Settling 8 week old baby

Settling 8 week old.

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="alignleft" width="150"] 8 week old baby's daytime sleep[/caption]

A lot of people wonder what it takes and means to settle a young baby gently, supportively and appropriately. This mum was exhausted, feeling like postnatal depression was at the door, partner works away (4weeks away, 2 weeks home) family interstate, no friends with babies and struggling with baby getting only about an hour of sleep each day, using the swing and feeding for each sleep and not getting out of the house.

We had built sleep first and today we were trying to settle in the cot for the first time.
Here is the outline of what we did this morning with an 8 week old baby to help her settle.

It went like this:-
8;10 in cot, mum left room, baby quiet awake
8:17 baby starting low level whinge, mum in to calm and soothe. Mum thought maybe windy after feed so picked up baby to burp. No burp, back in cot.
Mum gently patting baby’s hip/chest as baby whinging.
8:23 Baby quiet in cot, mum sits in chair in room
8:34 Baby starts whinging- mUm puts hand on chest gently to reassure and calm.
8:37 baby quiet in cot.
8:41 baby asleep in cot. mum leaves room
Magic!!
Go to insyncwithinfants.com for free tips to get your baby’s sleep on the right track for success.

Please share far and wide to help others get these results too.

NIGHT TIME SLEEP AND SETTLING

NIGHT TIME SLEEP AND SETTLING

We’ve talked about day sleep and evening routine for sleep as being important for good restorative sleep that occurs easily. What about over night or during the night when sleep doesn’t happen??

[caption id="attachment_2326" align="alignleft" width="150"] building better night sleep[/caption]

What we talked about for day sleep and evening routine are still important for night time to go smoothly. Remember day sleep affects night sleep etc. It is a cycle.

 Usually by following the principles of sleep which are to catch early tired signs, give your little one a chance to self settle, then help if he or she needs it, combining that with evening routine on time, mostly night time falls into place easily.

 It is much easier to work on sleep during the day so we focus on that first and then if night is still a problem we address that. Repetition is one of the important keys to improving night time sleep. Sometimes we only tweak a few things and it falls into place. Other times it does take quite some effort. It is important not to give up.

Some insights for you.  If your little one is waking frequently in the night, it usually means that he or she is still over tired. The first we would do is look at what time he or she goes to bed.  This includes looking at his or her behaviours and cues to make sure we are getting the timing of tired signs better. We would also look at what is happening for day sleep. Remember they all go hand in hand.

 

Do your emotions really affect your baby’s sleep?

Have you experienced this:-
You are tired, your baby is crotchety and just won’t settle, you feel frazzled and just can’t seem to find that magic solution to calm your baby despite trying everything and then someone suggests that maybe you aren’t coping? Perhaps you have postnatal depression?

[caption id="attachment_2319" align="alignleft" width="150"] Baby can't sleep[/caption]

For a lot women this just adds fuel to the fire. All you want is some understanding and support and you get blame. All of a sudden it’s your fault that your baby is unsettled. How is that fair?
For many this is real. There are many who think for themself, “Maybe I do have postnatal depression” without anyone else suggesting it. In fact the majority of women consider this at some time in the early weeks and months with their baby.
Our emotions affect our interactions everyday of our lives. When we are happy and relaxed, feeling confident and that we have control and influence over our lives, we function extremely well. It’s when this falls down that we may not feel confident and effective in our abilities and responsibilities. This includes our reactions to others including our baby and children and partner.
The reality is that yes your emotions do affect your baby in ways that may interfere with your baby’s sleep. Your emotions affect how you interact with adults why wouldn’t it affect your baby? When you are exhausted, working 24 hours a day as a new parent as well as doing all the other things expected of you it is easy to become reactive rather than responsive.
Your baby responds to your tone of voice, the tension in your muscles and the movements of your actions. Your baby will pick up on any tension way before you will simply because he or she is on the receiving end and knows you better than you know yourself.
Not everyone who has questions about their emotional health with a new baby will have or develop postnatal depression. Some will yes, but not all. For most women the transition to having and caring for a new baby is challenging, draining and confounding for the first few months. Those who have the support, guidance and care of family and friends to support through this transition, not surprisingly do better than those struggling all on their own. It is unrealistic for anyone to perform optimally in a job 24 hours a day, yet we expect this of women with a new baby.
So come on people, next time you think you or someone else may be experiencing difficulty managing with their new baby, offer support not judgement. Have the conversation- How can I help you? What will make a difference to you? If it is you wondering if you may be having difficulty- have the conversation with your family and friends. Tell them what you need- Ask for it. Work out a way you can get it.
It’s imperative we look after mums.

Little known baby sleep secrets

[caption id="attachment_2252" align="alignleft" width="150"] Brisbane baby sleep tips[/caption]

Now is the time for you  to take care of yourself if you are not already- this means time out just for you. Do something you enjoy.

 

It may be gym, walk, swim, knit, sew, read, coffee with friend, window shop, crosswords, music- You need to do something for you. It’s about self care, self respect, self value and generally taking care of your self and showing others including your baby that you respect yourself and value yourself.  This is so that your children grow up learning to respect you and themselves too and that you respect yourself too.  Your children learn from you from day one- they are watching you every minute of every day and know you better than you know yourself.

 

Remember when you feel taken care of, it fills your bucket of giving and you are a better person in all aspects of your life.

Remember you are not just a mother.  Being a mother is a new role that you have taken on. It is not your only role.

Taking time for you does not mean that you love your children less.  It means that you love them more because you have more to give.

Little known Breastfeeding Facts for success

[caption id="attachment_2306" align="alignleft" width="150"] Breastfeeding secrets of lactation consultants[/caption]

 

Most babies will feed very soon after birth and it goes very well.
Probably the most confusing thing for parents particularly, is that after the first feed sometimes it can seem like your baby doesn’t know what to do and can’t find the nipple again. Your baby may cry, get on the nipple, come off, cry again, move his or head mouth over, on, around the nipple, come off , cry and repeat a number of times.
For us looking on, it can be a bit frustrating. We think “ just get on, you are on it, just close your mouth and suck”.

This is all normal behaviour and is just your baby imprinting on the nipple, finding his or her way to the nipple, co –ordinating the suck and generally just imprinting into his or her brain abut feeding. The important thing is to be patient and let your baby go through this. He or she will get it again. If you try to force it by pushing your baby’s head onto the nipple it won’t work. Your baby will push back against what ever is touching the back of his or her head. Support the head if you need to but never force them.
Most babies don’t like the back of their head being touched . In fact most people don’t like the back of their head being push so it is easy to understand .
Often during this time a lot of babies will move their head back and just look at their mother, at the world around them and generally take it in. This is another time when I see a lot of parents be impatient and think something is wrong. It is not wrong, just your baby getting a handle on thing around him or her. Let your baby look around, do their thing and within a few minutes they will usually look for a feed again.
Sometimes, your baby will try to feed, get frustrated, have a little sleep and then wake up after 30-120 seconds and look for the nipple again. All this is normal. Sometimes they may have a little sleep a couple of times and then wake up and have a try. In normal circumstances this is normal and will pass. Sometimes it may take up to 20 minutes of on and off , looking around to get on, this is all normal especially if your baby was crying and distressed for quite some time before the feed.
Allow baby to bob his head around on your nipple. It may take him a little while to get there, but if he can do it himself , he will achieve a much better latch usually. Everyone needs to be patient at this time and allow your baby time to do his or her thing. If we take the pressure off around feeding for your baby, it usually helps it go much smoother.

Patience is key for breaastfeeding success.