Time to Share!

With the time change this Sunday, I found this article on Baby Center I would like to share. "How time changes, vacations, and temperament will affect your baby's schedule"

When should you start sleep training

Teaching your baby good sleep habits should be done as early as they know the difference between day and night. “By three months, sleep habits are fairly set,” says Dr. Mindell, so it’s crucial to start sleep training before this age. You don't want to  impose anything strict on a newborn. They are confused enough, don't add to the confusion. Give them a few weeks to adjust.

The first part of sleep training which is a bedtime routine, can be done as soon as they get over the initial day/night confusion. For some babies this can be as fast as 2 weeks for others it can take up to 8 weeks. Sleep training while a baby is still confused about day and night can be a set up for failure. A baby is not going to want to lay down to sleep at 8pm when they have been sleeping all day and now they think it's time to play. Help them out. Remind your baby daytime is for playing by keeping blinds open, t.v on, carry on normal conversation and wake the baby up to eat regularly. The opposite goes at night. Quiet voices, dim lights, or lullaby. A sound soother like this one works great to calm a newborn down at night.

After your baby starts spending more time awake during the day and settling down at night, they are ready for a bedtime routine which is going to be at the same exact time every night. Make up a routine that works best for you and your baby. Perhaps a song, massage and story, or anything else your baby likes. Then put your baby to bed awake...yes awake. You want to start good habits straight from the beginning. Remember how you put your baby to sleep is how they will expect to fall asleep when they wake up in the middle of the night. So if you put your baby to sleep awake, and she falls asleep on her own, then she will do the same in the middle of the night. Meaning you won't have to get up to put her back to sleep. Now remember at this point you will still need to get up for feedings. It is too early to wean your baby off of night time feedings, but you are working towards a goal of them just waking for feedings and nothing else. And when they are ready to sleep through the night without any feedings, they will have the skill necessary to fall asleep on their own and stay asleep.


The next part of sleep training is getting your baby to sleep through the night without any feedings, if they are ready of course. Now the age for this varies, and the best person to ask is your Pediatrician. They know your baby best. In order to start weaning your baby off of night-time feedings, they have to be steadily gaining weight, growing in height and not have any medical conditions. Most pediatricians says anywhere from 4-6 months, a baby is ready to sleep through the night without any feeds. And at this point you can start testing your baby to see if they are truly hungry or just using you for comfort. See how to tell the difference here (under hunger). Now just because some babies are ready at this age doesn't mean they will sleep through the night. So don't give up on sleep training just because your baby is not sleeping all the way through. If you are doing everything right and your baby is still only waking up to eat, then that is completely normal. Remember it's not until 9 months that 70-80% of babies sleep through without any feeds. 

Remember that sleep training is not easy and it will never be perfect. Here are some bumps your are going to hit along the road, during the first year. 

0-2 months

• Day/night confusion.-Your baby's sleep-wake cycle doesn't start to develop until 6 weeks, and it's  not completely regular until 3-6 months

• Your baby won't start producing enough melatonin, the hormone that helps us sleep, until about 3 months.Getting to sleep and staying sleep will take major work at this age.

• Your baby will also hit their first 3 growth spurts during this time (1 week, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks)

3-4 month

• First sleep regression. Baby is learning new skills, rolling, turning, kicking and wants to practice even at night when they should be sleeping.

• 3 month growth spurt.

5-7 months

• Sitting. Babies love to practice sitting especially when you lay them down to sleep.This will pass once they have mastered the skill.

• 6 month growth spurt

7-9 months

• Crawling.

• 2nd sleep regression. Babies loves practicing their emerging skills like crawling in their sleep. It's going to be hard to get him to sleep. Be patient once they figure out the skill they are practicing, they  will go back to a normal sleep schedule.

• Babies also understand object permanence at this age. Meaning they know something exists even when its not in sight. So when they wake up at night they miss you and might be looking for you.

9-10 months

• Separation anxiety starts to peak. It's going to be hard for your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep some nights. Especially when you come back from a party or event, where there were unfamiliar faces, your baby will be nervous about separating from you.

• Standing. Your going to lay your baby down and up to a standing position they go. If they are standing up just to practice, this will go away once they mastered the skill. 

11-12 months 

• Language development. Babies are thinking of words they have learned, and may be practicing them in their heads, instead of sleeping.

• 12 month regression. Babies are learning to walk and this can carry over into sleep.

• At this age your baby also will most likely fight everything you ask them to do, especially if it's something they don't want to do, this includes napping and bedtime. Babies at this age like to test you, now that they are discovering that what they do has an effect on your reaction. You might of had a very easy baby up until this point, but now they are fighting being put down every time.

Bragging Moms

Ugh... those annoying bragging moms. Now I'm not talking about about proud moms. There's a difference. We are all proud of our babies, as we should be. I am talking about the moms that constantly boast, brag, and make you feel like you and your baby are inadequate .We all know those moms right? The ones that have conversations that go something like this: "My Johnny was sleeping through the night at 2 weeks. He cut his first tooth at 3 months. And started walking at 6 months" ...Yea ok, and let me guess, he said hippopotamus at 12 months!?!

First of all, if someone is telling you that their baby is sleeping through the night at such a young age. Like they are expecting to get some sort of badge of honor for that. They really need to be put in check and reminded that most babies are not ready to sleep through the night until at least the age of 4 months (4-6 depending on what professional you ask.) It is especially dangerous not to feed your baby for more than 3 hours in the first few weeks of life, 4hrs if you formula feed. A baby needs to eat at least 8-12 times a day for the first month, meaning every 2-3 hours. You actually have to wake your baby if he is not waking to eat, so that she doesn't get dehydrated and blood sugar doesn't fall too low. A baby's stomach is so small. It doesn't hold much and it doesn't take long for it to completely empty again. I'm sure the conversation would change quickly if you present these facts.

People love to brag, why? because they think it makes them look like better parents. They like to make themselves look like parents of the year. As if sleeping through the night, early teeth and walking had anything to do with them or their parenting. It has nothing to do with parenting! Its all part of nature. You can facilitate sleeping through the night but the huge factor lies within the baby's natural ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, at an age when they are good and ready. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it's not until 9 months, 70-80% of babies start sleeping through the night.

I had someone once tell me their baby was walking at 6 months. So your child is the child that's in the Guinness world book of records?  The only child ever recorded to walk that early? I don't even think people realize the nonsense that comes out of their mouth. The normal range for walking is anywhere from 9-18 months. And the majority of babies don't take their first steps until after their first Birthday. I don't know why people brag about this anyway. I'm not in a rush to have my baby walk. I want to spend more time cuddling with her, rather than chasing after her.

And whats with the first tooth thing? So your baby is cooler than mine because she got her first tooth? Really? What are you bragging about? because you had NOTHING to do with tooth eruption either. Your not a better parent because your child had their first tooth super early. Unless that tooth is made of gold you have nothing to brag about. Every child is different, and develops at different stages. In a few months my baby will have teeth, just like yours.

There is no need to drive yourself nuts over what these kind of moms are saying, and trying to compare your baby to theirs. Chances are, they are not being 100% honest. Since you can't prove whether or not they are telling the truth, the polite thing to do is let it go in one ear and out the other.What's the point of starting an argument over something that might not even be true. If a bragging mom is really getting under your skin, here are some funny comebacks. You also have the choice of not conversing with that person. Why talk to someone that's not  going to be honest with you about their experiences and constantly puts you or your baby down. If you can, avoid these type of moms all together. If you can't, then just simply let them know that you are proud of your child's development and they still have a ways to go to erupt teeth and walk. As far as sleeping through the night, tell them you don't mind waking up at night, it gives you more opportunity to bond with your baby. Make something positive out of the situation. It might stop them from being so annoying!

Every baby is so different. Yes, some do achieve their milestones very early. They walk early, talk early and even sleep through the night early. You should be proud of your little one. However, it is completely unfair to make someone feel like their baby is inadequate because yours hit the milestones early. Perhaps your baby walked early, but will talk very late. It's better to bite your tongue, especially around people who may be struggling with their baby. Babies grow and develop differently. That's why there are such huge age ranges for developmental milestones. Listen to medical professionals on when your baby should reach certain milestones, not Jonhnny's mom.Your pediatrician will let you know when your baby is delayed in an area of development, but chances are you have plenty of time to enjoy watching your baby explore. If you are not sure if your baby is hitting her milestones on time. There is an awesome chart on Baby Center. It shows what most kids at a certain age can do, what half of kids can do, and what very few kids at that age can do. So you can have a good and honest comparison of how your baby stacks up. Here's the chart, just click on your child's age group http://www.babycenter.com/baby-milestones

And if you could use a good laugh about this topic. Take a look at this  "The Humble Brag".

Time to share!

In effort to keep up with my blog, every week or so I will be posting something I would like to share with you. Something that I have come across in the midst of all my crazy research, that I found helpful.

This week I'm sharing a free audio recording I got from sleep specialist Dana Obleman. It answers all your most common sleep questions. Such as: At what age should my child be sleeping through the night?  Should I be using a pacifier to help my baby fall asleep? and many more. Check it out http://www.sleepsense.net/answers/

And if your are interested in getting a free customized sleep report.
www.sleepsense.net