Tag: normal infant sleep

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A Guide to Normal Infant Sleep and Safety for Expecting Parents

Congratulations! You’re embarking on one of life’s most incredible journeys – parenthood. As you eagerly await the arrival of your little one, it’s essential to prepare yourself for the reality of sleepless nights that often come hand in hand with the joys of new parenthood. Understanding normal infant sleep patterns and prioritising sleep safety is crucial for your baby’s well-being and your own peace of mind.

Normal Infant Sleep

What is normal infant sleep? Infants have unique sleep patterns that may seem perplexing at first. But rest assured, it’s entirely normal for babies to wake frequently during the night, as their tiny tummies require regular feeding. Newborns typically sleep for 14-17 hours a day, often in short bursts of 2-3 hours at a time. Over time, their sleep patterns will gradually evolve, with longer stretches of sleep emerging as they grow.

Sleep Safety Tips from the Lullaby Trust

The Lullaby Trust provides invaluable guidance to ensure your baby sleeps safely:

  1. Always place your baby on their back to sleep, for both naps and nighttime sleep.
  2. Share your room with your baby for the first six months, but avoid bed-sharing if you or your partner smoke, have consumed alcohol, or if you feel excessively tired.
  3. Keep your baby’s sleep environment clear of pillows, blankets, toys, and any loose bedding.
  4. Ensure your baby’s cot meets current safety standards and has a firm, flat and waterproof mattress.
  5. Maintain a comfortable room temperature, ideally between 16-20°C, to prevent overheating.
  6. Consider using a baby sleeping bag or swaddle to keep your little one snug without the risk of loose bedding.
  7. Avoid smoking, alcohol, or drug use during pregnancy and after birth, as these increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
  8. Breastfeeding, if possible, has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of SIDS.
  9. Ensure your baby’s head remains uncovered during sleep.

Coping with Less Sleep

  1. Prioritise sleep – let go of non-essential tasks and focus on getting as much rest as possible.
  2. Share the load – enlist the help of your partner, family, or friends to take turns caring for your baby during the night.
  3. Create a bedtime routine – establishing a consistent bedtime routine can help signal to your baby that it’s time to sleep.
  4. Accept help – don’t be afraid to accept offers of support from loved ones, whether it’s a home-cooked meal or an hour of babysitting.
  5. Stay hydrated and nourished – fuel your body with nutritious foods and plenty of water to help combat fatigue.
  6. Lower your expectations – embrace the chaos of parenthood and let go of the idea of perfection.
  7. Seek support – connect with other parents going through similar experiences, either in person or online.
  8. Practice self-compassion – be kind to yourself and remember that it’s okay to feel tired and overwhelmed at times.
  9. If you can rest or nap when your baby naps – forget about chores and embrace rest whenever you can.
  10. Remember, this phase is temporary – while it may feel never-ending, the sleepless nights will eventually pass, and you’ll emerge stronger and more resilient than ever before.

You can learn more about infant sleep and find support at BASIS – Baby Sleep Info Source. They have articles and research about normal infant sleep patterns and development and so much more to offer. Check out their site!

As you prepare to welcome your little bundle of joy into the world, keep these tips in mind to navigate the early days of parenthood with confidence and grace. Cherish the precious moments with your newborn, and remember that a well-rested parent is better equipped to care for their baby. Wishing you a smooth transition into parenthood and many restful nights ahead!

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Teaching about Safer Sleep

This weeks marks safer sleep week, so I am writing about teaching about safer sleep for your newborn babies.

I know that greater awareness of safer sleep leads to a decrease in the numbers of babies dying. 

Sadly around 3 babies a week still die from sudden infant death Syndrome (SIDS) in the UK (Lullaby Trust). If all parents were aware of safer sleep advice and practises we could save many lives. For most up-to-date research and recommendations, I point parents towards the Lullaby Trust or BASIS.

How to integrate teaching about safer sleep into your class?

Many parents are worried and/or unsure about clothing layers and safer sleep. I usually start off with my “dressing your baby” activity. Each parent/family unit has a baby doll or made their own towel baby. Then I have either a variety of baby clothing and accessories spread out on a table or floor in the middle of the room or, when social distancing was required, I had individual washbags for each family unit with

  • baby grow
  • long sleeve vest
  • short sleeve vests
  • scratch mittens
  • hat
  • socks/booties
  • cardigan
  • blanket

Then, each family unit receives a random weather/temperature scenario card. Each family is then to discuss the scenario, choose an appropriate outfit and dress their doll in it. Once finished, each family would present their choices and share what they chose how they decided on the outfit. This usually leads into a discussion about layers and overheating and how you can tell your baby is not too cold/hot. I hand out this clothing layers guide.

Then we discuss sleeping arrangements and what may be a practical choice for them by looking at my size comparison chart.

moses basket to cot bed size comparison

After that we look at the safer sleep recommendations by the lullaby trust and put our babies safely to bed (I usually use a piece of flipchart paper to represent the cot mattress). If I have the equipment in at the venue I show this video before they put their baby doll to bed:

If I don’t have the equipment I ask them if they could download and look at the BASIS App before the session and watch the video above.

Alternative safer sleep teaching ideas

Alternatively, I have used the “make a room” and “spot the risk” by the lullaby trust (free) before. However, I have stopped using these as I am focussing on reinforcing truths and positive practise. Therefore, I have removed images containing less safe, unsafe or dangerous content. This approach comes from my hypnobirthing practice as well as my early years work with “Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities” (EPEC). I have also updated all the “true” and “false” quizzes I use to only contain true information/statements, to reinforce these.

Teaching about safer sleep online

In an online setting I am using my “dressing your baby” powerpoint for online learning. I have each family in their private zoom room (breakout room) and using google slides, each of them has access to their own slide. i.e. breakout room #1 works on slide #1 etc. Each slide has a different scenario as a background and clients can move the clothes around.

For the other tasks as above, I ask them to bring along a selection of baby clothes if they have any or just describe to us how and where their baby would sleep most safely…

Sources and Further reading