Welcome to Mumschool.com
it's the place for mums to be!

Subject:
Sleeping & Crying

Courtesy of Nurofen for Children

We at Mumschool understand that there is a lot to think about when you become a new mum and we want to give you a helping hand in caring for your baby with our presentation on ‘Sleeping & Crying’, don’t forget you can stay up to date with everything at Mumschool.com

Why does baby need so much sleep?

• Babies can spend more than half the day sleeping, even by age two, a toddler may spend more time asleep than awake
• Sleep is important for both the growth and development of your baby, having a direct influence on many of the body's functions
• Sleep is as important to your baby’s development and well-being as nutrition and physical activity
• The amount and quality of sleep your baby gets can affect how alert they are, their memories, moods, behaviour and learning abilities

Where should baby sleep

• Many health professionals advise that the baby should sleep in your room in a cot/crib until they are able to sleep through the night, generally this is considered to be six months
• There are a number of benefits of having your baby in the same room:
  • Baby is close for feedings
  • Less disruption to you and your baby’s sleep if baby wakes
  • It may make you feel more comfortable having the baby in the same room
• Remember that whatever you decide can always be changed to fit in with you and your baby, nothing is set in stone

Putting baby to bed safely

• Place the baby in the cot on their back to sleep
• In the cot place baby in the ‘feet to foot’ position, so their feet are at the foot of the cot to prevent wriggling down under the covers
• Do not use a duvet, quilt or pillow until your baby is over 1 year old
• Keep your babies head uncovered
• Keep your baby's bedroom at 16-18ºC, as a rough guide, if you are comfortable in light clothing, it's probably about right.

Daytime naps

• Naptime it may seem less important than sleeping through the night, especially at 3am but actually a daytime doze is just as essential
• Missing out on daytime sleep can make your baby overtired, grumpy and can affect how well they feed
• Naptime's is essential for your sanity too; when else are you going to get time to grab a cuppa and half an hour with your feet up or have a rest yourself

Night feeds

• When you go in to give your baby a night feed try to leave the light off, talk in a soft voice and only change your baby’s nappy if necessary
• This practise will encourage your baby to learn that day and night feeding are different
• 80% of baby's sleep problems are caused by your baby being unable to fall asleep, or go back to sleep on their own*. (*source: www.askamum.co.uk)

Tips for difficult settlers

• Decide on a bedtime routine for your baby such as feeding, bathing and settling
• Give your baby a few minutes to settle and don’t go back in immediately, but never leave a young baby crying for very long
• Keep things a little quieter at night and make sure you have some ‘wind down’ time so your baby does not switch from lively play to sleep
• Some babies are happier if they can hear household noises knowing you are nearby
• Many parents choose to stay with their baby as they fall asleep, perhaps sitting by the cot or touching their hair
• Once your baby settles with you nearby, the idea is to gradually, over a week move further away from the cot until you are out of the room
• If your baby wakes or is upset go to them and say ‘night night’ stroke their hair and go back to your place in the room
• When you are trying to settle your baby always stay in the bedroom area, don’t take baby into other busier areas of the house

Routines

• In the first two to three months a typical pattern is a longer sleep in the morning and a couple of shorter naps in the afternoon
• Waking in the night is normal and may continue for some time. You can start introducing a bedtime routine from six weeks old, but up until about three months your baby's tummy is too small to allow them to hold enough milk to keep them going all night, so don't ignore their cries.
• In the first few months be led by your baby’s needs, gradually they will learn the difference between night and day

Bedtime routines

• There are ways as a parent that you can help to create a routine for your baby • Begin calming things down about an hour before their bedtime
• Have a set bedtime and routine, eg, bath, story, feed, put down to sleep - and try to do this at roughly the same time every day, knowing what will happen will make your baby feel both safe and secure
• Put your baby down to sleep in a darkened room, leave a nightlight on so that you can check on them without switching on the light
• A device that plays gentle lullabies or gives a light show may help - if nothing else it will distract your baby's attention from the fact that you've left the room
• If possible, put your baby down semi-awake rather than fully asleep, so that they will learn to settle themselves and you avoid having to get baby to sleep in your arms every single night!
• If necessary, pat or stroke them to comfort and reassure rather than picking them up

Other bedtime suggestions

• Avoid bedtime feasts make sure you leave a little time between baby’s feed and bedtime or baby will begin to associate sleep with feeding as they’ll start expecting a feed to go back to sleep
• If your baby mumurs in the night try not to go rushing in leave them for a few minutes and see if they settle on their own
• Be consistent - react to the cries the same way each night,if you rush in one night and leave them to cry the next they won’t know what to expect
• Be flexible - all new babies change their patterns, just when you think you have it sorted it might all change, be prepared to change routines as your baby grows and enters different stages
• Remember growth spurts, teething, illnesses and colds can all affect how your baby sleeps

Sleep patterns and growth

• How much sleep your baby needs will depend on their age, roughly speaking the following is the average: – 0-3 months - generally newborns spend as much time awake as they do asleep in a day, however babies can sleep 16-18 hours or as little as eight! – 3-6 months - night feeds become less frequent and periods of sleep get longer, some babies will sleep for around 8 hours or even longer at night, by four months babies spend on average twice as long asleep at night as they do during the day – 6-12 months - Night feeds are no longer necessary and some babies may sleep for up to 12 hours at night, however teething discomfort or hunger may cause some babies to wake during the night

0-3 months sleep patterns

• Your newborn will probably sleep for about 15-16 hours out of every 24 hours, about seven hours of that will be daytime naps (not all in one go, though you might find one nap break tends to be longer than the others), and about eight or so hours of night sleep which is interrupted by waking for a feed
• It’s normal to feel tired in the early weeks as broken sleep and night feeds interrupt your routine
• The most common piece of advice given to new mums is to sleep when your baby sleeps, with everything that needs to be done, this may seem impossible and simplistic but it really does help, if you aren't well rested, you won't enjoy time with your baby when they’re awake and ready to play in the early days, if you have a sleeping baby, you should be sleeping too!
• Your baby will have their own sleep pattern and this can vary from day to day and night to night, babies aren’t born with the ability to sleep through the night
• Babies need feeding during the night , as they need nutrition, comfort and the closeness they get from being with you
• Your newborn baby will sleep through most noise and activity, so don’t feel like you can’t get on with household jobs like vacumming whilst baby is asleep
• A baby that seems very sleepy and who doesn’t wake to feed may be ill, not just being ‘good’, contact a health professional if you are worried

6-9 months sleep patterns

• By this time your baby can probably manage without a night feed and may sleep for six to eight hours without waking
• Your baby will gradually begin to learn how to fall asleep and how to get back to sleep when they wake during the night
• If you want your baby to try and settle themselves try and put your baby to bed before they fall asleep

Your baby’s cries and understanding what they mean

• Although it might seem like a terrible notion that you will get used to hearing your baby cry, any new parent soon realises that their child's crying is mostly just the first step in communication between baby and parent
• Don't feel guilty about going to your baby's aid if you hear her crying, however, beginning to read the differing cries will help you
• Hunger quite possibly the first cry you will get to recognise is the all important message: 'Feed me!' If you think your child is crying for feeds more than you think they should, let her weight-gain progress be a guide as to whether or not she is getting enough milk
• Nappy change if you have only recently fed your child, your next instinct if they cry, may well be to feel if their nappy is damp or dirty, even if you have only just changed it, you'd be amazed how quickly those bowels can move
• Some babies cry if they are generally uncomfortable - if they are too hot for example, check they are not getting overheated or are too cold
• Tiredness Although it seems odd (especially if you are desperate for sleep yourself) to imagine that a tired baby can't get off to sleep, it is just the same when we sometimes can't just switch off, if you are in a busy place, trying changing the scenery or going for a walk where there is not so much one-on-one stimulation
• Pain In general, if a baby's cry is one of pain, you will notice a higher pitch than their normal cry. It might seem more insistent too, and be harder to soothe with a comforting hug from you

Colic

• About 20 per cent of all babies will experience colic to a greater or lesser degree, in their first few months and you as parents will be put through the mill too
• Colic (or a 'colicky baby') refers to a newborn baby who, in their second or third week, develops routine crying bouts during which they seem inconsolable. These usually occur in the evening
• Don't ignore the baby's crying, it will make you feel bad and in a small baby, crying is not a form of protest but a simple, direct vocalisation of genuine upset
• Change your scenery by going out for a drive, you've probably heard the cliché about dads taking baby out in the car at midnight in their pyjamas - it can really work, and if not, at least it gives mum a break for an hour or so
• Some people believe cranial osteopathy can cure colic. Non-invasive therapy by a professional can certainly be worth trying if your baby has colic
• If your baby’s crying is getting too much to bear you may want to contact cry-sis a charity who can give support and advice to parents