About Me

We interviewed a myriad of people about Sleep Consultancies and collated the following information. I trust that you find it informational.Put your baby down for her nap or bedtime when she’s tired, but not too tired. When you start to spot signs that she needs a rest like rubbing her eyes, yawning, looking away from you or fussing a lot, that’s your cue to get her into her crib or bassinet. We all know that sleep is vital for our health and wellbeing – we feel pretty rubbish when we don’t get enough – but for babies it’s also particularly important for their growth. Just when you think you’re all getting used to a reasonable night’s sleep, at 4 months your little one starts waking regularly. Sound familiar? The only good news is it’s totally normal, the bad news, you might have to get used to a more broken sleep for a short while. But there are things you can do to help get you through this phase. Remember, babies should be sleeping in the same room as an adult until six months, to reduce the risk of SIDS. There’s no badge of honor for powering through sleeplessness on your own. Whenever possible, accept help — or go ahead and ask for assistance from family and friends. Babies typically sleep in short spurts over a 24-hour period, so allowing others to assist you with watching, feeding, or changing the baby is critical. Even if all you can manage is a quick afternoon nap while a friend cares for your baby, every little bit helps you catch up on nighttime losses. Please, ask for help if you need it, especially at night. It may seem obvious, but taking care of yourself is one of the best things you can do to help your little one get the right amount of quality sleep. Consistency can help your baby sleep, so aim to put them in the same place for both daytime and nighttime sleeps, where practical. Keeping them in the same room as you while they sleep is advised for the first six months. Some babies get their first teeth and four or five months, and they can cause real irritation and discomfort. Try massaging their face around the jawline and under the chin to soothe it, or try a teething gel. Some babies will only settle for a feed, though. From the start, take steps to help your baby learn to sleep alone. Don't rely on external aids. It's normal for a 6-month-old baby to wake up a few times a night, but he should be able to fall back to sleep again on his own. If he can't, he may not know how to self-soothe, so you may want to consider sleep training. Having a baby is a steep learning curve and aspects such as ferber method come along and shake things up just when you're not expecting them.Helping Your Baby Fall AsleepPutting your cot in the right spot is key. Pick a location that isn’t in the direct pathway of your air-conditioning or heating vents since sudden temperature changes will startle and disturb baby. The cot should also be placed away from windows to protect your little one from drafts and outside noise. Intentionally waking your baby is an essential step in teaching her the skill of self-soothing (falling back to sleep on his or her own after being jolted awake by a ringing phone or passing truck). And don’t worry. You’ll be able to help her slide back into sleep in no time even before she learns self-soothing once you master the skill of turning on her calming reflex. You can start getting your baby used to going to sleep without you comforting them by putting them down before they fall asleep or when they’ve just finished a feed. It may be easier to do this once your baby starts to stay alert more frequently or for longer. If your baby was born prematurely, her sleep numbers will differ from those of full-term infants. Preemies may sleep up to 22 hours a day, depending on how premature they are, and they’ll wake more frequently to feed. As for stringing together bigger chunks of nighttime sleep (six hours or more), preemies won’t get there as quickly. In fact, it may take until they're 10 or 12 months old to achieve this feat. As unlikely as it sounds, even babies newly home from the hospital can be taught to sleep better. In fact, shaping your baby’s sleep is usually pretty easy to do with the right sleep cues. There are multiple approaches to 4 month sleep regression and a sleep expert will help you choose one that is right for you and your family.Slumber can already be elusive for most adults, but add a baby who refuses to go to sleep into the mix, and you’re in for some serious insomnia. Before monkeying around with bedtime changes, take a few days to notice if your little one is overtired before you put him down (wired and irritable or yawning and bleary-eyed) or wide-awake (happy and playful). During the first weeks of a baby's life, some parents choose to room-share. Room-sharing is when you place your baby's crib, portable crib, play yard, or bassinet in your own bedroom instead of in a separate nursery. This keeps baby nearby and helps with feeding, comforting, and monitoring at night. Good sleep hygiene (getting the environment right) is always of benefit and babies will feel comforted by routine; this can be nothing more than being put down in the same space to sleep, making sure the room is dark and quiet and doing night feeds in a quiet way rather than singing and playing! Having a bedtime is useful once baby starts to sleep for longer periods and doing all feeds after that as night feeds will encourage baby to go back to sleep calmly. Even if your baby is "sleeping through the night" at 3 to 6 months old, you probably won’t be for a while (if your baby goes down at 7:30 p.m., for example, six hours later would be 1:30 a.m. and eight would be 3:30 a.m.). Whether its something specific like sleep training or really anything baby sleep related, a baby sleep consultant can guide you to find a sleep solution as individual as your baby is.Keep Your Baby CloseNewborns wake every couple of hours to eat. Breastfed babies feed often, about every 2–3 hours. Bottle-fed babies tend to feed less often, about every 3–4 hours. Your arms are basically baby's second home. The moment your baby comes out of the womb, they’re placed in your arms and that’s where they live. It’s where they are when you’re shushing them when they cry, when you’re feeding them, and yes, where they often drift off to sleep in those early days, because your warm, loving arms can feel like being back in the womb. So, is it really any wonder when this becomes their most natural sleep space? Sleeping in stillness is actually a form of sensory deprivation to a baby, like locking us in a dark closet. Of course, chaotic disturbances - like clanging pots - will disturb your baby’s sleep. But rhythmic jiggly motion and the right white noise sound (rumbling and low pitched) will be two of your top tools for boosting her naps and nights. Similar to being held, when you hold your baby to settle them to sleep, you naturally rock and it is this motion that helps them fall asleep. You will also recognise this if your baby often sleeps in a rocking, bouncer chair. It’s possible to sleep train an infant who’s sleeping in the same room as you, but it’s definitely tough. When your infant can see you, she’ll naturally keep trying and trying to get you to pick her up. That’s why—if at all possible—I recommend that you and your partner sleep in the living room and keep your infant in the bedroom while you’re doing the training. Or consider using the pick up/put down method instead of longer-and-longer. Sleep consultants support hundreds of families every year, assisting with things such as gentle sleep training using gentle, tailored methods.After babies hit the 6-month mark, their napping and nighttime habits become harder to change. And since studies have shown that babies get less sleep and wake more often when they're not in their crib, you have a serious incentive to act now. Learn more about your baby's preferred slumber habits, and get pointers for how to get your newborn to sleep in the crib. If you have a baby that has suffered with colic or reflux, their digestion can be an issue which can irritate and cause tension for them when trying to sleep. Baby massage can aid baby digestion therefore easing them to sleep. High-need babies are notoriously resistant to mechanical mother substitutes and will usually protest anything less than the real mom. Before you actually spend money on a swing, you might want to borrow one for a week or two to see if the spell of the swing will last. You may discover that you are uncomfortable with mechanical mothering and decide to get more creative. Still, swings have their moments. Like us, babies are influenced by external factors, such as daylight and warmth, when trying to sleep. Opening curtains, making the room light and playing games in the day is a great way to establish there is a difference between day and night, and your baby will soon learn this. It’s important for babies to get used to father’s way of comforting and being put to sleep (and back to sleep) in father’s arms, otherwise, mothers burn out. A father’s participation in nighttime parenting is especially important for the breastfeeding infant who assumes the luxury that “mom’s diner” is open all night. If you're looking for a compassionate, effective and evidence-based approach to sleep or just advice on one thing like sleep regression then a baby sleep specialist will be able to help you.Learn The Art Of Stress-bustingFatigue makes adults sleep better, but it can totally backfire with infants and make them wired and restless. Sleep deprivation clouds our judgment, depresses our mood, and can lead to bad decisions, car accidents, heart disease … even cancer. Try not to be too quiet during daytime sleep. While it is OK to draw the shades and close the door behind you to create a conducive sleeping environment inside the nursery, you do not want to create a noiseless environment outside the nursery. Everyday noise around the house actually is not bad, but good, during and after training. You can discover supplementary insights regarding Sleep Consultancies on this Wikipedia page.Related Articles:Now Is The Time For You To Know The Truth About Baby Sleep SpecialistsWhat Are Sleep Consultants And Why Is This Matter Invaluable To You?Here's What Industry Insiders Say About Baby Sleep Trainers