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If the room your baby sleeps in is too bright, they will be more interested in looking around than going to sleep. You can’t take the sleepless nights anymore. You’re so delirious from lack of sleep you could cry. By now, you’re starting to wonder if it’s officially time to sleep train your baby. Some babies start sleeping for longer stretches through the night at about the same time that they start solid foods. But it’s not that the solid foods have caused the sleeping. It’s that for many babies, the developmental stage when we start to feed them solid foods coincides with the developmental stage when they start sleeping for longer periods of time. Dealing with a lack of sleep is one of the most challenging parts of being a new parent, as it can leave you tired, tetchy and stressed. So, if you have a partner, make sure you share the load. While you’re breastfeeding, your partner can do the early-morning changing and dressing. Let your baby’s natural response guide you – if they need more sleep, allow them that. If they’re stirring more in the night, consider shortening their naps. Be patient and don’t rush the process. Symptoms of some conditions like postnatal depression can feel similar to extreme tiredness, so if you’re really struggling, or think that your feelings could be down to more than just lack of sleep, it’s a good idea to talk things through with your GP or health visitor to work out a way forward.
You never want to feel to bound by a routine, so try adjusting your baby’s schedule depending on their naps on a given day. Flexibility will allow your baby’s sleep routine to coordinate with your plans. Take lots of daytime walks to get extra sunlight exposure. (Indirect light is best in the summertime, to avoid sunburns.) If it’s too cold to go out, get lots of light exposure at home, especially during the early morning, to help set your baby’s circadian clock. Lots of people will be very quick to voice their opinions but it is important to remember that you know what is best for your baby. You understand their needs so try not to worry too much about what other people are saying about their sleeping patterns and concentrate on what you think is best. Seek advice from your midwife and/or health visitor if you think you can benefit from some professional support. A 4 month sleep regression can happen anywhere between 3.5-5 months. This is a biological shift in how your child’s brain is organizing sleep, so like any milestone; sitting, crawling, talking, etc., this one tends to happen around a certain month, but will depend on your child’s development. If you're looking for a compassionate, effective and evidence-based approach to sleep or just advice on one thing like sleep training then a baby sleep specialist will be able to help you.
Set Predictable And Consistent Nap Routines
By the time many babies are 6 months old, they don’t need middle-of-the-night feedings anymore. So if your baby is not sleeping without nursing and rocking first, or she still gets up multiple times throughout the night and won’t go back to sleep without the same send-off, she may have become wise to the fact that crying often results in being picked up, rocked and fed — pretty good motivation to keep right on crying. Any time between the age of 6 months and 3 years old your baby’s night-time sleep might be affected by separation anxiety, a normal phase in your child’s emotional development. This is when your child becomes clingy and cries if you leave the room, which might make sleep training more challenging. Learn more about separation anxiety and strategies for coping with it. Giving your baby plenty of love and attention during the day and encouraging them to be independent at night may ease the separation anxiety10 that many babies start to feel around the 6-month mark. Your baby may also feel more comfortable with a pacifier. Early bedtimes can also cause problems. If your little bug falls asleep at 7 P.M., it’s unlikely that she’ll sleep all the way to 7 A.M. Instead, she’ll probably wake for a couple of hours of play around 2 A.M.! Softer lighting help trigger your baby's body to produce melatonin, but it will also act as a visual cue, so your baby knows that it's time to wind down. The gentle approach and caring manner of a baby sleep expert allows them to assist you in the most preferable way to deal with gentle sleep training and to assist you and your family in any way possible.Try not to hold, rock or feed your baby until he falls asleep, or be inconsistent with his bedtime routine. Instead, put him to bed when he's drowsy but awake, which will help him learn to fall asleep on his own. Having an alcoholic drink? Don’t have baby in your bed tonight, as you will be less responsive than normal. It’s best to have another adult on hand to help with baby if you have drunk alcohol or taken drugs that make you less aware than normal. Parents are also encouraged to check in on their baby regularly to make sure they aren’t too hot or cold. Monitor your baby’s temperature by gently placing a hand on the back of their neck. If it feels at all damp, or warmer than usual, consider removing layers to cool them down. When using a thermometer, place beneath your baby’s armpit and gently, but firmly hold their arm down to get a more accurate reading. Any time you think you might fall asleep with your baby, make sure they are on their back in a clear, safe space. The chance of SIDS is lower when babies sleep in a room with an adult than when they sleep alone. Slumber can already be elusive for most adults, but add a baby who refuses to go to sleep into the mix, and you’re in for some serious insomnia. There are multiple approaches to 4 month sleep regression and a sleep expert will help you choose one that is right for you and your family.
Keep Your Baby Close
Take time to help your newborn clear up any day/night confusion. At this age, it’s too early to have a super structured sleep schedule. While you can start implementing a simple bedtime routine, your baby is just going to sleep whenever they feel like it. A dream feed is when you wake a sleeping baby to give her an extra feed. Research shows that sneaking in one more feed between 10 P.M. and midnight reduces night waking among three-month-olds - and it works great for older infants, too! If, in an effort to achieve a later bedtime, you allow your child to nap later into the afternoon (past about 4:00), you are more likely to disrupt their overall circadian rhythm and cause more nighttime waking. Although you want to be fairly consistent in where and when your babies sleep, you also need to be somewhat flexible and listen to your babies. Your babies will have signals to tell you they are tired, so you can put them to sleep. As lovely as it is when your baby gently falls asleep on you, it isn’t realistic, or safe, for your baby to need to be on you in order to sleep. A sleep expert will be with you every step of the way, guiding you on how best to find a solution to your sleep concerns, whether its ferber method or one of an untold number of other things.Night waking is important as it helps reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sharing a room with baby helps baby wake during the night. It also helps when breastfeeding as the milk supply is developed by feeds placed between midnight and 4.00am. Make sure your baby’s cot or crib is clear of any unnecessary accessories. Keep bumpers, toys, and loose bedding away from your baby’s sleep space for an uncluttered, safe sleep environment. Your baby should be sleeping on a firm, flat surface protected with a waterproof cover. What’s the right bed time? How long should your baby sleep? When should your baby begin sleeping for long intervals at night? If you knew the answers to these questions, it would help you avoid pitfalls — and needless frustration. When you can expect your baby to start sleeping through the night depends on several factors, including baby's age, weight, whether or not you are breastfeeding, and your family's nighttime feeding habits. As we do when we’re unwell, tiredness is a common symptom of most illnesses and sleep is the best way to help your body fight back, so let your little one sleep when they need to. Don’t worry about bedtimes or nap times, it’s important to let them sleep off their illness. Having a baby is a steep learning curve and aspects such as sleep regression come along and shake things up just when you're not expecting them.
Look Out For Tired Signs
When most parents hear co-sleeping, they’re likely to think of bed-sharing — where your baby or toddler sleeps in the same bed as you. And even though some families do it, it is not a safe or recommended practice for babies. Don’t get complacent: Manage your expectations even if you’ve had a few good weeks of your baby sleeping for longer periods, don’t assume this will last, unfortunately, it often doesn’t and there will be periods of disruption from time to time. Breastfed infants usually need to eat more frequently than bottle-fed infants, about every 2 hours versus every 3 hours. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises parents not to worry if their newborn’s sleep pattern doesn’t match the projections, as these amounts can vary before the first 4 months. You can check out additional details relating to Baby Sleep Consultancies at this Wikipedia page.Related Articles:
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