Hello friends,
Congratulations to Alecia! She tried a few of my suggestions from previous posts and asked good questions too. Armed with the right information, she is helping her sweet baby learn to fall asleep on her own. Everyone is getting more sleep now! Super job!
It just reminds me that this doesn't have to be awful and miserable. You and your baby don't have to be sleep deprived forever!
So many parents just accept the fact that they are going to be exhausted and grouchy for years to come. You hear it from friends and family all the time. They may even joke about how you should "get some sleep now, because when the baby comes you'll never sleep again". Even congratulatory greeting cards emphasize this idea that parenting a newborn is just going to suck for awhile. It's depicted in movies, TV and even cartoons as an event that should just be accepted and looked at as something that everyone just inevitably goes through as a parent.
The truth is, it doesn't have to be like that. Yes, you are going to be sleep deprived for a few weeks, - unless you hire a Newborn Care Specialist - but it doesn't have to be your permanent state of existence.
You can plan on catching 30-90 minute naps for the first few weeks, especially if you are nursing, as babies require 8-12 feedings a day for a while. With a consultation from Gibson Newborn Services, your baby will be doing at least 4-hour stretches at night, by 4 weeks old. Most of my clients get 6-8 hours at night by 6-8 weeks old and 10-12 hours by 9-10 weeks. When you have good information and a plan of action, you can navigate through the tough part and know that your little one will be sleeping better and longer in a few weeks. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!
There is definitely a period of time that newborns require a great deal of attention, around-the-clock attention to be precise. By that point, most bleary-eyed parents are so overwhelmed that they fall into "unconscious parenting". They are merely surviving and doing whatever it takes to get from one hour to the next. Suddenly they find themselves with a 6 month old that doesn't sleep and is crabby much of the day. Wow, doesn't that sound like fun? No wonder the new parent stereotype exists!
Be prepared and plan ahead. If you can, get help like; a cleaning service, Newborn Care Specialist (commonly called a baby nurse), hire a chef or food delivery service or enlist the support of family and friends. Whatever you do, know that since the dawn of time, women all over this planet haven't been raising babies on their own with no help. You know the saying "it takes a village"? Well it's true. We weren't meant to do this all alone. Get support in ways that make you feel good about parenting and caring for your newborn.
For more information or to schedule a consultation please visit www.GibsonNewbornServices.com or call (866) 432-BABY.
Best wishes for happy, healthy, well-rested babies,
Cortney
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
5 month old needs music to fall asleep
Hello friends and Happy June!
Alecia sent in a question regarding her 5 month old daughter (see comments for her post).
First of all Alecia, congratulations on your success with sleep training! It's not easy to do and I commend you for teaching your child a very important lesson.
Alecia's question is about using music to help her baby fall asleep. This has become part of her bed time routine and now Mom wants to know if she should wean her baby from it.
I don't generally use music for sleeping, although babies can be taught to fall asleep to just about anything. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I teach.
From birth, I use a high quality white noise machine (available at http://www.gibsonnewbornservices.com/resources.htm) for all naps and night time to help my babies fall asleep on their own. This is a sound that babies already know, from being in utero. It's part of the 5 S's from the Happiest Baby on the Block and is essential for soothing newborns and helping them sleep longer.
Because her daughter is no longer a newborn, I think the use of music is fine, although you may find that transitioning to white noise will work too and is useful long-term. I have many clients who, for the most part, wean their babies off the white noise and then just use it as a buffer to block out the door bell, barking dog, etc.
As long as your baby can put herself back to sleep during the night without music, it's fine to use it as part of your bed time routine. If she is not sleeping 10-12 hours without assistance, that's another story altogether!
To be clear, all people (including babies) wake, briefly, several times at night and put themselves back to sleep. Most have no recollection of these waking events. So, if your baby needs a little reassurance when going to bed, but then doesn't need to be soothed, fed or helped back to sleep for 10-12 hours, using a little Mozart won't hurt a thing. It's part of the routine you taught her! We all have a night time ritual, whether you know it or not. Babies are no different. They need consistency and predictability in their routine (day and night).
As for weaning, you can turn the volume down and use it for less time every 3-5 days. If her reaction is negative, go back to the previous setting. Whatever you do, don't replace the music with rocking, feeding or anything that requires your help. She's doing great - don't sabotage yourself or your darling daughter!
Keep up the good work, Alecia and keep us posted on your progress!
For more information or to schedule a consultation, please visit www.GibsonNewbornServices.com or call toll-free at (866) 432-BABY.
Best wishes for happy & healthy babies,
Cortney
Alecia sent in a question regarding her 5 month old daughter (see comments for her post).
First of all Alecia, congratulations on your success with sleep training! It's not easy to do and I commend you for teaching your child a very important lesson.
Alecia's question is about using music to help her baby fall asleep. This has become part of her bed time routine and now Mom wants to know if she should wean her baby from it.
I don't generally use music for sleeping, although babies can be taught to fall asleep to just about anything. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I teach.
From birth, I use a high quality white noise machine (available at http://www.gibsonnewbornservices.com/resources.htm) for all naps and night time to help my babies fall asleep on their own. This is a sound that babies already know, from being in utero. It's part of the 5 S's from the Happiest Baby on the Block and is essential for soothing newborns and helping them sleep longer.
Because her daughter is no longer a newborn, I think the use of music is fine, although you may find that transitioning to white noise will work too and is useful long-term. I have many clients who, for the most part, wean their babies off the white noise and then just use it as a buffer to block out the door bell, barking dog, etc.
As long as your baby can put herself back to sleep during the night without music, it's fine to use it as part of your bed time routine. If she is not sleeping 10-12 hours without assistance, that's another story altogether!
To be clear, all people (including babies) wake, briefly, several times at night and put themselves back to sleep. Most have no recollection of these waking events. So, if your baby needs a little reassurance when going to bed, but then doesn't need to be soothed, fed or helped back to sleep for 10-12 hours, using a little Mozart won't hurt a thing. It's part of the routine you taught her! We all have a night time ritual, whether you know it or not. Babies are no different. They need consistency and predictability in their routine (day and night).
As for weaning, you can turn the volume down and use it for less time every 3-5 days. If her reaction is negative, go back to the previous setting. Whatever you do, don't replace the music with rocking, feeding or anything that requires your help. She's doing great - don't sabotage yourself or your darling daughter!
Keep up the good work, Alecia and keep us posted on your progress!
For more information or to schedule a consultation, please visit www.GibsonNewbornServices.com or call toll-free at (866) 432-BABY.
Best wishes for happy & healthy babies,
Cortney
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)