Heating rooms in winter for snuggly baby sleep

Heating

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Heating rooms in winter to take the chill off the air is a common practice for many parents and is also a common dilemma for many. This is mostly to keep the babies room at a constant temperature in an effort to ensure baby sleeps through the night. It is also nicer for the person going to the baby in the middle of the night if the room is a little warmer.
Is it necessary? In Australia - No.

Not unless you live somewhere where the temperature is constantly low and the building you are in is always cold.

 

Many avid campers go camping in cold weather and manage a baby well with appropriate clothing and layering.

 

Even though the air temperature may be low, if your baby is rugged up in swaddles and blankets and appropriate clothing there may be no need to heat the room.
If you do decide to heat the room, we would encourage you just to take the chill off the air not to heat it to a tropical summer island holiday type of temperature. Different seasons offer us different positives and experiences. Winter is no different. It is up to us to adapt.
Enclosed heating devices or reverse cycle air conditioners are the most preferred heating appliances mostly from a safety perspective and also from an energy efficiency consideration.
Heating a room using any means usually has the effect of dehydrating the room and anything in the room. People will often notice potplants needing a little more water. Adults will also notice that they are more thirsty or may even feel like they are hung over if the heating is too high and causes dehydration.

 

Something as simple as putting a bowl of cold water in the room that is heated may help towards stabilising the moisture content in the room.
Babies can easily dehydrate and if you are using even low level heating , may be a little more thirsty and may want to feed for a little longer or have an extra feed. It is realistic to expect this however it may not be noticeable.

 

If you do decide to heat the room in winter for snuggly baby sleep, I hope these ideas will help you.

Swaddling and blankets

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Now that winter is here are you thinking - to swaddle or not to swaddle? How can I keep my wiggly baby warm and safe? Are blankets better and warmer than swaddling? Do you need to change what you are doing?

 

 

There is no need to change what you are doing if it is working for you. Remember this Insync with Infants mantra, “there is no problem unless it is a problem for you”. This is our standard advice with anything- if it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it!

 

 

Young babies under three months of age usually respond well to swaddling. We would continue this for as long as it is helpful. Generally a newborns startle reflex disappears around three months of age and any time after that that swaddling may not be as magical. It doesn’t mean you have to stop swaddling though. There are many seven, nine or even 12 month old babies who still enjoy being swaddled for sleep even though they may wiggle out of the swaddle before they go to sleep. For others babies swaddling may not have been helpful from a much younger age.

 

 

So, swaddle or blanket? Personal preference really. I personally think babies are warmer swaddled. They can have a number of layers of swaddling or have a swaddle and then a couple of layers of blankets over them and tucked under the mattress to keep them extra toasty. Blankets that are tucked under the edges of the mattress usually provide a little more warmth than if edges are not tucked.

 

 

It is equally ok to have just blankets. Blankets and swaddles should be made of natural breathable fibres. A number of layers of thinner fabrics works better and is warmer than one or two thick layers. Man-made synthetic fibres are generally not as warm as natural fibres that trap a layer of air next to the skin and keep the warmth next to our body more stable. Thinner layers also protect against overheating (a SIDS risk) by being breathable.

 

 

If your baby is in your bed with you a sleeping bag or blankets is better from a safety point of view than swaddling. When your baby is in your bed with you he or she gets warmth from you and generally stay warmer at a more steady temperature than if in their own cot or bassinet.

 

For most parents a combination of swaddling and blankets works well to help babies sleeping through the night in winter.

 

Follow Insync with Infants on Facebook for more tips and hints on great baby sleep in winter.

PS. Join our webinar Wednesday 18th JUne-8pm-   "Layering for warmth- best options for snuggly sleep". Click here to register-

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/layering-for-warmth-best-options-for-snuggly-sleep-tickets-11914575817

 

snugly winter sleep

Safe sleep in winter

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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.

 

Baby Sleeping AND have a Social Life that Works!!

Having your baby sleeping and having a social life is one of the things that seems impossible to new parents. Suddenly their ideas about what life with a new baby would be like is shattered with reality.

What they once thought would be easy; “it’s a baby, how hard can it be? They are so little, surely it’s not that hard?”, is not so easy in reality. The idea of getting out of the house with their baby often seems overwhelming.
Questions come up like: Is it ok to go out with my baby?
When should I go out?
How long is ok to stay out?
Should I just stay at home?
How do I breast/bottle feed/ get baby to sleep when we’re out?
How will I know if my baby is ok with going out?

It is not impossible. Here a few tips to help.

 

1. Take Baby steps.

When you first go out, make it a very short trip. Perhaps to a friend or family nearby. Then perhaps to the shops for bread and milk or something simple that won’t take long. Perhaps meet up with a friend for coffee. Build on longer outings as you gain your confidence.

2.  Wait until you are ready.

There is no timeline for when you have to go out with your baby. Most new parents go out with someone else to start with. Usually we encourage you to wait until you feel more confident with feeding and handling your baby. Get comfortable with the basics first, then consider going solo in public with your baby.

3. Practice at home before you go.

Practice putting your baby in the capsule and the capsule in and out of the car. Practice getting the pram in and out of the car and unfolding the pram so that when you are out you are confident with the mechanical things.

 

These ideas will hopefully help on your way to getting out with your baby. Having a baby sleeping will be easier when you can see your baby sleeping patterns. Once you can get your baby sleeping better then a social life is easily sustained that will benefit your baby too.

Baby sleeping problems- Reflux and babies who don’t sleep.

 

 

Reflux is so very common these days. I have difficulty believing that it is normal for so many babies to be in such discomfort. I have to say I can’t believe mother nature would make so many babies have this uncomfortable thing on purpose. Especially when it causes so many sleep problems in babies.

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Reflux occurs when the acid contents of the baby’s stomach wash up in to the baby’s oesophagus. Sometimes babies vomit often and particularly around feeding times. For others there is no vomiting but the symptoms of discomfort are very obvious. These include back arching and crying, sometimes being very rigid in their body, coughing or swallowing after feeds and needing to be upright most of the time.

 
I do believe it is an affliction of our modern life. I intend absolutely no blame here. Medical professionals, mums, therapists, healers, myself- all are doing our best in the way we know how to help mums and families not only manage a baby in distress from reflux, but also to look at ways to avoid it.

 
For those families experiencing reflux, you know that sleep is a scarce commodity and a precious one as a result. Any baby who is in some discomfort will have difficulty with sleep. Catnaps are common and also for sleeping against mum or dad’s chest , usually because being upright is more comfortable than lying horizontal. The problem with this is that mum or dad become exhausted because they are constantly holding their baby. In times gone by when families we’re closer, there would have been another pair of arms to help but in our modern ways when families are often geographically distant it all falls to the few and they quickly become drained and exhausted,thus causing a viscious cycle of tiredness, emotional responses rather than objective clear thinking.

 
In all families experiencing reflux, using posture and possibly different milks is the first line of intervention. With breastfeeding, we’d look at dietary tweaks as a way to help reduce or avoid reflux as a possible option. It is not easy and does take time. Medication and more intensive medical therapies is always secondary and surgery a last resort when other things fail.
Osteopathy or chiropractics may be helpful also.

 
Pre biotics and pro biotics are also mentioned as being useful. Pre biotics are the specific simple sugars that feed the probiotics. Probiotics are the good bacteria that live in the gut and help to break down food adequately.

 
Often in babies with “reflux”- the gut “health” is impaired. All of you in tune with food and our bodies are already aware of the types of foods/herbs that repair gut health. In some it may take a little longer to repair. And for those babies who have a more complex problem that is more than this, it won’t be the only answer either.

 
Reflux may be a very real problem in babies who don’t sleep. For those experiencing baby sleeping problems, whether your baby has reflux as a cause is worth considering.

Baby sleeping

 

Baby sleeping all night-Does your baby’s personality affect sleep in babies who don’t sleep?
Parents struggling with their baby not sleeping all night often wonder if their baby’s personality is part of the cause.

 

Afterall, amongst adults there are varying amounts of sleep per night that are considered normal or adequate for effective functioning.
Often I hear parents say out loud maybe it’s my baby’s personality that makes my baby one who doesn’t sleep. My response is yes , personality can absolutely be a part of your baby’s good or not so good sleep. The good news is that we can always build habits/ routines around sleep so that they all get what they need for sleep.

 
My biggest babies sleeping tip is to follow their lead. If you can follow what your baby needs from you at each point in the day, you can’t go wrong. The tricky bit is working out what that is and timing it right too. This may sound impossible or hard work at the least, however once you are aware of what to look for and are aware of what is reasonable for their developmental ability it becomes much easier. You as a parent don’t have to do the research into this because, guess what, it has all been done for you. Over the previous 50-100 years researchers have been watching, documenting and comparing behaviours, needs and responses for decades all so that it can become easier for you.

 
Afterall if it is easier for you to look after your baby, both you and your baby are going to be happier, you as a parent will enjoy the experience more, feel more confident and empowered and have a stronger relationship with your baby. Stronger family relationships mean stronger community relationships and the snow ball effect from there means greater self esteem, prosperity and country health and wellbeing.
Got off on a tangent. Coming back to the point. Yes your baby’s personality does have an effect on sleep but not to the effect where he or she is overtired all the time from lack of sleep. Your baby may not need as much sleep as another however each and every one of us, your baby included, needs a certain amount to function effectively and feel calm and relaxed.

 

This is the most important bit. If your baby has only 10 hours sleep in a 24 hour period and is calm relaxed and thriving, all good. However if your baby gets 16 hours and is still cranky, upset and needy a little more sleep may make a big difference, even 1 hour can make a big impact.

 

Babies who don’t sleep and babies who sleep all night can both be affected by personality, however the amount of time spent by your baby sleeping needs to be suitable to him or her as an individual.
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Sleep training-Getting your baby to sleep using the pouch or sling

Baby sleep training-

Getting baby to sleep using the Pouch or sling

 

Baby sleep training is still one of the most controversial subjects for new parents. When parents use a pouch or sling in getting their baby to sleep, many from old school type of thinking  may caution that they are spoiling their baby or creating bad habits.

 

Is this really the case though?

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 We know that babies love to be held, rocked, soothed, sung to and generally held.  They love the contact and closeness, the security and comfort feelings that it brings. Babies need these feelings for  survival, it is required. So why then are we so averse to giving this to babies when they need it most?

 When your baby feels secure, calm, safe, relaxed and content, he or she requires less of you emotionally and physically because they are ok. When your baby is out of sorts, feels “yucky” for some reason then he or she will require more of you to help him or her return to a calm, soothed and relaxed state.

At times, particularly when discussing infants sleep methods or baby sleep training, using a pouch or sling is often frowned upon. However, it is a very useful tool for helping your baby soothe and calm so that he or she can get the sleep needed to feel calm again. When your baby is overtired he or she needs help to get to sleep and then sometimes to stay asleep. Baby sleep training can play a role here without being strict and harsh and using the pouch in a positive way.

Most babies love being in the sling/pouch because they are near you and feel safe, secure and content. Certainly young babies love it as do their parents mostly.  It is a handy tool for soothing or when doing shopping or walking so that hands are free and baby is calmed.

If you do feel the need to do some baby sleep training in getting your baby to sleep, using the pouch or sling can still be a useful and positive tool to achieve your goals and will not necessarily spoil your baby.