Convinced your baby hates sleep?
by Maryanne Sayers
So, you are convinced your baby hates sleep, or battles sleep or doesn’ t need sleep? I am going to kybosh that notion, though I do understand why parents would think that when they have been on struggle street with their baby’ s sleep.
Our babies NEED sleep, our babies WANT sleep and our babies CAN sleep. But before they can sleep well, everything else must be set up correctly for them in regards to their sleep and routine foundations – this encompasses a large range of elements including the setting up of their sleep feed and wake cycles, their sleep environment, their bedtime, their day and night( i. e their body clock), their timings, all the processes etc.
When I work with families, I am providing ALL of those families with the exact same information in relation to the setting up of foundations and meeting their baby’ s basic needs around their sleep feed and wake cycles. It is not a case of providing one lot of information to this family and another lot of information to that family. The information and guidance I provide to all the families I work with is consistent across the board in ensuring that ALL the basic foundations are firstly understood and secondly set up correctly. The foundational elements are the same for all babies. Yes, babies have different temperaments, different personalities, different physical characteristics. Absolutely they do. They are all individuals in that regard. No question on that.
However in relation to sleep requirements, their needs are all pretty much the same relative to age.
So, if we had a 20 x eight-month old babies in a room, they would all have the same or very similar requirements in regards to sleep. It’ s not like this baby over here – he only needs X hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. And this baby over here – he needs Y hours of sleep. Oh and that one over there, she needs Z hours of sleep. In fact, they all require the same amount to sleep. The perception that all babies have different needs and requirements in regards to sleep has evolved as a product of the overall bigger picture issues around baby sleep. It is an assumption and it is“ perceived” to be the case by many families. But it is just not something I subscribe to at all. And that is a big part of the message I deliver to families and carers everywhere.
My philosophies are as follows:
• All babies LOVE sleep. They CAN sleep and they WANT to sleep. PROVIDED everything is set up for them. There is NO baby on this earth who hates sleep.
• Routine from Day One for all babies. Routine simply means structure and consistency around their sleep, feed and wake cycles. Babies THRIVE on and NEED consistency to fall into their natural rhythms of sleep times, feedtimes and awake times.
• Independent sleep for babies is what I advocate. Providing a safe sleep space for your baby. Whilst I respect and understand that some families choose to happily co-sleep with their babies, often as part of attachment parenting philosophy, these are not the families I am coming into contact with. Thousands of families are co-sleeping out of desperation and exhaustion, because they see no other way. If this is you, please do know that this can all be resolved, and sooner than you think.
• All babies can put themselves to sleep. Again, provided everything is set up right for them with the routine and the processes... i. e the FOUNDATIONS. Human babies, like any baby of the mammal species have a primal and biological response to tiredness, which is … to sleep. Trust me when I say your baby wants to sleep just as much as you want your baby to sleep. You are actually both wanting the same thing. But right now, you are both caught in the same exhausting and relentless cycle – which is on repeat day in, day out. Time to break the cycle once and for all. You will see your baby’ s sleep in a whole different way when you see how easily and naturally it flows, once everything has been re-set and it ' s all set up as it needs to be. There is no baby on this earth who hates sleep!
Maryanne Sayers is a certified Baby Sleep and Routine Consultant and is the co owner / founder of Dream Start Baby, the new comprehensive education online resource for parents of babies aged 0 – 12 months. Maryanne also provides one-on-one consultations to families having sleep issues with their baby. Contact Maryanne phone: 0417 068 545 or via her facebook page or go to www. dreamstartbaby. com. au
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