Sleep Training
Sleepy Cues:
If you can learn the sleepy cues of a baby your life will be so much easier, especially for the Type A parent(s)! Sleep cues will help guide you so you know when to offer your little one a nap because their schedules (or lack thereof) are inconsistent. Sleep cues are really a baby's only way to communicate when they are tired so being able to read them and learn how your baby communicates is key. Here are sleep cue examples:
I’m Sleepy: red eyebrows, averts eyes, turns head, blank stares
I Need a Nap Now: yawning, rubbing eyes, pulling on ears, becoming fussy
I’m Overtired: arches back, becoming rigid, making fists, hysterical crying
It has always been a goal of mine to learn these cues so I can prevent my child from hysterically crying. I will stress when you offer a nap, do a shortened routine of what you do at bedtime so you are queuing their brain that it is time to sleep (i.e. swaddle, use the white noise machine, decrease all stimulation, turn the lights off, no phones, etc.)
Transitioning your baby into awake time is just what it seems: the amount of time your baby is awake in between each nap. From the exact minute he/she wakes up to the moment he/she closes their eyes for the next nap. The key to this is each age has a different awake time per their developmental stage.
Awake Time:
4-12 weeks: 60-90 minutes
3-4 months: 75-120 minutes
5-6 months: 2.5-3 hours
7-14 months: 3-4 hours
14-24 months: 4-6 hours
Your goal is to offer a nap to your baby towards the end of this wake window. Then, it is their choice to take the nap or not. If after 20 minutes of trying and they still do not go down for a nap, take them outside to the daylight and let them play. Try again soon after 20 minutes to one hour
later!
Night Feedings - Night feedings are considered from the time he/she goes to bed until 6am. Yes, consider ANY feeding before 6am a night feeding. Meaning, don’t turn on the lights; do not unswaddle if they are still being swaddled; do not change their diaper. ONLY pick them up to feed and put them right back in their crib. The time of 6am is crucial because you do not want to reinforce early mornings.
If your pediatrician has told you to offer night feedings then continue to do so. If you are looking to wean night feedings, there is a plan you can follow. You can schedule a phone call with me and I would love to develop a plan!
Newborn Sleeping Tips:
Wake a sleeping baby during the day! If your baby is asleep and has not eaten in more than 3 hours, then wake them up. Darkness does matter! It is important to establish an routine from the outset. You create the routine and they will adhere.
Overly-tired babies do not sleep as well, so it is imperative to pick up on their cues. We as parents often think: “If I keep him up longer, he will sleep in longer.” WRONG!!! Research demonstrates earlier bedtimes will allow babies to sleep longer. Accordingly, the best time to put a baby to sleep is between 7-8 P.M. (BEST between 7-7:15 P.M.) Further, babies develop "night sleep" habits before they figure out "day sleep" because naps and night sleep utilize two different parts of the baby's brain. Thus, a baby's naps begin to be consistent around 5 months of age.