A gentle approach to sleep and settling for your new baby
As new parents you will find yourselves shocked to the core in the realisation that yes, your new baby will feed around the clock. The average new baby will sleep for 16 out of 24 hours BUT all babies are very unique. You may find that your newborn will sleep up to 19 hours or as little as only 8.
You need not worry though because it is not about‘ how many hours’ he or she will sleep, you may simply have either a wakeful baby or a sleepy one. A cat napper or a baby that leisurely sleeps the day and night away( now wouldn’ t that be lovely!).
In those first few weeks post-partum your new baby will wake, feed and then fall asleep again. Only to wake no more then 2-3 hours later, yes, for yet another feed! As your new baby grows so does their appetite, you will find that your baby will want bigger feeds as opposed to more frequent feeds, they will tend to be more active between feeds also, which will then( fingers crossed!) allow for deeper and longer sleeps!
Your Infant needs a loving, responsive interaction always. This is an essential foundation for connection and building trust. Your touch is just as important and as fundamental as the food that you provide for them.
There is absolutely NO doubt that infancy can be challenging, but babies are simply too young and inexperienced to handle their own causes for crying whatever that may be, be it sleep, a change of nappy, needing to be fed again but more so for comfort, or just because they feel overwhelmed and they need you. It is up to you as their parent, to take responsibility in meeting your unique baby’ s needs, their need for nurturing from you, your security and unconditional love.
So, who here has been told NOT to breastfeed their little ones to sleep??
Most babies will need milk during the night within that first year, milestones, brain development and leaps, teeth, by Nikki Smith
illness … The list goes on … They will always get back into their own rhythm once they are past whatever it is that is going on for them, in the meantime though give them what they need, which is you, and no doubt their mama’ s comforting milk. Breastfeeding creates a loving connection as well as positive interaction between you both. When you are breastfeeding your little love to sleep at night your milk has already created the amazing hormones specific for that settling feed, melatonin is one of those peaceful, loving hormones that is released, as is oxytocin the‘ feel good, relaxation’ hormone that is released for you both. Your breastmilk creates the most incredible chemistry to help your little love off to sleep. So why wouldn’ t you use it!?
Time and time again with our first newborn baby, it was repeated endlessly to me that I was“ spoiling her by holding her too much,”“ just let her cry,”“ you’ ll spoil her by feeding on demand.”‘ Spoiling’ is one of those mindless ideas that gets passed down from generation to generation, even though on the surface it is absolutely ridiculous! It is instinctive to rock your beautiful new baby and to hold them, it has been done for millennias! Think of your fourth trimester with
your new baby as an extension of your pregnancy because for nine( or ten months if you do pregnancy like me!) long months they have been with you. Listening to your heartbeat from the inside. Why wouldn’ t they still want and need that beautiful comfort? Who‘ decided’ that breastfeeding, rocking and cuddling your new baby off to sleep was taboo and creating‘ sleep associations’ or the other good one that I love,‘ creating a rod for your back!’ Whatever happened to conscious, and intuitive parenting?
BUT and it’ s a BIG BUT. Because I believe that every family is unique and doing the very best that they can with the knowledge that they have at the time. I myself know that desperation of no sleep … After the traumatic delivery of my first daughter and once we were home, discovering that she would sleep no longer than two hours at a time, both day and night, she was misdiagnosed and unfortunately had a severe case of reflux … at that time we had tried everything! Crying it out, leaving her in her cot for timed intervals then responding minutes later, I tried long walks and 3am car trips, only to pull into the driveway an hour later and her eyes would Spring open, she was wide awake!
34 KIDZ ON THE COAST