Safe sleep in winter

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="alignleft" width="150"] safe winter sleep[/caption]

Many new parents worry about safe sleep in winter.

Is baby too hot? Too cold? Is she/he at risk of smothering or SIDS? There are so many ideas, tips and old wives tales out there that it can be confusing. Babies who don’t sleep well with the onset of cooler weather may be too hot or too cold. No surprises there, but how do you make sure your baby is snug and warm, not too hot and safe as well?
If your baby is too cold, he or she may just not settle and get into as deep a sleep as usual. He or she may wake a bit more frequently than usual. You may find feeding is a little more frequent as they attempt to get warmth from feeding (warm milk)and a cuddle.
IF too hot, an older baby will become sweaty and possibly cranky. A newborn usually doesn’t sweat and has limited ability to create warmth. He or she will become very red looking and cranky and will feel very hot.
Your baby’s head is a large surface area that is used for temperature regulation when too hot particularly. Your baby’s hands and feet can be a little cool and not be a problem. Hands and feet also have a large surface area to help with cooling if too hot. Usually as long as their torso feels toasty that is the main guide for warmth.

 

Safe winter sleep guidelines:

• Use breathable, natural fibre clothing and bedding, preferably fire retardant. ( natural fibers like cotton and wool are also warmer)
• Dressing and wrapping baby in layers of thinner fabrics is much more effective than using one or two thick layers
• Keep open flames or heating elements well away from curtains or where blankets may fall on them
• Always supervise when any heating device is in use around little ones
• Expect your baby to be a little more thirsty if the room is warmed

 

 

When the weather cools down the idea of snuggling in bed with your baby is even more attractive. However, with our knowledge of SIDS, many parents are scared of having their baby in their bed with them in case they roll on them or endanger them in some way. But with those uncomfortable cold winter nights where no-one wants to get out from under their covers the temptation to have your baby in bed with you, even for the last sleep stint before you get up in the morning, can be really enticing. In fact, many parents inadvertently fall asleep at that last feed of the night and wake up in the morning thinking, “Oh, I wasn’t going to do that.”
If you do find your baby in bed with you there are things you can do to minimise risks to your baby and ensure your shared bed is a safe sleep space. Make sure that:
• Your baby is on top of your covers and has his or her own bed clothes( a sleeping bag works really well)
• Your mattress or bedding is firm
• Only one adult is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of your baby
• Your baby is in bed with safe sleepers – no one affected by sleeping tablets, drugs or alcohol
If you plan on co-sleeping with your baby, or just end up co-sleeping as the weather cools down, be sure to read my article on co-sleeping here safe sleep space  for more tips.
Hopefully these tips will help you get your baby sleeping through the night with this onset of colder weather.

 

Safe sleep in winter is just as important as any other time.

Need more help with your baby’s sleep?  Purchase my baby sleep ebook HERE  or  if you want to find out how to enjoy awesome days and blissful nights with your baby  go here   to find out more.

 

What your baby needs

 

Babies have become a marketers dream and shops are full of things that you apparently NEED to make either your life happier or easier and your baby’s life better through all these gadgets etc.

 
After feeding and sleep, babies really don’t need a lot of other stuff to be happy or to develop.

 
As you hold and talk to your baby he or she will learn listening, understanding, comprehension, trust, sharing and turn taking. Your baby watches you and his or her environment to learn how to interact with others, speech, touch and affection.
Most parents are surprised to hear that floor time is the most important thing their baby needs to enhance their physical development. On the floor, your baby strengthens their muscles, develops eye hand co-ordination, works out where they are in relation to the space they are in and they develop their bi-focal ability. He or she learns to move his or her body and has the ability of repetition to learn and refine their movements.
After feeding and sleep and rest, development, particularly floor time for physical development- is the next important thing.
The opportunity to do things over and over, some objects and a few simple toys are all your baby needs. Using swings, jolly jumpers, easy walker and other objects are not necessary for development. If they are used in abundance they can hinder physical development by limiting what they are exposed to. If you use any of these things, use them for short periods of time only. Ten minutes is plenty.
In addition, your baby doesn’t need a lot of objects to explore, hold, mouth and look at. Simple household items can be just as interesting to your baby as some bought items. Of ten parents will say that their baby enjoys a simple cheap household item much more than a carefully and specially bought more expensive item. Commonly, plastic cups, spoons, containers are just as fascinating for your baby.

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Physical movement through play helps your baby to stay healthy, keep their brain busy, develops senses and teach your baby that people care about them. Your baby’s needs are simple.

Brisbane Newborn baby sleep

 

Brisbane newborn baby sleep

 

There are different ways to help your baby to sleep. The benefits of sleep are great and our goal is to help you achieve our greatness through adequate sleep.  As with most things there is not one right way for sleep. We will help you achieve which is the best way for you Call us  and we will work it out together.  ONline, skype, phone or in person consults available.

[caption id="attachment_2259" align="alignleft" width="150"] Baby sleep your way for awesome days and peaceful nights[/caption]

Infant sleep longer

  How to help your infant sleep longer?

Newborn babies have a very pronounced and obvious startle reflex.  At each sleep cycle your baby may startle as part of the sleep cycle.

The startle reflex in babies disappears about 3 months of age. AFter this sleep cycles can become longer more regularly more easily.

 

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="alignleft" width="150"] About early tired signs and how they change in your quest for your baby's daytime sleep[/caption]

The difference between food allergy, sensitivity and intolerance.

As a general rule, any food that causes a noticeable uncomfortable reaction in either parent is a food that we would encourage you to avoid until your child is at least 12 months of age. To be clear though, just because you or your partner have a food reaction doesn’t mean your baby will.  Your baby may or may not have reactions to foods and may or may not have reactions to different foods to either of his parents.

Certainly there is a difference between a food allergy, food sensitivity and food intolerance.

Food sensitivities and intolerances are usually not life threatening and the child may grow out of them as they get physically bigger and their body can cope with larger quantities of different nutrients and particles.

Food sensitivity- person can usually have a small amount of certain foods but once they go over their own threshold they may have a reaction of some sort.  May be bloating, nausea, wind and pain, constipation or diarrhoea.

Food Intolerance- a cumulative effect that may build up over days or even weeks before you get any symptoms such as a rash or headache

True food allergies are the most important consideration . This is a response that can be reproduced EVERY TIME the person is exposed to that food and the reaction will happen within 2 hours of consuming the food.  An immune system response is triggered by these foods.   “Digestive signs and symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, cramping and diarrhea. Other signs and symptoms can include a tingling mouth, hives, and swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat. A life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis can cause breathing trouble and dangerously low blood pressure. If you have a food allergy, you'll need to avoid the offending food entirely. “(mayoclinic.com)

 An anaphylactic reaction  is when the body responds in such a strong way to a foreign protein- in this context it’s food- in such a way as to cause swelling of the airways which close off the trachea (windpipe) so that the person can’t breathe. It requires adrenalin to reverse it. Not all allergies will require adrenalin. With food intolerance and sensitivity it is not an immune system response.

The concern with allergy in recent years is that the number of these true allergies occurring worldwide is increasing exponentially. This is the area requiring ongoing research to find out and understand causes so we can prevent the occurrence increasing. It is a problem affecting Western cultures and becoming more prevalent in primitive cultures who are adopting Western culture.

Pollutants in our foods and general environments particularly over generations, appear  to be the likely cause.  The purity and goodness in our foods is even more important than ever before.  There is a strong growth towards natural and organic produce in part because of this growing problem.

Highly processed and commercialised foods have very little goodness left in them.  The best we can do is to get fresh foods and prepare them ourselves.  Even better is to grow our own vegie gardens.  Then we know exactly what is going into our food and bodies and there is better chance for us to be getting a more fuller nutrition.

When there are true allergies in the family it is wise to talk to someone who is expert in this field to get some guidance before stating solids.  It can be tricky and depends on which foods cause a reaction and what type of reaction.

 

 

How to have a happy daytime sleeper

Is daytime sleep for your baby a fight or

just non-existent? Are you wondering if this

is how it really is with a new baby and you

just need to "suck it up"?

I have news for you.




Mums are feeling happier, more free,

confident, empowered and really loving their

life with their new baby.  You can too when

you find out what they already know. Find out

how they also transformed from struggle and

stress in their day with their baby to

thriving and enjoying life again with

confidence.

All this from a few tweaks and learning

more about how their baby thinks and  what he

or she needs to thrive, remain healthy, grow

and be happy as a lark.

Imagine that is you feeling more empowered,

confident and relaxed as you also calmly

respond to your baby’s needs with a happy

relaxed baby as a result.

Join us and find out how those "other" mums

manage  so effortlessly with daytime sleep.

There is still time to book in to our webinar

on Wendesday 24th July at8 pm.

We'll talk all about  Daytime Sleep-Why won't

my baby sleep in the daytime even though

he/she is clearly tired?.

So book in, sit back in your pyjamas and hear

about Daytime sleep. And bring your

questions- there will time for answers as

well.

I look forward to seeing you on the call  on

Wednesday 24th July.

Wake up and be awesome

I have been working with a couple of families over the last few weeks where sleep, even though we had made progress in days, took a number of weeks to improve. If you are working on sleep for your baby- take heart that you do need to persevere with new habits for at least 2-3 weeks particularly if you are taking the slow gentle way. Babies will cry and protest any changes but with your support and reassurance will adjust. It is worth it because everyone is happier when it finally comes together.

Toddler sleeps

 

Toddlers respond really well to habits around sleep time especially evening sleep routines. A routine as simple as dinner, bath , story , bed can make a big difference to bedtime calmness.

 

A CONVERSATION ABOUT SLEEP CYCLES  and NEWBORN BABY SLEEP

 

[caption id="attachment_2204" align="alignleft" width="150"] Newborn sleep cycles[/caption]

 

It  does take a little to get your head around it but  in addition to other key points about sleep, it does help to make it easier to work out what is needed and why your bay is doing what he or she is doing.

 Then it is easier to work through the best way for you to help your baby sleep and to help your baby sleep enough so that he or she feels fantastic, is jumping out of his or her skin happy and life is so much more enjoyable with more fun time.

Her is a little about sleep cycles in a nutshell. 

We all have sleep cycles when we go to sleep. The cycles consist of a going off to sleep, deep sleep and then we come to a lighter sleep state.  Then it repeats. This is a very basic model of sleep cycles.

Generally the first cycle is shorter than subsequent cycles.  For very young babies- newborns, this can be as short as 20 minutes.  For adults about an hour is common for the first cycle.  Most of us have some sort of association for going off to sleep.   As adults we may have a drink of milk, read, have music on or have a favourite pillow. 

Babies can develop associations fairly early. Some associations can be helpful and some can start out being helpful then become unhelpful when the association is something the baby can’t do for themself.  One example would be using a dummy for the baby to go to sleep with.

Generally when we go to sleep , we go into a very short deep sleep and then come into our first light sleep. At this stage we subconsciously check our surroundings.  As adults this is when we may wake briefly and notice things happening around us. We might note that it is raining, the dog is barking, I’m cold or that your partner is not there. When we get into the second cycle is when we all get our deep restorative sleep.

With babies, it can be tricky.  When they come to their light sleep  they usually stir and can also have their eyes wide open, have a big cry that sounds like something is wrong and move their arms vigorously.  If you are unaware of light sleep and sleep cycles it is easy to misinterpret this as your baby being awake.  Afterall they look and sound awake. You may pick them up or talk to them without realising that they aren’t really awake. Often this is when babies’ “self settle” is interrupted and they have no chance of self settling. 

Pros and Cons of Sleeping With Your Baby

Co-sleeping is often confused with bed sharing.

As a definition, co-sleeping is defined as the infant sleeping in the same  room as the parent.

Bed sharing is defined as the parent and infant sharing the same sleep  surface such as a mattress or bed.

It is an individual choice as to what you do in regard to sleep and your  baby.

Some of the common arguments against co-sleeping  include:

Baby learns to be dependent on a parent and will not be able to sleep on  their own even as they mature into young children.

Parent does not get therapeutic sleep.

Partner sleeping in another bed due to disturbed sleep, thus causing  relationship difficulties.

Baby is more noisy at night and parents have disturbed sleep.

Other children feeling left out or jealous with new baby sleeping in parents  room.

Some arguments in favour of co-sleeping  include.

Baby is more settled at night and sleeps better due to close proximity of  parent.

Parent has less disturbed sleep in that they do not have to go far to respond  to infants' needs during the night.

Breastfeeding is enhanced due to close proximity to breast.

Infant-parent bonding is enhanced with close proximity and prompt response  enabling infant to learn trust.

Reduced incidence of SIDs

Commonly co-sleeping is promoted for the first 6-12 months of your  baby's life.

The guidelines include:

Sleeping your baby on their back

Ensure the surface your baby is sleeping on is firm. No sagging mattress,  couch, bean bag.

Ensure the bedding and clothing is unable to cover your baby's face.

Ensure your baby is not sharing a sleep space with soft toys, pets or other  children.

Do not push the mattress /sleep surface against the wall where there is a  risk that your baby may roll between it and the wall. Babies have suffocated  this way.

If you do choose to share a sleep surface with your baby the  following guidelines are encouraged.

If you are taking drugs that make you drowsy at all both prescribed, over the  counter (including alcohol) or illicit- Do not share a sleep surface with your  baby. This is because you may not be alert enough to respond to your baby and  ensure they are kept in a safe place with you. This includes the risk of rolling  on them, your baby rolling off the sleep surface, or under bedclothes.

Also if you are a very deep or restless sleeper it is also discouraged to  share a sleep surface with your baby for the same reasons as above. If you are a  smoker it is also discouraged because of the toxins on your breath.

Ensure your baby is always on the outside of the bed and not between you and  your partner. If one person is solely responsible for your baby that person is  more likely to respond to your baby and ensure their safety. If you both take  responsibility the risk is that you both could subconsciously think oh it's ok,  my partner is aware and will respond to our baby- I don't need to check on  him/her.

Ensure your baby has their own bedding. Do not put them under your bedding  because of the risk of them suffocating.

Do not wrap or swaddle your baby so arm and leg movement is not restricted. A  sleep bag for infants may work better or their own blankets with warm clothing.

Of interest is that primitive cultures often will share a bed  surface with young babies. They instinctively employ the majority of guidelines  outlined above.

Where your baby sleeps for both day and night sleep is an individual choice.  Some parents feel that co-sleeping is not for them for different reasons. If you  are concerned or confused with the options available to you find someone with  expertise in this area to run your thoughts by.

Leisa Breed has been assisting and supporting women and families in caring  for their newborns and up till the age of 4 years since 1993. She is a  registered nurse, midwife, child health nurse and lactation consultant.

She has a successful home visiting consulting business assisting families in  all aspects of newborn and toddler care. She is based in the beautiful area of  Brisbane's bayside suburb of Redland Bay. To find out more visit http://www.insyncwithinfants.com
©Leisa Breed- Insync with  infants

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