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The average 3-month old can sleep as long as five hours at a stretch and by the time she is six, your child may be sleeping 8-10 hours at night. So, be patient! That parental sleep deprivation period DOES pass and there will come a day when you will arrive at work looking refreshed instead of haggard and drawn! There are a few things you can try to get your baby on a solid sleep schedule. Just remember that your baby WILL need to eat more often for the first couple of months, so you are not likely to get her to sleep through the night until she is a bit older! Here are some hints for getting your baby on a good sleep schedule: Your baby needs regular naps but you should keep them short. If your baby is sleeping for hours at a time during the day, she is less likely to sleep through the night. Be sure that you take some time to let your baby wind down before a nap or before bed at night.
Don’t engage him in exciting play or surround him with chaos. Reading, soothing lullabies, a warm bath or just a calm environment will help get him in the mood to rest. By the same token, when your baby IS awake and energetic, be sure she gets enough stimulation and exercise so that she is ready to sleep when it is TIME to sleep. Try to follow a routine with nap and bedtime. If there is a pattern, your baby will pick up the cues more easily and know that she is headed toward bed in a certain period of time. Whether you take the time to read, sing or cuddle with your baby or whether you always bathe your baby before bed, she will soon learn that this is leading up to sleep time and she will adjust. Try not to keep changing your child’s bed or naptime. There are bound to be occasions where her schedule will be disrupted, but limit those if you can. That way, your baby’s body and brain will get used to a certain cycle of hours and it will be easier to get her to sleep when it is time. You don’t have to wait until your baby is asleep before you take him to his bed. If he is drowsy and calm and ready for bed, put him in bed awake. He will get used to going to sleep on his own. Don’t run to check on the first whimper or sign of fussing. Let your baby grumble and fuss while he is getting into his favorite position and readying for sleep. If your baby is crying hard or seems to be uncomfortable or in pain, be sure he isn’t sick and that he doesn’t need a diaper change. If you hear your baby stirring or fussing in the middle of the night, give him a chance to get back to sleep before you go running into his room. If you are feeding your child in the middle of the night, don’t turn on all the lights and energize him or wake him up fully. Speak softly and calmly and keep the lights low so that you baby will go back to sleep. You don’t want him thinking it is time to get up and go! Some parents use a pacifier so that their child will be able to use her suck reflex and remain calm and sleepy. Pacifiers help your child to settle down, but when they are very small and cannot get the pacifier back in their mouth on their own, they may wake up fussing. We’ll talk a little more about the advisability of pacifiers in a minute. If you have tried everything and your child just seems to be nocturnal, you may have to accept that for now. Eventually, they will begin to sleep through the night, but their natural routine for now may include more hours of wakefulness at night. If your baby is six months old or older and still isn’t sleeping well at night, you should talk to your doctor and see if she can make any other suggestions. Making Meal Time a Good Time – Feed your baby when he is hungry. Don’t try to put him on an artificial schedule. As he gets older, he will eat more in one sitting and he will eat less often. In the beginning, he will want to eat every two or three hours. If you are nursing, you are ready and able whenever your child is ready to eat. If you are feeding your child formula, try to anticipate his next meal based on the schedule he seems to prefer, and start to get the formula ready in advance so he isn’t screaming with hunger by the time you feed him. Mealtime for infants is a chance to bond with your child. Before she is ready to hold her own bottle, you can cuddle her and talk to her and help her develop an understanding of language as you nurture her emotional needs. Eventually, she will be able to hold her own bottle but that doesn’t mean you can’t still share mealtime with her. Many parents find this time with their child to be precious and they do not give it up early. Don’t prop your baby’s bottle up and leave her unattended while she is eating. If she is not yet able to hold a bottle on her own and she begins to cough or choke, she may have a problem while you are out of the room. If you are heating a bottle for your baby, remember that microwaves will not heat evenly and the bottle may seem warm, but there may be ‘hot spots’.
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