Sleep through the ages

All the intricacies of how your baby sleeps are boundbd to becomeb your new obsession.b We’ve’ got some facts to make sense of the weirdness

GOOD NEWS FIRST: There aren’t any hard and fast rules about children and sleep. Some children sleep well, and others don’t. It really is that simple. Be sceptical of anyone who promises you a quick fix for sleep issues. In this article, we do, however, give you some guidelines that might help make life a little easier through all the different ages of sleep.

SLEEP MONITORS

If you’re the kind of parent who finds herself getting up six times a night to go and listen to your baby breathe, a sleep monitor is for you. It will give you peace of mind so you can stay in bed and not disturb your own sleep. During the day you can also get on with whatever you are doing elsewhere in the house while your baby sleeps. If you have a really big house or a double storey, sleep monitors also make sense. These days many of them don’t only broadcast baby’s sounds, they also link to her breathing and heart rate and an alarm sounds if there are any problems. For prem babies that are in a higher risk group for cot death such a monitor can be a very useful tool to ensure better sleep for you all. FIRST SIX WEEKS This is the honeymoon phase. Newborns sleep for 18 to 20 hours in a 24- hour cycle. Another way of looking at it is that your baby is unlikely to be awake for longer than between 40 and 60 minutes at a time. Keep in mind, though, that she will want to nurse every two to three hours.

According to sleep expert Erica Neser newborns sleep best on top of mom or dad, or with them in their bed. The decision to co- sleep or not is entirely your decision and there really is no right or wrong. Newborn sleep problems are often attributed to them feeling unsafe and unsettled in the big cot where they suddenly have to sleep all alone. Remember, your baby was snug inside you for nine months – no wonder all the space in the big wide world is intimidating. You could also consider using a Moses basket or small portable crib for her to sleep in initially. Allow her to keep her hands near her face as many babies like to self- soothe by sucking their hands or fingers. Prop your baby to sleep slightly on her side. You can place your hands on her shoulder and hip and rock her lightly to give her the feeling that she is in your arms, says Erica.

It is a little early to expect a good sleep routine, but what you should definitely do is start with a night routine that will indicate to your baby that there is a difference between day and night.

“At night, make a point of minimising stimulation and create a calm environment. Keep the curtains closed, play soothing music, don’t chat or make eye contact. After her last feed, let her sleep until she wakes up by herself (if she was a normal weight at birth and not prem). During the day feel free to wake her up to feed if she is sleeping for more than four hours. Remember to keep night feeds dull and boring, so you don’t wake her much.

A routine doesn’t develop overnight. It happens when you start to repeat the same procedure daily at the same time until your baby begins to expect and anticipate it. So even though your baby is still young, start to introduce a routine of bath time, a feed and a lullaby to help her relax. She won’t understand what you are doing, but it will quickly become part of her frame of reference, her map of how the world works.

A word on sleep safety: Don’t put anything in your baby’s cot or crib that can interfere with her breathing, including toys, cushions and blankets. Avoid things with strings, ribbons and sharp corners. Let your baby sleep on her back or side. There is a strong correlation between cot death and tummy sleeping. Our top tip is one you might not have heard before as it feels a little counter- intuitive: Babies can get overly tired and then struggle to sleep even more. So keeping your newborn awake during the day in the hope that she will sleep better that night is a recipe for disaster.

Babies who are cuddled and soothed and allowed to sleep during the day will in fact sleep better at night too. It is impossible to spoil a newborn with loving affection.