Best time to think about routines or habits for healthy baby sleep

Best time to think about routines or habits

[caption id="attachment_2460" align="alignleft" width="150"] sleeping baby[/caption]

Best time to think about routines or habits is once you get over the newborn adjustment phase and things are starting to settle down a little. For most new parents this is anywhere between about 3 and 8 weeks. For some it is even longer. There is no blanket right time for anyone- just when is right for you.

 
When I say think about , that is what I mean,- just start thinking about it. What is it you want for your routine in your day and what do you need for that to happen- realistically.

 
Of course we’d all love to have the nanny, cook, cleaner and general helper. Wouldn’t that be great- just like all those famous people do. Even if you could have just one of these just for one or two hours a week or month may be the answer for you.

 
It is individual so please don’t feel pressured into getting a routine as a lot of new parents do. This usually comes from well meaning others and is usually their way of trying to be supportive, show their interest and be helpful.

 
Most babies fall into a routine as you both fall into a pattern and learn about each other. For sleep, once the startle reflex has disappeared, it is more realistic to expect any routine to fall into place. Some will establish a routine as early as 3 months and sometimes sooner, others will take longer. Generally, the best time to really help your baby into routines or habits is between the ages of about 4 to 6 or 7 months of age.

 
Remember they are very clever little beings with skills and abilities that surprise us.

Healthy sleep habits

[caption id="attachment_2114" align="alignleft" width="150"] Early tired signs[/caption]

 

We have already talked about habits or routines. There are routines for bathing, feeding, changing and sleep to name a few. Mostly everything we do has developed into a pattern of activities whether you realise it or not.

It is possible to start developing helpful sleep habits from early days home from hospital. Most parents find this easier to do with second or third baby just because with the first one it is such a huge change to your daily life that trying to do this from day one is quite overwhelming.

 

Flexibility  and consistency is key. Generally if you have an idea of what you’d like  your baby’s sleep habits to be from birth that is great. If you remain flexible with it but still have the main goal in mind you will get there.

 

Newborns are immature and all sorts of things affect them- some we don’t even realise. Expecting your baby to fit into your idea of what he or she should do at any given time will probably end up in tears.

 

Healthy sleep habits are those that fit in with natural principles of sleep, are respectful of individuals and are activity based rather than strict and rigid.  It includes choice of bedding and sleep clothing, the environment for your baby to sleep in and timing of sleep so your baby is as relaxed as possible to go off to sleep rather than over tired, overwhelmed, over stimulated and cranky and so needing a lengthy time to unwind before going to sleep.

 

Healthy sleep habits often mean the difference between peaceful, restful sleep  resulting in a relaxed happy baby and a cranky baby who struggles with sleep every time. When your baby is relaxed and happy often so is everyone else.

Sleep associations & healthy baby sleep

Sleep associations

 

[caption id="attachment_2523" align="alignleft" width="150"] healthy baby sleep[/caption]

 

When we talk about healthy sleep, how sleep works and how to maximise sleep for anyone not only your baby, knowing about sleep associations is an important part of it all.  Knowing about sleep associations will help you trouble shoot sleep problems and get you the sleep you are after.

Sleep associations come into play in light sleep states. Generally if what was happening when you  went to sleep isn’t happening in light sleep, you will usually wake up because the trigger for sleep isn’t there any more. This is a sleep association.

Basically the thing that is associated with sleep usually needs to be there  at light sleep to give that signal that it is still sleep time. Remember light sleep is usually just a lighter consciousness ideally, Not a complete wake up.

For your baby the same applies.  This is often one of the main reasons that  your baby may at times wake up after a short time and need help to get back to sleep again.

Once your baby knows about sleep  this is not such a big factor. When learning about sleep it is a bigger influence.

Sleep associations can be termed helpful or unhelpful. As long as they are working they are helpful. When they are not, they are unhelpful.  Sleep associations can start out being helpful and then change into being unhelpful after a time.  As your baby grows and matures what once was helpful may become unhelpful. This is how some sleep difficulties inadvertently come around.

 

Young babies will usually require a number of  things to help him or her sleep. When you use a number of things for sleep some of them may eventually be unhelpful and some will always remain helpful.  If there are a few associations we can wean off the unhelpful ones when they are no longer helpful. In this way you still have helpful ones so you are not trying to start something new at a time that is stressful for everyone.

Night time routine

Night time routine

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="alignleft" width="150"] night time sleep routine[/caption]

 

Most new parents find their baby’s night time wakings a rude shock to the system.  They quickly find out that the tiredness you experience as a parent is very different to the tiredness you feel as a partying young adult with no children. As a parent there is no night off, and no sleep in the next day either! Think about going out partying late into the night every night and then getting up to go to work and trying to perform at your job - every day. You would probably not be looking, feeling or performing at your best.  Sleep deprivation can impact on your mood, health, judgement, decision making and so many other important skills. Any parent will tell you there are no days off, so it is essential to minimise the disruption to a good night’s sleep.

 

Babies are immature little beings who wake at night for any number of reasons, importantly they need night feeds until around six months of age. We understand this and accept it.  You can streamline night time wakings by developing night time habits that assist everyone to go back to sleep easier.

 

Five top tips to minimise night time waking:

 

1. Swaddling - Swaddling newborns if they are in their own cot or bassinet is the number one tool to help babies sleep at night.  This would be our most important habit to use to help your night time get better.

 

2.  Low lights - Only turn on the light if you really need to. Keep lights down low so that you keep baby as drowsy as possible so that he or she hopefully settles easily at the end of the feed.

 

3. Avoid changes -  Only change nappy if you need to. If you are using disposables be aware they are designed to soak up a lot of fluid. Your may be able to go all night comfortably without a change.

 

4. Quiet - Use a gentle, calm, soft and quiet voice and keep talking to a minimum.

 

5. Avoid play time at night -   Remember just because your baby is ready for play doesn’t mean you have to play with them. Let your baby play if he or she wants- you don’t have to join in. There is plenty of opportunity to play during the day. By reducing stimulation it encourages your baby to settle back to sleep easier.
There are a number of habits you can employ to foster a helpful nighttime routine. These top tips are a great place to start. For more information get one of our resources here-    http://insyncwithinfants.com/baby-sleep/

What is a sleep routine?

[caption id="attachment_2513" align="alignleft" width="150"] What is a sleep routine[/caption]

 

Do you cringe when you hear the word “routine” in regard to babies? In the past strict rule-driven advice, particularly around sleep, has been associated with negative outcomes. That is not what we are encouraging any more. So if you love the idea of a baby routine you can stop feeling guilty!

 

When we talk about babies and routine people often have visions of strict time frames of when your baby will feed, sleep, bath, etc.   Really, a routine with your baby is more a pattern than a schedule. While it will certainly happen that sometimes you will do  the same thing with your baby at the same time, we’d prefer that you think of routines as patterns of activity rather than being held strictly to time. As your baby grows the timing will be more do able. However in the beginning, habits work better usually.

Why should you avoid a time based schedule for your baby?

 

Babies don’t know how to tell time!

 

If your expectation is to do the same thing every day at the same time with your baby, you may be setting yourself up for some unhappy and frustrating days. There will definitely be a few babies who are very laid back and fit into a time based pattern.  However it is our experience that this is the exception rather than the norm. Most times when you try to make your baby fit into a timeframe for your ideal day, the result is tears for both of you.

 

When we talk about a sleep routine  for your baby we are encouraging you to set up habits around sleep that create a predictable, familiar pattern for your baby rather than sticking to a strict time driven routine. Habits come about by doing the same thing over and over again. Most adults have developed habits around everything they do including washing, dressing, folding, packing, eating and yes even sleeping. Mostly we don’t even realise it.

 

Creating a sleep routine actually means setting up habits around sleep so that your baby knows that when you do certain things it is sleep time. When your expectation is shifted to a pattern of activity with some flexibility rather than a set time, your day usually flows better and life is easier.