I recently attended a Conference for Early Childhood health professionals and I am always pleasantly surprised that I am still able to take away interesting and sometimes provocative propositions from different experts in our industry.
One of the sessions of course, was about infant sleep presented by a Senior Nurse Educator at Tresillian, well qualified in Child and Family Health and Infant mental health.
Here is a snapshot from that presentation on the evidence based research regarding infant sleep between 1993 to now;
- 20 – 30% of children will experience sleep problems during the first 3 years
- Infants wake between 1-3 times per night on average throughout the first 12 months even when able to achieve blocks of consolidated sleep
- At 6 x weeks of age babies will demonstrate clear day and night feed/sleep behaviours
- Active and quiet sleep cycles change frequently during the first 3 months of age
- Overheating your baby (too many clothes/wrapping, room temp) can affect the quality of sleep patterns as the release of Melatonin decreases instead of increasing to aid the onset of sleep
Some helpful tips!
- Managing artificial light (using “red” or ambient lighting whilst feeding or settling overnight) can assist with better consolidated sleep patterns
- Higher co parenting support and involvement by 3 months of age predicted better consolidated sleep patterns by 6 months of age for both baby and mother
- Developing secure attachments between parent and child improved suitable responsive support and sustainable, improved sleep patterns
Sleep deprivation drives overwhelm.
Sleep deprivation can affect not only your baby and toddler but the whole family. The first year of your baby’s biological and behavioural development is full of changes, often exhausting. Whilst this is usually within the normal range of expectations, overwhelm can be debilitating and really impact your confidence in parenting and decision making.
Our expert Mothercraft Nurses see the challenges of new parents first hand, every day. Often it is the “fresh” eyes of a professional who can identify even small adjustments in feeding, settling and age appropriate routines that will make all the difference to your enjoyment of parenting.
Let us help you get back on track!
Xmas and school holidays are just around the corner, a wonderful time of year with just a little extra madness to test you as you keep kids occupied yet well rested.
Contact Beth Barclay (Chief Coach) and let’s talk about the best way we can help you get back on track!
Phone: 02 8221 8877
