How do sleep cycles affect your baby's sleep?

Most of us are aware of sleep cycles. As adults we have learned to sleep from one cycle to the next
without any fuss or trouble.

 

The exception may be if it is raining heavily outside or storming, a dog is barking or there is something very different to normal happening at night. this is when we may wake up between sleep cycles and check out what is going on. As adults we usually can go back to sleep easily.

 

Your baby also has sleep cycles. Newborns have quite short cycles- as short as 20 minutes. As your baby grows the sleep cycles lengthen gradually. Babies often wake up between cycles and this is a normal part of newborns. It doesn’t always mean they have to be entertained when he or she wakes, just that it is the break form one cycle to the next.

 

The waking that you see between short cycles is not always actual waking. With newborns, that waking may just be a light sleep between cycles. This is the bit that often trips people up:

 

New parents are so in love with their baby and so committed to be the best parent they can, not harming their baby and ensuring their baby gets everything they could possibly need, parents often inadvertently misinterpret light sleep for wake and wake up their baby when they probably needed to go back to sleep and weren’t really awake at all.

 

This can be really tricky and can be quite confounding to begin with. As time goes on it will be easier to work out when your baby needs to go back to sleep and when he or she is ok to stay awake for some play or talk time.

Are day time and night time really that different for baby sleep?

Does your baby seem to fight day sleep, refusing to nap?
Have you heard that you absolutely MUST make your baby’s day and night sleep very different so that he or she learns the difference between day and night sleep?
Have you tried to make day and night different and it is still not working?

 

Babies with mixed up sleeping patterns, partying all night and napping all day, are a common problem for new parents. I often hear new parents say they have to make day and night sleep different for the baby. They want their babies to know the difference between night and day to help everyone have a good, restful nights sleep.

If you are trying to make day and night sleep different for your baby - STOP!

Your energy is better spent in other ways.

 

You don’t need to do things differently for day and night sleep

Being consistent about sleep is more important. Sleep routines and sleep cues help to get your baby to sleep easily and in a more reliable pattern. Your baby already can tell there is a difference between day and night just from different noises and noise levels, activity levels, light and dark and temperature to name a few.You already do things differently at night to day. There is no need to make a bigger issue out of it.

 

Have you heard these common myths about day sleep, naps and night sleep?
- She is sleeping too much! That’s why she doesn’t sleep at night!
- He won’t sleep because he’s bored! You need to wear him out during the day!

 

These baby sleep myths need to be busted. Your baby needs lots of good day sleep to sleep well at night. Babies don’t get bored, but they do get overstimulated easily. Both of these myths lead to overtired, overstimulated babies who don’t sleep well at night. Understanding sleep will help when well meaning friends and relatives offer this kind of advice to improve your baby’s sleep.
Learn more about Baby Sleep Click here

Why doesn’t anyone talk about the ‘ how’ of bottle feeding?

Why doesn’t anyone talk about the ‘ how’ of bottle feeding?

[caption id="attachment_2553" align="alignleft" width="150"] breastmilk Dad feeding[/caption]

 

Breastfeeding and the benefits of breast milk are becoming more and more accepted and promoted worldwide. There have been and still are a number of initiatives to increase the number of women breastfeeding.

 

But where are the campaigns to educate formula feeding mums on safe and healthy feeding? The feeling is that formula and bottle feeding is now taboo and any education around it is frowned upon. So how did this come about when only a few years ago formula feeding was the norm?

 

The World Health Organisation, Unicef, Ottowa charter, IBFAN and many more organisations, committees and groups are doing their best to increase breastfeeding rate worldwide. As a part of this push there have been many programs and initiatives developed to promote and support breastfeeding. These organisations are attempting to undo the myths and  inaccuracies ingrained in thinking about infant feeding that came into being with the industrial age. Before we got better with research and expanding our knowledge about breastmilk and breastfeeding the myth that formula was better for babies took hold.

 

As a part of this breastfeedings push the ‘Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative’ was developed. This was mainly to assist birthing units to encourage breastfeeding. One of the guidelines on this initiative is to have no promotion of bottle feeding or formula at all. As a consequence of this any teaching about how to bottle feed, including cleaning bottles, and choosing formula was also stopped as a routine part of postnatal teaching.

 

Breastfeeding rates have increased. Many more women are commencing breastfeeding with every intention to sustain it. However, these women are coming up against challenges that they find hard to overcome, so breastfeeding continuation rates drop rapidly when women and their babies go home from hospital. Because of short post-birth hospital stays, women are often home alone with little support or expert knowledge to draw on to help manage  and understand normal changes in  breastfeeding development (here is last week's article http://insyncwithinfants.com/when-your-milk-isnt-good-enough-myth-or-truth/ ).

 

They feel overwhelmed and have no idea how to manage these changes, are exhausted and just want to make sure their baby is getting what  he or she needs. Hence they  reach for  need for bottles and possibly formula (our previous  webinar re: quittingis still available for  small fee). These women feel added pressure of trying to make the best choices without any guidelines as to which formula or bottles and teats to choose for them.

 

Even if you choose to not breastfeed from the beginning, there is limited trusted education around because of the “taboo” choice of formula feeding.

 

The hospital system and related pre/post natal support services really do not support new mothers very well at all. Both expecting perfection of them and not providing the expert support and education to support them through decision making and learning in a complex,  highly politically correct and pressured world.

 

Insync with Infants believes that babies need to eat - whether from a breast, a bottle or a little of both. For support with breastfeeding, formula feeding, mixed feeding or introducing solids visit here to find out how we could help you too    -  http://insyncwithinfants.com/in-home-services/

When your milk isn’t good enough- Myth or truth??

[caption id="attachment_2549" align="alignleft" width="150"] Breastmilk is always good[/caption]

Many years ago, I went to followup and support one of my very first breastfeeding clients. The day before I had spent hours helping her with breastfeeding, educating her about how it works and basically aiming to grow her confidence in breastfeeding as she hadn’t breastfeed her first 3 children and wanted to give this a go.

 

The next morning she opened the door of her house with “binding” around her breasts.

Why?

Her mother had arrived the night before to help and told her her milk wasn’t good enough and she had to stop the milk and give her baby bottles of formula. This was on about day 5 or 6 of life.  I felt like crying and yelling at the same time- Of course I did neither- just kept my cool and accepted her decision and tried to inform both of them about breastmilk and breastfeeding, (she had a great supply too), which fell on deaf ears.

 

So many times I have heard this statement-” I had to stop because my milk wasn’t good enough”.  This is a myth. There is absolutely no truth to this statement. Any breastmilk is good. It would have to be the greatest health food on the planet.

 

Talk about super foods??? This is the number one super food of all.  Nothing in my mind can match it.

 

It has antioxidants, antibodies, growth hormones. It has every vitamin, mineral and trace element that a human being needs to not only survive but thrive.

 

Breastmilk is made with all the right ingredients in all the right proportions.  For someone to say it is not good enough is inaccurate- it is simply not true.

 

If a mothers body is low in some nutrition , her body may reduce the volume available, but what is available will always have what her baby needs in it. We can adjust the fat content, toxins and flavours by adjusting the woman’s diet, but breastmilk is always made at the right recipe for optimal nutrition for your baby.

 

It may appear blue, grey or like dirty dishwater at times- this is all ok. Breastmilk is never off  and always good enough.

Balancing breast & bottle feeding

[caption id="attachment_2544" align="alignleft" width="150"] balancing breast and bottle feeding[/caption]

When breastfeeding just doesn’t go to plan, it can be really frustrating for the mother and the family. So many times I hear women say I had to give up because I didn’t have enough milk.

 

 

There seems to be this belief that their baby either does breast or bottle feeding.  This is not the case- you can do both.  Just because you have a low supply doesn’t mean you have to choose one or the other. You can do both.

 

 

When this is the case, we do talk about thinking about breastfeeding differently. It does involve some mindset adjustments to change the way you think about giving your best for your baby.

 

Usually we talk about satisfying your baby with formula (or donor breastmilk if you have that luxury) and then breastfeeding is for topups, soothing, comforting, a drink, dessert,  or an entree, an in between or overnight snack. So instead of relying on breastfeeding to satisfy your baby, your baby still gets whatever you can give but also receives calories to sustain his or her growth and development as well.

 

This can take a little work and a little perseverance as with all things worthwhile.

 

 

This is of course your choice and for some women their home life demands make this difficult to sustain. However I have helped so many women do just this thing.

 

So instead of feeling like a failure as a mother because their supply was low( for any number of different reasons) these women felt fantastic because they were giving their baby as much breastmilk as they could  for as long as they could while ensuring they received enough calories for growth and development.

How to feel good about not breastfeeding

It’s World breastfeeding week.  I thought I’d do some articles relating to this theme for this month- just to change it up a bit.

 

Breastfeeding is one of those things that seems to either go well or not so well. Increasingly it seems that there are more stories of hardship with breastfeeding than not.

 

[caption id="attachment_2309" align="alignleft" width="150"] breastfeeding tips[/caption]

I have thoughts on this  but that is another topic for another day.

 

Did you start thinking that you would absolutely breastfeed?  Did you hold your baby in your arms and try and try to breastfeed? Did you persevere through sore, cracked, or bleeding nipples?  Did you persevere through a cranky baby who struggled to gain weight? who just didn’t settle?, maybe he or she developed jaundice from not enough milk? Did you pump and use herbs and medication?

 

Did you persevere for as long as you possibly could before your family imploded from the stress of trying so hard?

 

Did you give your baby as much breastmilk a possible for as long as possible?

 

Perhaps it wasn’t a supply issue. Perhaps it was related to previous trauma or life experience that made it impossible for you to breastfeed your baby. These are all real and valid reasons for breastfeeding not to work.  Any stress can impact breastfeeding to the point of supply disappearing overnight.

 

Did you fight the inevitable decision to stop breastfeeding for your own and your baby’s well being. Perhaps the well being of your family as well?

When you came to that decision all kicking and screaming knowing it was not what you wanted to do but felt there was no alternative, did you cry floods of tears when you ultimately made that decision ?

 

Did you do your best for the best outcome for your family?

 

Then I give you permission to not feel bad about not breastfeeding.

Best time to think about routines or habits for healthy baby sleep

Best time to think about routines or habits

[caption id="attachment_2460" align="alignleft" width="150"] sleeping baby[/caption]

Best time to think about routines or habits is once you get over the newborn adjustment phase and things are starting to settle down a little. For most new parents this is anywhere between about 3 and 8 weeks. For some it is even longer. There is no blanket right time for anyone- just when is right for you.

 
When I say think about , that is what I mean,- just start thinking about it. What is it you want for your routine in your day and what do you need for that to happen- realistically.

 
Of course we’d all love to have the nanny, cook, cleaner and general helper. Wouldn’t that be great- just like all those famous people do. Even if you could have just one of these just for one or two hours a week or month may be the answer for you.

 
It is individual so please don’t feel pressured into getting a routine as a lot of new parents do. This usually comes from well meaning others and is usually their way of trying to be supportive, show their interest and be helpful.

 
Most babies fall into a routine as you both fall into a pattern and learn about each other. For sleep, once the startle reflex has disappeared, it is more realistic to expect any routine to fall into place. Some will establish a routine as early as 3 months and sometimes sooner, others will take longer. Generally, the best time to really help your baby into routines or habits is between the ages of about 4 to 6 or 7 months of age.

 
Remember they are very clever little beings with skills and abilities that surprise us.