Feed-Play-Sleep

Feed-play-sleep is a parenting mantra that is misunderstood by many! This concept came about to give new parents a framework to help manage their baby’s care and to give some sort of routine to their day.

The concept is for those who really need some sort of structure in their lives to help them make sense of their day (the parent I am talking about here).

 

Most new parents arrive home from hospital with their baby, look at each other and ask, “now what?” Feed-play-sleep is the answer.

 

Basically Feed-play-sleep is a way to separate feeding from sleep for newborns so that feeding is not a strong cue that your baby becomes reliant on for sleep. Babies are learning from birth. The order of their day is something that some babies learn quickly, while others are more flexible.

 

Some babies who learn that feeding comes before sleep can have difficulty sleeping. These baby’s parents struggle to help their baby get adequate restful sleep. Because feeding has become a sleep cue their baby wakes frequently with a short sleep cycle and thinks he or she needs to feed to go back to sleep again.

 

Hence Feed-play-sleep came about to help parents manage their routine for better outcomes for all.

 

Baby gets better quality sleep and learns helpful habits for sleep, gets really good feeds at feed time and is happier. Parents are not feeling like they are always turning around to feed or put baby to sleep.

 

Feed-play-sleep is not something that all parents use or resonate with. As with everything we discuss at Insync with Infants- it is another concept that is available to help you make sense of life with a new baby when lots of things just don’t make sense yet.

 

Feed-play-sleep can be confusing because your baby will not always feed every time he or she is awake. This is the bit that often causes confusion and frustration. As your baby grows and matures, the number of feeds a day often reduces. As your baby learns about sleep separately from feeding he or she will also have some times when he or she will have a short sleep, have a short play time and have a another sleep without the need for feeding. In all of these instances just follow your baby’s lead. As you learn their behaviours it will become easier.

 

If you would like some practical assistance, tailored to you, Insync with infants has home visits or skype consults available to help you with this confusing time.

 

Please email us your enquiry at Leisa@insyncwithinfants.com.