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Are you on the lookout for the best source of information about Baby Sleep Specialists, but have no idea where to start? We've done all the deliberating for you with our gathering of Baby Sleep Specialists essentials.

Sometimes newborn babies go to bed very late and then sleep very late. For example your baby might be up until 1:00 AM and then (not including night feedings) sleep until noon the next day. Thus you have a baby who is getting a healthy 11 hours of sleep at night but the timing of “night” isn’t lining up with the rest of civilization. Upon baby’s first night waking, attempt a full feeding, otherwise some babies, especially breastfed infants, get in the habit of nibbling all night. During the first few weeks of their lives, newborns have no set sleep times. It’s tempting to run around the house doing chores and catching up on admin while your baby is asleep during the day, but resist the temptation to tackle housework and instead combat sleep deprivation by taking the opportunity to catch up on sleep while your baby naps. If it’s possible, discourage your little one from dipping in out of catnaps when you’re out and about, as the nap they have is likely to be less relaxing than sleep that happens in the cot. On the whole, your little one will sleep better at home in their cot. Around four months of age, your baby’s sense of day and night (circadian rhythm) is getting much better, thanks to the fantastic dance of neural messengers in his brain. Now, every night brings a surge of melatonin. As you’ll recall, melatonin is the body’s natural sleep hormone, released from the pineal gland deep within the brain. Bright light shuts melatonin off, helping us to stay alert and active in the day, and darkness triggers its release to ease us back into sleep. The goal of sleep training is to teach your little one that they are capable of falling asleep independently. You want your baby to be able to fall asleep on their own without needing to be rocked or soothed by you.

To break the food-sleep association, start your bedtime routine with a feeding; outside the bedroom is best. If your baby falls asleep, gently wake him and proceed with reading a book and singing a song, and then put your baby down sleepy, but still awake. Research has shown that around 22% of nine-month-olds have problems going to sleep and 42% regularly wake up more than once during the night. Even babies with previously set sleeping patterns can start waking up. Once this happens, it is important to try to identify the cause before it becomes a habit. Self soothing is when babies can settle back to sleep independently, either at night or during a nap, without the need for help from their parents. During the first year your baby may sleep well for several months, and then start to wake up frequently at night. Self-soothing is the key to your child (and therefore you!) being able to sleep through the night again. At the end of your baby’s bedtime routine, put your sleepy little one down while he's drowsy but still awake. That way he’ll get used to falling asleep on his own, not in your arms. The gentle approach and caring manner of a baby sleep expert allows them to assist you in the most preferable way to deal with sleep training and to assist you and your family in any way possible.

Enough Sleep

Stick to your baby’s sleep routine as much as you can. Plan ahead if your baby’s routine may need a temporary change, like if you’re going out of town travel or attending family parties. Change his bed time the best you can but try to get back to his schedule and routine as soon as possible. Ensuring your baby isn’t too hot or cold is also important. The NHS state that babies can overheat due to excessive bedding or sleepwear, or because the room is too hot. Health professionals recommend maintaining a comfortable room temperature of between 16-20 C° (61-68 F). Occasional illness can be part and parcel of life and babies and toddlers are no exception. Except little ones can pick up illnesses quite often and can frequently takes its toll on their ability to sleep well. After 4 months, your baby is becoming very aware of their surroundings and this includes when you want them to go to sleep. To encourage the most healthiest, deepest and restorative sleep, most sleep should be now taken in their cot. If you find that sleep regression isn’t disappearing or if you’re unsure what may be causing the change in your baby’s sleep pattern, ask your health visitor for advice. Eventually this period of disrupted sleep will subside, and you and your baby can look forward to waking up feeling more rested again. For sleep regression guidance it may be useful to enlist the services of a sleep consultant.

Some parents swear that putting on the washing machine, tumbler drier or vacuum cleaner near where their baby’s sleeping will send them into the land of nod – probably because it mimics the constant swooshy sound of life in the womb. If it seems rather impractical to move the tumble drier outside their bedroom you can also buy CDs/apps of white noise. Teaching your baby that night-time is different from daytime can also help. During the day, open curtains, play games and don't worry too much about everyday noises when they sleep. At night-time, keep the lights low, talk in a quieter voice and place the baby back to sleep as soon as they're fed and changed. In the era of connectivity, work projects and deadlines can easily crowd their way into home life, robbing us of precious sleep. During the first months with a new baby, make an effort to leave work at work and limit work-related emails, texts, and phone calls. If you think bedtime is too early, try pushing your routine fifteen minutes later every two to three nights. If you think bedtime is too late, try starting your routine fifteen minutes earlier every two to three nights. Either approach should work within a week or two. There are several age-appropriate activities you and baby can do together as part of their bedtime routine. As your child grows, you’ll likely restructure the activities you do based on their age and development. Sleep consultants support hundreds of families every year, assisting with things such as gentle sleep training using gentle, tailored methods.

Make Healthy Sleep A Priority

Newborns who sleep for longer stretches should be awakened to feed. Wake your baby every 3–4 hours to eat until he or she shows good weight gain, which usually happens within the first couple of weeks. After that, it's OK to let your baby sleep for longer periods of time at night. After the first few weeks, you will probably find that your baby is awake for longer periods and will sleep for longer too. By around two months they will begin to transition into a more regular sleep pattern and may sleep more at night than they do during the day. However, all babies are different. Night crying pulls on our heartstrings. And of course, we often jump right up because we don’t want the entire household to wake (and we hope to lull our little one back to sleep before he fully wakes). If your baby is cared for by a nursery, child minder or grandparent, let them know what’s happening and ask them to try adjusting nap times if you’ve found that it’s proved helpful. Separation anxiety peaks and troughs throughout the first 2 years of life. It often intensifies around times when you baby is learning new skills that allow them to move further away from you on their own, such as learning to crawl, learning to walk and then around 18 months/2 years learning to talk. A sleep consultant will take a holistic approach to create a sleeping system that you can manage and one which takes into account ferber method as well as the needs of the baby and considerations of each family member.

Children who have assistance at bedtime will often need it again each time they wake. There are even children who fall asleep easily at bedtime but seek assistance during night wakings and for naps. Babies wake up for lots of different reasons e.g. growth spurts (usually around 1-3 weeks, two months and three months), teething, tummy aches and needing changing. They also cry to express a range of emotions including when they’re tired. It can be useful to try and differentiate between cries. Keep a log of your baby's sleep patterns, noting the longest sleep stretch of the night. Remember, you'll be lucky if your baby sleeps five or six hours in a row during the early months. Get to know your baby’s sleep cues, which often involve rubbing his eyes or yawning, as you’ll want to put your baby to bed when he’s sleepy but not overtired. Try to ensure that your little one is logging the total hours of sleep she needs. If she wakes very early from her last nap of the day, for instance, consider putting her to bed a little earlier to make up for the lost shut-eye. If she has a rough night or wakes extra early in the morning, offer more naptime that day. In the first couple of months, babies may need a long nap in the morning and a couple of shorter ones in the afternoon. These naps will generally get shorter as your baby grows and by the time they are six months old many babies will be sleeping for up to 12 hours at a time at night time, however they may still be waking several times during that period for food or comfort. Having a baby is a steep learning curve and aspects such as 4 month sleep regression come along and shake things up just when you're not expecting them.

Baby Won't Sleep

White noise—rough, rumbly, and as loud as a shower—masks the minor disturbances that commonly wake infants (like passing trucks, throbbing gums, mild hunger, and tummy rumbles) and quickly guide them back to sleep. Wind-up swings for winding down babies are a boon to parents who have neither the time, energy, or creativity to muster up rituals of their own. Tired parents will pay anything for a good night’s sleep. Once in awhile a moving plastic seat may be more sleep-inducing than a familiar pair of arms. Pods or nests are a softer type of sleep surface for baby with raised or cushioned areas. They are sometimes used instead of a mattress, or as well as a mattress. It’s important to remember that when babies are asleep, they shouldn’t lie on or having anything soft around then, especially their heads. This can cause them to overheat and increase the risk of SIDS. Stumble upon additional information about Baby Sleep Specialists at this NHS article.

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