Don`t make any loud noises or cause excitement at bedtime or nap times.

Don`t feed them during the night or they will come to depend on feeding to fall asleep. Obviously when the baby is newborn night time feeds are necessary.

Don`t let the baby stay awake too late or they will become over-tired, which can lead to sleep problems.

Do give the baby a comfort blanket or toy that smells of the mother. If the baby wakes in the night and misses the mother this will reassure them that they are not alone.

Do share the sleeping duties with your partner, so that the baby gets used to both styles and can sleep comfortably when one partner is away.

Do cuddle the baby and lie still with them until they sleep, if the baby is still sleeping in the mother`s bed. This will encourage them to sleep.

Creating a definite routine and early bedtimes is essential to providing the baby with a secure structure to help them sleep throughout the night. Some babies find it a great deal harder than others, but providing they feel safe and secure and do not feel alone they should eventually learn to sleep comfortably. However, if you suspect that there is a more serious underlying problem relating to your baby`s sleep patterns it is recommended that the advice of a GP is gained for any baby question and answer points.

My name is Ruth and Richard has very kindly asked me to join the Lullaby Babies blog.  I am mother to a, mostly, charming four month old baby girl called Izzy.  We live in the French Alps with her dad and his parents though we hope to move into our own place in a few months.

We moved here  a month ago from Gran Canaria, but that’s a whole other story, so life has had lots of change recently.  I was worried that all the moving and new places and people would upset the baby and disrupt her sleeping at night, but we have been very lucky that she has adapted well.

There are a few things that she finds confusing, just a month ago I would pop a babygrow on her and she would be ready for the day, no fuss no bother.  Now the babygrow is just the start; there is a tee shirt, leggings, socks and jumper so I have to use all my best tricks to keep her entertained on the changing table in the morning as she gets layered up for the day.

Though I think it is all my extra layers at feeding time she finds most frustrating.  I can see her thinking; “I didn’t order a mouthful of wooly jumper with my milk!”

I hope you will enjoy sharing my view of motherhood, I’m not expert, just a beginner that is enjoying learning with her baby.

If, like many parents, you decide that baby should sleep in a moses-basket or carry cot to begin with, you can buy specially sized sheets and blankets for this purpose. This makes it easier to ensure that there isn’t an excess of fabric that baby could potentially wriggle down under and have their breathing restricted by. I highly recommend buying the right-sized bedding for the sleeping solution you choose. Although, there are a variety of fabrics available, I would suggest you consider the stretch-cotton sheets as these are less likely to become loose in the night and taking them off and putting them back on is a doddle.

Sleeping bags are a great solution to baby’s night-time needs but although they are availble for newborns, most parents prefer to start using them after the baby is about one -three months old.

For me, the main advantage of sleeping-bags for babies is that they can’t be wriggled off in the night and therefore, baby is less likely to protest during the night that he or she is too cold.

You will only need a few bottom sheets for the cot if you’re using a sleeping bag but if it’s an especially cold night you may want to put an extra sheet or blanket on top of the bag. You should never use a duvet or quilt with a sleeping bag as baby would be far to hot.

It is also essential that you find the right sized sleeping bag because if it’s too large baby may slide down inside the bag which would greatly restrict air flow and could become very dangerous.

Duvets and pillows should not be used until baby is at least one year old.  This is because they can restrict movement, provide excessive warmth and pose a suffocation risk to young babies.  After a year, you may wish to swap the sleeping bag or blanket/sheet arrangement for a duvet or quilt.  If so, it is a wise idea to look for hypoallergenic one with a cover of 100 percent cotton.

Unfortunately, a newborn baby has no idea that people are supposed to sleep when it’s dark and his circadian rhythm is still developing. In the first weeks and months therefore, it is unreasonable to expect him to sleep through the night. After a few months however, babies start to synchronize sleeping and waking with daily cycles of darkness and light.

By the time he is six months, your baby will probably be synchronizing his main sleep times with the cycles of darkness and light. He will be sleeping for longer hours at night and probably wake up fewer times. He will also be much better at soothing himself when he wakes. At six months he will be much more likely to be able to go back to sleep on his own, without your help

References
Talaris Research Institute (2007) “Goodnight Baby” Available from: http://www.talaris.org/spotlight_goodnight.htm (10/10/2009)
Goodlin-Jones, B. L., Burnham, M. M., Gaylor, E. E., & Anders, T. F. (2001). “Night waking, sleep-wake organization, and self-soothing in the first year of life.” Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 22(4), 226-233.
Anders, T. F., Goodlin-Jones, B. L., & Sadeh, A. (1999). Sleep disorders. In C. H. Zeanah (Ed.), Handbook of Infant Mental Health (pp. 326-338). New York: Guilford Press.
(Anders et al., 1999).
Louis, J., Cannard, C., Bastuji, H., & Challamel, M.-J. (1997). Sleep ontogenesis revisited: A longitudinal 24-hour home polygraphic study on 15 normal infants during the first two years of life. Sleep, 20(5), 323-333.

The time your baby takes to reach sleep maturity may vary and even when she does reach it, she may still wake up regularly. This is because by the time she is old enough to reach sleep maturity (usually towards the end of the first year), uncomfortable and painful stimuli present themselves, such as colds and teething pain. Furthermore, separation anxiety develops at around this age which causes sleeping problems. Babies also start reaching developmental milestones, such as sitting, crawling, and walking which causes them to run through their newly acquired skills in their sleep (Lavin, Glaser 2007).

References
Ficca, G., Fagioli, I., & Salzarulo, P. (2000). “Sleep organization in the first year of life: Developmental trends in the quiet sleep-paradoxical sleep cycle”. Journal of Sleep Research, 9, 1-4.
W. Sears (2005). “The Baby Sleep Book: How to Help Your Baby to Sleep and Have a Restful Night.” Harper Thorsons.
A. Lavin, S Glasser (2007). “Baby & Toddler Sleep Solutions.” Wiley Publishing, Inc.

W. Sears (2006). “8 INFANT SLEEP FACTS EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW.” (09/10/07).

I think it may be useful for parents to know the amount of hours that the average baby sleeps at different ages. However, it is important to remember that there is a huge variation that exists from one baby to the next. Some newborn babies sleep 21 out of the 24 hours per day. Others only need as few as 8. The test to see if your baby is getting enough sleep is to examine if she is waking happy and alert. If so she is getting enough sleep. If she wakes and is irritable or tired, she may need to sleep longer. (Hames 2002).

Figure 1. The Amount of Sleep the
Average Baby Needs (Quine 1997)

References

P. Hames (2002). “Help your baby to sleep.” HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
Quine, L. (1997). “Solving Children’s sleep Problems”, Beckett Karlson, Cambridge

References

P. Hames (2002). “Help your baby to sleep.” HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

Babies need to be parented to sleep because, unlike adults, they only go into a deep sleep after an initial period of light sleep. Let’s see how many of you can relate to this: Imagine you’re performing your bedtime ritual with your baby:you’re rocking, walking, nursing etc until she falls asleep in your arms. Her eyes are completely closed, her eyelids may be fluttering and she may be twitching or showing momentary smiles (called sleep grins). Just as you think it’s safe to place your baby in her crib and sneak away, she wakes and starts crying! Why does this happen? It’s because she wasn’t properly asleep and only in a state of light sleep. Next time you attempt your bedtime ritual, carry on past this first stage of sleep (usually takes around 20 minutes). Wait until the twitching and smiling cease, the breathing becomes more regular and the muscles relax so that her limbs dangle weightlessly. These are the tell-tale signs that the baby is in the deep stage of sleep and your chances of being able to put her down and sneak away successfully are dramatically improved (Sears 2005).

Like adults, babies’ sleep cycles continually change from light to deep throughout the night. However, their cycles are significantly shorter than those of adults. They will enter into a period of light sleep every hour or so. During this time the baby is prone to awakening easily if an uncomfortable stimulus occurs, such as hunger (Sears 2005).

Some new parents will often spend time just watching their baby sleep. If you do this, you may notice the tell tale signs that she is about to awaken. You may be able to get your baby through this period of light sleep, without waking, if you place your hand on your baby’s tummy, whisper a comforting word or play her favourite lullaby quietly. Sometimes letting baby know that you’re there will comfort her enough to enter back into deep sleep without waking. Fathers may have more luck with this technique if the baby is breast fed because often the baby will pick up on the scent of breast milk and will automatically awaken for a feed.

W. Sears (2005).  The Baby Sleep Book:  How to Help Your Baby to Sleep and Have a Restful Night.” Harper Thorsons.