Young babies are notoriously bad sleepers and sleepless children are one of the biggest challenges faced by parents of an otherwise healthy child.  From birth to around 4-6 months, I would expect most parents to have frequent night time waking for feeds and variable naps scattered throughout the course of the daytime.  Beyond this age, sleep becomes more organised for both night and day time and parents can begin to experience, if they haven’t already, longer stretches of consolidated sleep.  If your baby is older than 6 months and still not sleeping well, then you might need to consider some factors that impact the development of healthy sleep habits.
  • An inappropriate bedtime 
Your young infant will have a late bedtime around 22.00-00.00 from birth but as sleep becomes organised it creeps earlier, before it settles at the time right for your child. Typically young children need to be in bed asleep in the region of 18.00-20.00. 
 
Beware of having too late a bedtime for your child, as this may cause overtiredness, which in turn, encourages frequent night time awakenings.  Don’t be afraid that by putting your child to bed early, they will awaken at 04.00-05.00 to start the day. The reverse is true. An earlier bedtime promotes a more rested sleep and a potentially later wake up time.  Young children routinely waken between 06.00-07.30am.
  • Inadequate naps
Understand your child’s need for day time sleep. Ensure that your child is getting the right amount of sleep for their age group and that it happens at the right time for the body, in a sleep friendly environment. This will have positive implications for the overall context of your child’s sleep.
  • Unable to fall asleep with a parent’s help
Falling asleep unassisted at bedtime is the key learning piece for achieving consolidated sleep.  If your child requires your presence and/or a bottle/feed or any other prop to go to sleep, then they may find it very difficult to cycle through their natural sleep phases overnight and during a nap without needing certain conditions recreated for them.  Ultimately children need to acquire the skill of falling asleep without adult transitioning skills in order to become efficient sleepers.
 
As many other elements contribute to healthy sleep, it is also necessary to examine the following:
  • Is your baby too hot or too cold?
  • Is the room adequately dark and non stimulating?
  • Is your child well fed (solids and milk) and hydrated throughout the course of the day?
  • Rule out underlying medical conditions- colic, reflux, food intolerances, sleep apnea with your health practitioner.
 
Paediatric Sleep Consultant

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