Sleep - Suggestions on how to get more - www.lullabytrust.org.uk

 

- During the day wake a sleeping baby to feed

- Lie down to feed your baby and rest with her

- Consider day time routine – is it too busy for both of you?

- Check your posture, are you relaxed, shoulders down?

- Healthy diet – drink less caffeine

- Bath baby during the evening if baby enjoys it and helps you all relax

- Go to bed early

- Keep lights low at night

- Don’t change nappies at night unless dirty

 

Facts

- For the first 2 weeks a newborn does not know they are no longer in the womb, where they were fed and held all the time and slept when they chose to.   This is why baby love being in baby carriers (slings and wraps)

- Newborns sleep 16-17 hours per 24 hour period

- A newborn does not know the difference between night and day

- Babies move progressively through different phases of sleep

- Newborns enter REM sleep immediately upon falling asleep and move from deep to light sleep in cycles of 20 minutes.

 

From 2 months 

Babies have the ability to soothe themselves back to sleep

 

At 3 months

Babies enter non REM sleep first, a pattern that will continue for the rest of her life.  

70% are said to sleep from midnight until 5 am.

 

At 6 months

- Babies may sleep 13-14 hours during 24 hours

- 85% of babies are said to sleep from 12 until 5 am

- Almost all infants are physiologically capable of sleeping through the night

 

Tips to get baby sleep in their crib

- Remove bottle or nipple as they drop off but before deep sleep

- Gently hold their chin to slow down sucking reflex

- Transfer them to crib whilst sleepy not fast asleep, they will then not be afraid when they wake up alone

 

Set up a night time routine

- Keep things calm and quiet

- Read and/or sing to your baby

 

Find a phrase or a few words that will signal sleep, be it

- shhhshhh

- sleep time now

- time to close your eyes

and use your phrase every night

 

Facts taken from:

- Practical Parenting: Sleep by Siobhan Stirling (2003)

- Guidance books: the no-cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantley (USA 2002)

- Baby carriers, the facts –  www.schoolofbabywearing.com

- Evidence based websites:

www.unicef.org.uk/caringatnight

www.isionline.org.uk 

www.thelullabytrust.org.uk

 

 

The 5 S’s for soothing your baby

 

How to ‘Switch - off” Your Baby’s Crying With the 5 S’s from The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD - www.thehappiestbaby.com

 

The 5 S’s are great for soothing your baby during her fussy times.  They trigger her calming reflex – the automatic off-switch for crying.  As you do the 5 S’s, remember these important points

 

- Calming your baby is like dancing, but you have to follow the baby’s lead.

- Do the 5 S’s vigorously only lessening the intensity after baby begins to settle

- The 5 S’s must be done exactly right for them to work.

 

Here’s a summary of the most important aspects of the 5 S’s

 

The 1st S – Swaddling

Don’t worry if your baby’s first reaction to wrapping is to struggle against it.  Swaddling may not instantly calm the fussiness but what it will do is restrain all that uncontrolled flailing so that your baby can pay attention to the next S’s you do which will switch the calming reflex on the guide your baby into sweet serenity!

 

The 2nd S – Side/Stomach

The more upset your baby is, the unhappier she will be on her back.  Rolling her onto her side or stomach is the way to go.  Just this simple trick can sometimes activate a baby’s calming reflex within seconds.

 

The 3rd S – Shhhh

Shushing crying babies magically make them feel at ease, like they were in the womb, but you’ve got to do it as loud as your baby’s crying and close to his ear or he won’t even notice it.  Use this super-effective “S” to keep baby calm throughout this fussy period by enlisting the aid of a radio tuned to loud static, a tape recording of your hair dryer or a white noise machine (washing machine).

 

The 4th S – Swing

Like vigorous shushing, little jiggling movements can turn your baby from screams t sweet serenity in minutes or less.  As you carefully support your baby’s head and neck, move baby’s upper body with quick but TINY movements, sort of like you’re shivering.  Once entranced you can transfer baby’s wrapped body into a swing for continual, hypnotic motion (make sure the strap is between your baby’s wrapped legs, the swing is fully reclined and it’s set on the fastest speed).

 

The 5th S – Suckling

This last “S” usually works best after you have already lead your little one into calmness wit the other “S’s”.  Offering your breast, finger or a pacifier will be the icing on the cake of soothing. You can teach your baby to keep the pacifier in by using “reverse psychology” – the moment baby begins to suck on the pacifier, gently tug it as if you’re going to take it out.  Baby will suck it in harder and soon will learn to keep it in his mouth even when cooing.