“Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears" - Kate Winslet
I’m guessing you’re reading this because you have a baby who is wakeful, doesn’t settle easily, isn’t getting enough sleep or has distressing behaviours around sleep. Be very aware that you are not alone. Unsettled behaviours in babies in this age group are very commonplace, as your baby gets accustomed to being earth side.
By now your baby is interacting readily with the world and sleep patterns may well be changing to meet these additional needs. Often babies will go through a growth spurt around 6 months and require more frequent feeds for a period of time. He may even have begun some teeth movement and this may disrupt sleep somewhat.
Now that your little person is on the move and transferring from sitting to standing, perhaps walking and even running proficiently, days are busy with constant supervision needed. You will often be keeping them out the way of unsafe situations, using the word ‘no’ regularly and beginning to venture into the hallmarks of your style of gentle discipline and boundary setting.
In more recent years it has become evident to both parents and healthcare professionals alike that the incidence of intolerances to varying components of our diet and/or chemicals in our environment has escalated exponentially. This, along with, alteration to gut microbiome, is considered by many to be the root cause of many an unsettled infant.
6.30 am (ish) - Start the day with a feed (breast or bottle)
1¼ to 2 hours later - Be watching for tired signs, settle down for some quiet time
8.00–8.30 am (ish) - Sleep time (sleep time can vary from 1½ to 2 hours)
Healthcare professionals are often asked for help because of what parents perceive as a baby's sleeping problem. Many parents expect that the baby will be sleeping continuously through the night from a given age, often as early as six weeks old. The conflict between the parents' expectations and the baby's behaviour leads the parents to seek help.
The average newborn sleeps much of the day and night, waking only for feedings every few hours. It is often hard for new parents to know how long and how often a newborn should sleep. Unfortunately, there is no set schedule at first and newborns mostly remain on a twenty-four hour clock — and when they are first home form hospital they often think they are supposed to be awake at night and sleep during the day.
In more recent times I have been asked to write down or, at the very least teach, all that I have learnt regarding infants, their behaviours and responses, what works and doesn’t work with regards to settling, the common health compromises and developmental challenges of infants, effective treatments of same and those with less suitable outcomes… no small task!
Baby Sleep Myth #1: Comparing Your Baby to Other Babies. It is almost impossible not to… especially when you’re sitting beside a fresh-faced mother of three who is telling you about how her newborn baby slept through the night again last night. But you should avoid comparing your baby to other babies or you’ll drive yourself mad.
One of the most common concerns I hear from new parents is that their baby will only sleep on them. On their chest, nursing or in a sling, they are happy but the moment they are gently placed down in their basket, they awaken crying and desperate to be picked up again. This is such a source of worry for a parent who loves their baby and wants to do things “right".
Entering the three and four year old life stage and the behaviours it may bring swings rapidly from exciting to confusing even when there are no sleep challenges or overtiredness. However, an overtired preschooler swings more frequently and often more dramatically, and can be more difficult to parent than a well-slept one.
