Never wake a sleeping baby - myth or truth?

Hello friends,

I often hear parents, caregivers and especially grandparents saying "you should never wake a sleeping baby". Is this true or just a gross error in judgement that previous generations have been passing down to their children? My answer depends on the circumstances surrounding the decision to wake or not wake a sleeping baby, but here are some guidelines.

I believe ALL babies should be awakened to feed every three hours during the daytime until around 4 months old. Nursing babies and babies under 6 pounds may even need to feed every two hours, but NOT longer than three.

If you just let a baby sleep as long as he wants, he'll sleep all day and eat all night. If you consistently wake him to feed every 3 hours after a nice, restorative nap, he will soon start sleeping longer stretches at night. Essentially, he will figure out the difference between day and night!

Once a baby is nursing well, has regained his birthweight and is over 6 pounds, he can eat at night only when he wakes on his own. In other words, don't wake a healthy, weight-gaining, sleeping baby at night.

Ideally, a 4 week old should be eating at 7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm, 11 pm, and 3 am. Nurslings may still need to eat every 3 hours around-the-clock or may cluster feed in the evening.

For a customized plan for you and your baby, along with tips for less crying and more sleeping, call me today! It's the six year anniversary of the start of Gibson Newborn Services and to celebrate, we are offering 20% off consulting services. Call us today for sleep tonight!

Best wishes for happy, healthy, well-rested babies,

Cortney

Understanding sleep training

Hello friends,

Have you heard of "sleep training"? It's a popular term that has been floating around for years. It's becoming more and more clear to me that most people really have no idea what "sleep training" is. Doctors, authors, parents and even supposed sleep trainers are all talking about baby sleep training and they are usually wrong.

Undoubtedly, the biggest misconception is that sleep training and "cry it out" are the same thing. They are not the same thing, not even close. It's true that some sleep training might involve some level of crying, but not all sleep training involves crying, just as, not all crying is sleep training.

Gibson Newborn Services specializes in early sleep training and teaching healthy sleep habits without crying. For babies under 4 months, sleep training is simply about avoiding bad habits and instilling good ones. Unfortunately, for older babies who have not been taught to fall asleep on their own, sleep teaching often requires some crying and even CIO. The older the baby is, the harder and harder it is to teach good sleep habits. Call us start off on the right foot!

So the next time someone tries to tell you that sleep training is a bad thing or is all about crying and ignoring your baby's needs, you can correct them. With our gentle method, babies are sleeping 10-12 hours by 12 weeks old. The side effects of this are; continued breast-feeding success, less post-partum depression, little to no crying, and happy, well-rested babies and parents. We don't withhold feedings, ignore baby's needs or force them to sleep.

Beware of sleep trainers who want to allow your 0-12 week old baby to cry for extended periods of time or who advise putting your baby to sleep on his belly. Babies should be getting 8-12 feedings a day until they regain their birthweight. Then they should be fed at least 5 times during the day and fed when they wake at night (1-3 times).

If you are seeking professional advice about newborn care or sleep training, call the experts, we're here to help!

Best wishes for healthy sleep and happy babies,

Cortney