Nighttime Parenting - Parenting Tips from Dr. Sears
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 10:58AM The Baby Stay Asleep was designed to allow parents to settle their baby to sleep and then place them in an elevated crib without additional straps. What's so nice about this is that the baby will not wake up due to the noise or jostling from additional fasteners and straps. And more importantly it allows you to rock, soothe or cuddle your baby to sleep. Expecting babies to fall asleep on their own too early may be unrealistic. Read on for some tips from Dr. Sears:
"How babies enter sleep. You're rocking, walking, or nursing your baby and her eyelids droop as she begins to nod off in your arms. Her eyes close completely, but her eyelids continue to flutter and her breathing is still irregular. Her hands and limbs are flexed, and she may startle, twitch, and show fleeting smiles, called "sleep grins." She may even continue a flutter-like sucking. Just as you bend over to deposit your "sleeping" baby in her crib so you can creep quietly away, she awakens and cries. That's because she wasn't fully asleep. She was still in the state of light sleep when you put her down. Now try your proven bedtime ritual again, but continue this ritual longer (about twenty more minutes). You will notice that baby's grimaces and twitches stop; her breathing becomes more regular and shallow, her muscles completely relax. Her fisted hands unfold and her arms and limbs dangle weightlessly. Martha and I call this "limp-limb" sign of deep sleep. Baby is now in a deeper sleep, allowing you to put her down and sneak away, breathing a satisfying sigh of relief that baby is finally resting comfortably."
NIGHTTIME PARENTING LESSON #1:
"Babies need to be parented to sleep, not just put to sleep. Some babies can be put down while drowsy yet still awake and drift while others need parental help by being rocked or nursed to sleep. The reason is that while adults can usually go directly into the state of deep sleep, infants in the early months enter sleep through an initial period of light sleep. After twenty minutes or more they gradually enter deep sleep, from which they are not so easily aroused. As you probably know from experience, if you try to rush your baby to bed while she is still in the initial light sleep period, she will usually awaken. Many parents tell me: "My baby has to be fully asleep before I can put her down." In later months, some babies can enter deep sleep more quickly, bypassing the lengthy light sleep stage. Learn to recognize your baby's sleep stages. Wait until your baby is in a deep sleep stage before transitioning her from one sleeping place to another, such as from your bed to a crib or from carseat to bed or crib."
Read more parenting tips from Dr. Sears here.
Reader Comments (2)
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All babies are different and these tips are flexible enough to accommodate and work for most, gradually allowing baby to be confident enough to be put down and sleep on their own as they get older