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