleep regressions
If your baby starts waking up during the night again, don’t panic: It’s probably just a temporary hiccup. Babies and toddlers often have minor sleep regressions around major developmental milestones or changes in routine, like travel, illness, or a new sibling.
Many parents notice sleep problems begin around 4 months, when babies become more mobile and their sleep patterns change, and again around 9 months as separation anxiety increases.
Post by – Dr Charles Siles,
Obstetrician, Gynaecologist, Sonologist and Bioethicist
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