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Lack of sleep is one of the major issues that parents of very young children have. Yet most sleep problems can be avoided if parents begin early to establish healthy sleep habits.
Let’s first define Healthy Sleep Habits. They consist of five factors;The total amount of hours that your child sleeps in a twenty four hour period.
The length of each sleep session, rather than cat naps, longer sleep that is more restorative for baby. The routine of sleep, that there is a daily predictable pattern from day to day. The method of sleep, that baby can fall asleep on his own, using self –soothing skills.
There are several steps of maturation that baby needs to go through in the first months of life, that help to explain why it may take a while for your newborn to sleep in a regular routine. Body temperature regulates, meaning that it begins to rise during the day and become slightly lower at night. Melantonin, a hormone that has a relaxing effect on the body, begins to be secreted regularly in the evenings. Cortisol, a stimulating hormone similar to adrenaline, rises during the day, to fall in the evenings and during naps. All these processes help baby begin to associate night time with sleep and daytime with being awake.
But even though these processes are established in the first months, you can begin as early as six weeks to sow the seeds for better sleep by following these recommendations:
- Look for the soft signs
of sleep.
- Establish a nap and bed time routine.
- Use soft signs and duration of time awake, rather
than a schedule, to decide when to put baby back down.
- Expose to bright light upon awakening.
- Help baby find self soothing skills.
- Don’t overfeed before bedtime.
- Allow baby to make up for feedings during the day.
- Less is more scale for interventions.
- Be consistent with your method.
- Special plans may be made for multiples and
siblings.
If you still feel like you need some help and guidance with developing a sleep plan for your new baby, we can provide you with a plan and suggestions for establishing Healthy Sleep Habits for you and your baby from the beginning. Please complete the extensive questionnaire and I will contact you to set up an interview.
Sleep Problems -- Finding solutions to established problematic sleep habits with Infants and Toddlers.
By the time a baby is nine months old, sleep habits are firmly established. If your child does not nap on a daily basis, or has a bed time later than 7:00 or 8:00 pm, or awakens during the night, or if baby needs you to rock or otherwise help baby or toddler to fall asleep, you may want to consider changing your family’s habits.
Likewise, if your toddler goes to bed late, or comes out several times during the night, or has a bed time routine that takes hours, changing some of your family’s behaviors might greatly improve sleep in a short amount of time. At this point, sleep habits will have more to do with behavioral issues, that with developmental stages. After an in depth interview via phone or email, I can help you formulate a plan that can get your child back on track.
Acorn to Oak can help your child achieve a healthy sleep pattern Contact us to learn more.
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