Sleep
Issues
Your baby should start sleeping through the night at about
3 months. But babies are learning and observing all the time, and your baby
could soon start to associate sleep time with time that mommy isn’t there. It’s
called separation anxiety and it’s a normal part of development for many babies.
But it can be especially trying for parents, as babies can be particularly
strong-willed, especially about bedtime!
You may be introducing some baby foods at this time, and
this can help your baby feel sleepy. Remember to introduce new patterns gently
and slowly. If the baby isn’t going to sleep or keeps waking up and crying for
you, then she needs to learn to self-comfort, but not all at once. Ease her into
the habit of sleeping alone.
Don’t change your rituals at bedtime. You can still start
out with a warm bath and feeding. Rocking and snuggling, singing or reading –
these are all bonding times for mother and baby. If the baby doesn’t fall asleep
right away, try putting her in her crib with the rocker or glider right next to
the crib, singing or reading to her. You can stand at the crib and rub or pat
her back.
In a week or two, move the chair a short distance away from
the crib, so the baby can see you. You can talk or read or sing. If she cries
for more than 10 or 15 minutes, then get up and comfort her, but put her back
down in the crib and go back to your chair.
In another week or two, move the farther away, towards the
door. Even these minor changes could be hard for your baby, but be patient. This
is a time when you can fold her laundry and put it away, talking to her, so
she’s aware of your presence, but your attention isn’t focused entirely on her.
This way she can get used to the idea of separation gradually.
8-12 months
At the ages of 8-12 months, your baby will begin to need
less sleep during the day and should be regularly sleeping through the night.
But there’s also much more activity and stimulation during the day – babies are
eating up the world at this stage, they’re learning so much.
If you’re feeding him baby food during the day, and
decreasing bottles, make the last bottle feeding at nighttime. You can also have
a bottle in the night to soothe him if he wakes up. Babies are teething at this
time as well, and that can cause them to wake up in discomfort. You may be
weaning the baby from breastfeeding, and that can be a difficult transition as
well.
There are different schools of thought on handling babies
who are a challenge to get to sleep. Some recommend letting the baby cry it out,
but this is hard on the parents, especially on mom who may have been comforting
and bonding with the baby all day long. It can see cruel to just let the baby
cry himself to sleep. He’s just a little guy, after all.
Take extra care at this time to make sure the nursery is
conducive to sleeping. Make sure his diaper is clean and his sheets are clean
and soft. If he’s teething, use a topical pain treatment that’s safe for the
baby. You can also invest in some homeopathic tablets that ease teething
naturally. Make sure his nose is clear and not stuffy. If you use a foam wedge
to keep the baby from sleeping on his stomach, sleep with a spare one night and
then put that in his bed so that your scent is close to him at night.
Make sure the room isn’t too cold or too hot; keep a
humidifier in the room to maintain a good moisture balance, especially in the
winter when rooms can dry out. Your baby just might be stubborn about sleeping,
but try to figure out if there are physical problems that you can alleviate
first.
