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6 Common Baby Sleep Myths

Congratulations on the birth of your gorgeous little bundle into the world! You’ve probably heard many stories about the sleep that you won’t get when your newborn arrives, right? Maybe you have been told to make sure you ‘Get them into a good routine’ and ‘Don’t get into bad habit’s early on or-else you 'Create a rod for your own back?’, or perhaps, ‘Don’t let them fall asleep on you, don’t feed to sleep, put them to sleep in a dark room?’ The list goes on... Well, as an experienced Infant Sleep Consultant and Occupational Therapist, I’m here to tell you that you can ignore all of this bad advice and to debunk some of these myths!

Myth 1: Feeding, Rocking or Holding to Sleep is wrong and will get you into ‘bad habits’ Feeding, Rocking or Holding your baby to sleep NORMAL infant sleep behaviour and helps with bonding, regulation and creates a sense of safety and connection. Those first 4 months are critical to establishing a strong attachment with your baby and being close to your body helps them to regulate their body temperature and stress response. Myth 2: Get into a routine early on Newsflash! Most babies do not sleep 7am-7pm regardless of what routine you attempt to put in place. Your baby’s circadian rhythm does not begin to develop until between 4-4.5 month’s, so random short naps peppered throughout the day and frequent night wakes are all normal in these early stages (and sometimes up until 6 months). The single most effective thing you can do is to expose your baby to bright light at a regular time every morning and dim the lights 2 hours before bedtime. This will assist to consolidate their circadian rhythm as soon as possible as it helps them to discriminate between night and day. Myth 3: Feeding formula at night-time will help your baby to sleep through Formula milk can take a little longer for a baby to digest due to it being a Cow’s milk protein, however studies have shown that formula fed babies only sleep 30 minutes longer on average compared to breastfed babies. Therefore, if you choose or need to use formula, make sure it’s for the right reasons and not to get more sleep.

Myth 4: Wait until baby starts solids then they will sleep longer’ his is a false assumption and can often make us feel even more deflated when baby gets to that magical 6 month mark where they are all of a sudden expected to sleep in their own room without any food or comfort (this happened to me with my first born!). The truth is, many babies start out on ‘first foods’, such as vegetables and fruit, which tend to not be very calorie dense and less nutritionally rich than breast or formula milk. Therefore, you may only start to see some gradual improvements once more richer calorie dense foods are introduced ONLY IF the sleep struggle is hunger related of course. Myth 5: Night-wean your baby and they will sleep through the night Babies wake in the night for comfort, connection, regulation, hunger, pain, discomfort, too cold, too warm or due to a wet or soiled nappy. Reducing or eliminating night-feeds completely will not necessarily reduce night-waking’s, particularly if your baby is under 12 months. Myth 6: Just leave them to 'Cry it Out' then they will sleep through Sadly, leaving our babies to cry alone often leads to further exhaustion and distress for all involved when their primary care giver has disappeared from the sleep space. Many parents feel desperate when they choose this option and success can be short lived.

Your next steps.. 'I'm Emily Hunton and I've helped lots of families transform their lives through better sleep. I truly believe that great sleep is the key to happiness and health.' If you would like to learn more about how I can help you and your family to get more sleep then you can book a FREE 15 minute call by clicking the link below. BOOK YOUR FREE DISCOVERY CALL TODAY https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14738520&appointmentType=4910987

@EmilySleepConsultant | emilysleepconsultant@gmail.com| www.emilysleepconsultant.co.uk

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https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14738520&appointmentType=4910987

Jun 10, 2021

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