Anyways, this article is kinda useful.... for those new parents out there... before you guys start losing your hair over your sleepless baby... ^^
Losing Zzz's over baby's sleep
8 March 2010 |
| A newborn will sleep about 16-20 hours. This is the period where he only wakes up for feeds and then goes straight back to sleep. |
By BRIGITTE ROZARIO
Some babies sleep easily; others seem to need more coaxing. No two babies are the same and no solution works for all babies.
Sometimes, when all else fails, you just have to pick them up and rock them to sleep.
Paediatrician Dr Yong Junina says you can never spoil babies by carrying them and especially so when they can't go to sleep on their own.
“In the beginning they will need to be carried because they want to feel the heartbeat of the mother. You can let them sleep on your chest and then put them in their cots once they've settled down. As they get more independent and start crawling and walking, you will be carrying them less anyway because they'll be playing during the day but there's no such thing as spoiling them by carrying them too much,” she says.
Where to sleep
Ideally newborns should sleep in their own cot on their backs with the cot sides up. Dr Yong explains that newborns should sleep on their back because studies have shown that babies who sleep on their tummies have a higher incidence of cot death or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
It is also better for them to sleep in their cot on their own to avoid getting suffocated by the parents and the pillows.
If you're breastfeeding and don't want to walk to another room to feed baby at night, Dr Yong suggests getting a bedside cot that can be attached to the mother's bed. Put the cot side down so that it matches the height of the mother's bed. Then the mother can just reach out to feed the baby.
The cot
If there is a blanket in the cot then it should be tucked in and no higher than the baby's chest. Again, this is to avoid suffocation. Traditionally, some people like to swaddle the baby but medically there are no benefits; there is no harm in it, either.
Dr Yong says there shouldn't be pillows for newborns because pillows too can contribute to suffocation.
The baby's mattress should be firm. Dr Yong suggests getting the polyester foam kind, not soft kapok. If you use a soft mattress, and if the child should sleep on his tummy, the mattress will mould to the face of the child and that increases the risk of suffocation.
Using bumper sheets (which go around the sides of the cot) is fine because these are tied to the sides of the cot. But they should only remain there as long as the child can't pull himself up and stand on that to try and climb out.
Once the baby can turn over he can sleep on either side. By that point it's fine for him to sleep on either his back or his tummy.
When the child is young you can put a soft toy that is fit for his age in the cot – that means no removable eyes and nothing that he can bite off. Or you could have a cot mobile to keep the baby entertained. If the child is older and can crawl, then he can use any toys in the cot to step on and climb out of the cot.
So, when he is older put the cot base all the way down. It is okay to put some soft toys inside the cot but nothing he can use to climb out. And nothing with small parts that can come off and risk him choking on.
When it's time to sleep remove the toys because they will deter the child from sleeping. After the child has gone to sleep, then you could put them back at the end of the cot.
Among the early concerns of parents is the shape of their newborn's head. Often the head is flatter on one side because baby has been sleeping on his back.
Dr Yong advises parents not to worry about the shape of baby's head.
“That is just temporary because babies tend to roll over by the time they reach four to six months. By the time they start rolling over they will move their head around and that will even out the head shape. In fact, they only lie in one position for about two months and after that you'll find that their head turns from the right to the left,” she says.
Self-comfort?
While it is okay to allow older children (12-15 months) to cry and comfort themselves to sleep, you need to firstly ensure they are not crying because they are wet or hungry.
Sometimes the child just wants the mother to be in the room with him.
Dr Yong suggests slowly coaxing the child when he is a bit older into a routine where you give him a shower, have dinner, no TV for half an hour to one hour before bedtime so that he can unwind, and if he is old enough, read him a bedtime story.
“You can sit in bed with him, read him to sleep, tuck him in and pat him to sleep so that he becomes familiar with the routine. Try to stick to that routine every day.
Some babies sleep easily; others seem to need more coaxing. No two babies are the same and no solution works for all babies.
Sometimes, when all else fails, you just have to pick them up and rock them to sleep.
Paediatrician Dr Yong Junina says you can never spoil babies by carrying them and especially so when they can't go to sleep on their own.
“In the beginning they will need to be carried because they want to feel the heartbeat of the mother. You can let them sleep on your chest and then put them in their cots once they've settled down. As they get more independent and start crawling and walking, you will be carrying them less anyway because they'll be playing during the day but there's no such thing as spoiling them by carrying them too much,” she says.
Where to sleep
Ideally newborns should sleep in their own cot on their backs with the cot sides up. Dr Yong explains that newborns should sleep on their back because studies have shown that babies who sleep on their tummies have a higher incidence of cot death or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
It is also better for them to sleep in their cot on their own to avoid getting suffocated by the parents and the pillows.
If you're breastfeeding and don't want to walk to another room to feed baby at night, Dr Yong suggests getting a bedside cot that can be attached to the mother's bed. Put the cot side down so that it matches the height of the mother's bed. Then the mother can just reach out to feed the baby.
The cot
If there is a blanket in the cot then it should be tucked in and no higher than the baby's chest. Again, this is to avoid suffocation. Traditionally, some people like to swaddle the baby but medically there are no benefits; there is no harm in it, either.
Dr Yong says there shouldn't be pillows for newborns because pillows too can contribute to suffocation.
The baby's mattress should be firm. Dr Yong suggests getting the polyester foam kind, not soft kapok. If you use a soft mattress, and if the child should sleep on his tummy, the mattress will mould to the face of the child and that increases the risk of suffocation.
Using bumper sheets (which go around the sides of the cot) is fine because these are tied to the sides of the cot. But they should only remain there as long as the child can't pull himself up and stand on that to try and climb out.
Once the baby can turn over he can sleep on either side. By that point it's fine for him to sleep on either his back or his tummy.
When the child is young you can put a soft toy that is fit for his age in the cot – that means no removable eyes and nothing that he can bite off. Or you could have a cot mobile to keep the baby entertained. If the child is older and can crawl, then he can use any toys in the cot to step on and climb out of the cot.
So, when he is older put the cot base all the way down. It is okay to put some soft toys inside the cot but nothing he can use to climb out. And nothing with small parts that can come off and risk him choking on.
When it's time to sleep remove the toys because they will deter the child from sleeping. After the child has gone to sleep, then you could put them back at the end of the cot.
Among the early concerns of parents is the shape of their newborn's head. Often the head is flatter on one side because baby has been sleeping on his back.
Dr Yong advises parents not to worry about the shape of baby's head.
“That is just temporary because babies tend to roll over by the time they reach four to six months. By the time they start rolling over they will move their head around and that will even out the head shape. In fact, they only lie in one position for about two months and after that you'll find that their head turns from the right to the left,” she says.
Self-comfort?
While it is okay to allow older children (12-15 months) to cry and comfort themselves to sleep, you need to firstly ensure they are not crying because they are wet or hungry.
Sometimes the child just wants the mother to be in the room with him.
Dr Yong suggests slowly coaxing the child when he is a bit older into a routine where you give him a shower, have dinner, no TV for half an hour to one hour before bedtime so that he can unwind, and if he is old enough, read him a bedtime story.
“You can sit in bed with him, read him to sleep, tuck him in and pat him to sleep so that he becomes familiar with the routine. Try to stick to that routine every day.
 |
| Dr Yong: 'The first few times you put him to sleep, you have to fool him into thinking you're also going to bed.' |
“A lot of times the child has a problem going to sleep because he sleeps in the same room as the parents and the parents are watching TV or the child knows the parents are going to watch TV after he falls asleep. The first few times you put him to sleep, you have to fool him into thinking you're also going to bed. So, you lie down with him. More often than not, you will fall asleep, too,” she points out.
If the parents go for a holiday and leave the child in the care of the extended family, the child will have trouble sleeping and being comforted because of the sudden change in routine and environment.
“Imagine yourself in that poor child's shoes. Suddenly the parents are missing. No parents, no familiar smell, and if he's now in someone else's house, there's a change in environment as well. The people taking care of him will just have to console him. If the child's environment remains the same, then it might be easier to comfort him.
“If you know you're going to be travelling a lot, if you have an extended family then you get the child accustomed to going over to that house. Try getting the baby familiar with going to that house, then perhaps sleeping over just one night (while you're still in town),” suggests Dr Yong.
How much sleep?
A newborn will sleep about 16-20 hours. This is the period where he only wakes up for feeds and then goes straight back to sleep.
Asked if there was a possibility of trying to adjust baby's feeding times so that he sleeps through the night, Dr Yong said, “No, babies should be fed on demand especially when they are young because they don't have enough nutrients to last them through the night.
“If you don't feed them at night, then their blood sugar level will start to drop so you need to feed them on demand.
“If they're not on solids yet and you're breastfeeding, then you feed them until about midnight, let them have a big feed, then they may last for about four hours.
“Breast milk is digested at a faster rate so the chances of them getting hungry soon are greater. That's why breastfed babies feed every two hours while bottlefed babies feed every three to four hours.
“Because you can't see how much breast milk your child is taking, you need to estimate. If the child is taking five minutes per breast then maybe you coax him to go back to the first breast and see if he will take some more.
“If the child doesn't want to feed more and keeps waking up every two hours, then there's nothing much you can do. In which case check first if the child is wet or cold. He may not necessarily be hungry and sometimes he may wake up because he wants to play.
“If he sleeps at 8pm or 9pm, then wake him up and feed him at midnight so that the next feeding time will be pushed to about 4am. Then, slowly, as he gets older drinks more, he is able to hold more milk, then he will sleep for a longer period.
“After six months, you would start feeding him solids so you can actually time the solids so that he is fuller for a longer period. Instead of waking up every two hours maybe then he will wake up at 1am and then again at 6am.
“You can give him his dinner at 7pm, then milk at 9pm or 10pm, and he'll still be quite full. Then he'll probably sleep for six hours.
“Once the child is older, he will start eating more and his sleep pattern also starts to change. Then he will be able to sleep for the whole eight to 10 hours at night,” she says.
Dr Yong adds that if baby just wakes up for the comfort then giving him water will discourage him from waking up. But you can only do that if baby is well nourished, growing well and is about six months old already. Then you know he has enough reserves. For a newborn, you still can't do that.
“After six months if he's just waking up and grinning at you, you know he's not really hungry. He just wants to play with you. Then you can try giving him plain water to drink.”
The schooling child
As the child gets older and starts going to school, he would only need about eight to 10 hours of sleep a day.
Napping during the day is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with the night sleep. According to Dr Yong, some children can't sleep at night if they take a two-hour nap in the afternoon.
If sleeping at night is not a problem, then preschoolers can take a couple of hours to nap in the afternoon after they come home from the kindergarten. Then they can go to sleep at night at about 9pm.
If the child is sleepy in the afternoon then nothing you do will prevent him from taking a nap, anyway. In that case, make sure the child slowly unwinds at night – give him an early dinner, switch off the TV early and have a nice quiet environment to help the child sleep.
Sleep for growth
Sleep is very important for both parents and adults. If a child doesn't get sufficient sleep, he becomes grumpy in the morning, he can't concentrate and it affects his growth as well because the growth hormone is secreted at night. If the child doesn't get 10 hours of sleep, the next morning you'll find that he doesn't pay attention in class and he doesn't grow as well. All this will translate into poor exam results.
It will also affect his health and immune system and he will be more susceptible to infections because his body is not well rested.
“If the child still has problems sleeping at night then you get him to be really active in the afternoon. When he comes back from school, take him to the park and let him run, exhaust him, then give him his dinner and a warm cup of milk or chocolate malt drink, then put him to bed.
“Very often, you find that children can't sleep because they are having dinner at 9pm. Dinner should be at about 7.30pm or 8pm and the TV should be switched off by 8.30pm so that they can go to bed by 9pm or 9.30pm.
“Make it a rule that he goes into the bedroom by 9pm, then you can read him a bedtime story and he will eventually fall asleep by 9.30pm.
“So even if he falls asleep by 10, by the time he wakes up at 6am the next morning, he would have had eight hours of sleep.
“But if you keep him out till late then he won't fall asleep by 9.30 or 10pm,” warns Dr Yong.
If the parents go for a holiday and leave the child in the care of the extended family, the child will have trouble sleeping and being comforted because of the sudden change in routine and environment.
“Imagine yourself in that poor child's shoes. Suddenly the parents are missing. No parents, no familiar smell, and if he's now in someone else's house, there's a change in environment as well. The people taking care of him will just have to console him. If the child's environment remains the same, then it might be easier to comfort him.
“If you know you're going to be travelling a lot, if you have an extended family then you get the child accustomed to going over to that house. Try getting the baby familiar with going to that house, then perhaps sleeping over just one night (while you're still in town),” suggests Dr Yong.
How much sleep?
A newborn will sleep about 16-20 hours. This is the period where he only wakes up for feeds and then goes straight back to sleep.
Asked if there was a possibility of trying to adjust baby's feeding times so that he sleeps through the night, Dr Yong said, “No, babies should be fed on demand especially when they are young because they don't have enough nutrients to last them through the night.
“If you don't feed them at night, then their blood sugar level will start to drop so you need to feed them on demand.
“If they're not on solids yet and you're breastfeeding, then you feed them until about midnight, let them have a big feed, then they may last for about four hours.
“Breast milk is digested at a faster rate so the chances of them getting hungry soon are greater. That's why breastfed babies feed every two hours while bottlefed babies feed every three to four hours.
“Because you can't see how much breast milk your child is taking, you need to estimate. If the child is taking five minutes per breast then maybe you coax him to go back to the first breast and see if he will take some more.
“If the child doesn't want to feed more and keeps waking up every two hours, then there's nothing much you can do. In which case check first if the child is wet or cold. He may not necessarily be hungry and sometimes he may wake up because he wants to play.
“If he sleeps at 8pm or 9pm, then wake him up and feed him at midnight so that the next feeding time will be pushed to about 4am. Then, slowly, as he gets older drinks more, he is able to hold more milk, then he will sleep for a longer period.
“After six months, you would start feeding him solids so you can actually time the solids so that he is fuller for a longer period. Instead of waking up every two hours maybe then he will wake up at 1am and then again at 6am.
“You can give him his dinner at 7pm, then milk at 9pm or 10pm, and he'll still be quite full. Then he'll probably sleep for six hours.
“Once the child is older, he will start eating more and his sleep pattern also starts to change. Then he will be able to sleep for the whole eight to 10 hours at night,” she says.
Dr Yong adds that if baby just wakes up for the comfort then giving him water will discourage him from waking up. But you can only do that if baby is well nourished, growing well and is about six months old already. Then you know he has enough reserves. For a newborn, you still can't do that.
“After six months if he's just waking up and grinning at you, you know he's not really hungry. He just wants to play with you. Then you can try giving him plain water to drink.”
The schooling child
As the child gets older and starts going to school, he would only need about eight to 10 hours of sleep a day.
Napping during the day is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with the night sleep. According to Dr Yong, some children can't sleep at night if they take a two-hour nap in the afternoon.
If sleeping at night is not a problem, then preschoolers can take a couple of hours to nap in the afternoon after they come home from the kindergarten. Then they can go to sleep at night at about 9pm.
If the child is sleepy in the afternoon then nothing you do will prevent him from taking a nap, anyway. In that case, make sure the child slowly unwinds at night – give him an early dinner, switch off the TV early and have a nice quiet environment to help the child sleep.
Sleep for growth
Sleep is very important for both parents and adults. If a child doesn't get sufficient sleep, he becomes grumpy in the morning, he can't concentrate and it affects his growth as well because the growth hormone is secreted at night. If the child doesn't get 10 hours of sleep, the next morning you'll find that he doesn't pay attention in class and he doesn't grow as well. All this will translate into poor exam results.
It will also affect his health and immune system and he will be more susceptible to infections because his body is not well rested.
“If the child still has problems sleeping at night then you get him to be really active in the afternoon. When he comes back from school, take him to the park and let him run, exhaust him, then give him his dinner and a warm cup of milk or chocolate malt drink, then put him to bed.
“Very often, you find that children can't sleep because they are having dinner at 9pm. Dinner should be at about 7.30pm or 8pm and the TV should be switched off by 8.30pm so that they can go to bed by 9pm or 9.30pm.
“Make it a rule that he goes into the bedroom by 9pm, then you can read him a bedtime story and he will eventually fall asleep by 9.30pm.
“So even if he falls asleep by 10, by the time he wakes up at 6am the next morning, he would have had eight hours of sleep.
“But if you keep him out till late then he won't fall asleep by 9.30 or 10pm,” warns Dr Yong.
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