Posts Tagged ‘healthy sleep’
Sleep Style Options for Putting Your Baby to Bed
By now, you’ve probably heard a dozen different ways to put your baby to bed: Rock her, don’t rock her; let her cry, don’t let her cry; put her in your bed, don’t put her in your bed. Yet you’re still desperately seeking sleep. Congratulations — you’ve learned the first, most golden rule of parenting: There’s no one right way to do anything. (Of course, if you could get some sleep, that would be a lot easier to see.) Hitting upon the right bedtime style for you and your child is one part instinct, two parts personality (yours and your baby’s), and four parts practice. We’ve put together five options, all of which can be tweaked to suit your situation. If you discover that the two of you don’t fit neatly into any single category at the moment, go for a mix-and-match approach. Read on, and soon you’ll both be dreamin’ on.
The Drowsy Tuck-In approach
Healthy Sleep Tips | National Sleep Foundation
The following ten tips can help you achieve sleep and the benefits it provides. These tips are intended for “typical” adults, but not necessarily for children or persons experiencing medical problems.
Finally, if you have trouble falling asleep, maintaining sleep, awaken earlier than you wish, feel unrefreshed after sleep or suffer from excessive sleepiness during the day or when you wish to be alert, you should also consult your physician. Be sure to tell him/her if you have already tried these tips and for how long. To check for possible sleep problems, go to our checklist, “How’s Your Sleep?”
1. Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule including weekends.
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Berkeley Parents Network: Giving up Naps
Berkeley Parents Network Home Members Post a Msg Reviews Advice Subscribe Help/FAQ What’s New
Giving up Naps Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Sleep > Naps > Giving up Naps Changing from two naps to one
- 8 1/2 month old has stopped taking morning nap
- 11-month-old transitioning to one nap?
- Is 8 month old transitioning to 1 nap?
- From 2 naps to 1 = less total nap time = crabby 19mo
- Is one-year-old ready to give up the morning nap?
- 14-m-o changing to one nap, but it’s too short
- When did your baby shift to one nap?
- Is 18-month-old ready to move to one nap?
- One Nap Hell – 16.5 month old
- 14-mo-old going from two naps to one
- 14-mo-old still wants morning nap, but not afternoon nap
- When do babies give up morning nap?
Giving Up Naps Altogether
- Cut the nap altogether? – almost 3
- 3 year old no longer wants to nap
- Adjusting bedtime when 2.5 year old stops napping
- 3.5 year old not napping I’m 8 months pregnant!!
- Not sure if 3 year old still needs a nap
- Trouble weaning 3-year-old off naps for preschool
- Toddler suddenly won’t take a nap anymore
- 20-month-old Giving Up Nap?
Related Pages
- Naps at Day Care
- Nap Schedule
- More Advice about Naps
8 1/2 month old has stopped taking morning nap Oct 2008
I have an 8 1/2 month old boy who has always had a strange relationships w/naps. My husband and I have basically been slaves for his naps – we’ve taken it really seriously and work hard to make sure he gets them b/c he he has always had trouble w/them. For the first 6 months he seemed to only take them on the go mostly stroller, but sometimes in the car or being held (b/c if you put him down he’d wake up). Around six months we started to be able to get him to nap in the crib (which was a good thing, b/c everything started to wake him up outside)- the times were somewhat irregular, but at least he predictably slept (could be 1/2 hour, could be 2 hours). Lately, around the time he used to nap in the morning (10:30/11) – he might get really drowsy eating his bottle, but when I put him down he almost bounces awake! and then precedes to be busy crawling around in the crib for over half an hour before I give up and let him play on the floor. Today this happened and he didn’t go down till 1pm. He will probably sleep about 1.5 – 2.5 hours now. At night he generally sleeps from 7pm till 7:30am w/1-2 wake-ups for eating – so he gets a lot of sleep at night (at least 12 hours). So the question is: is this okay? should I be trying harder to get him to take that morning nap? is he just ahead of where he is supposed to be developmentally (he’s a big boy for his age and he started crawling pretty early (7.5 months) ? or, like many things w/babies, could this just be a stage and he’ll revert to 2 naps eventually? Thanks for your advice! just want my baby to get his sleep
Eight months seems awfully early to be down to one nap….Have you tried putting him down earlier for the first nap? My son always had a shorter period of time before morning waking and nap #1–around 1-2 hours. He was an early crawler, too (6 months!), and didn’t go down to one nap until almost 18 months. Good Luck I just wanted to share that my niece never really took two naps a day. Even when she was a baby she took one long nap at lunch time. My sister-in-law then gave up on trying to put her on a regular schedule (2 naps a day) and just let her go until lunch time, where she took a long long nap (usually 2 and a half hour). It really sounds like your daughter sleeps so much at night that she probably isn’t tired enough by 10:30am. My niece is still at 5 a very good sleeper, and still takes naps occasionnally. Madeleine Our pediatrician told us that as long as our children were getting 13 hours of sleep per 24 hours, that it was okay. When they slept didn’t matter, so long as our children were getting enough sleep, weren’t too cranky, and weren’t rubbing their eyes from sleepiness. They consolidated their nap times at about 11 mos. and moved to one nap after lunch. Both were rather small girls. Good advice the doctor gave us was to expect them to start waking at night around 10-11 months, due to teething. He urged us to soothe them, but not to feed them, since hunger would not be the problem. If we fed them, their stomachs would keep waking them up, even after teeth came in, and we would be stuck with a big problem. We knew other families who had not been given this hint, and whose babies had real problems sleeping after that. So while we are on the topic of sleep. I thought I’d pass this on, too. Judy Another mother My third had to adjust to only one nap around that age (once he was too big to sleep in the carrier while we were out and about). Just make sure he has as much time as he needs for the nap that comes a little later. Different schedules for different kids 11-month-old transitioning to one nap? June 2008
My son will turn 11 months in a few days. This past week, he’s had 4 out of 5 days where he will only take one nap (after complete exhaustion & possibly in car) or won’t nap at all! He used to go down twice/day with a bottle, but lately that’s not working. We’ve increased his naptime bottles to 8 oz. He seems very sleepy (almost asleep), but once he realizes that bottle is empty, he cries/screams & wakes up. (I’m also worried we’re feeding him too much since we’re giving him so much more formula to try and help him sleep …)
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How To Make My Baby Sleep The Whole Night?
Tips To Help You Deal With Anxiety And Stress | Home | Is There Really Any Actual Proof Hypnosis Can Make A Difference For Those Suffering From Bipolar/insomnia?
How To Make My Baby Sleep The Whole Night?
By administrator | December 30, 2009
My baby is 16 months old and everybody says he should be sleeping the whole night by now… any suggestions?
Berkeley Parents Network: Co
Berkeley Parents Network Home Members Post a Msg Reviews Advice Subscribe Help/FAQ What’s New
Co-Sleeping with a Baby Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Sleep > Co-sleeping > Co-Sleeping with a Baby
- Planning to Co-sleep – what do I need?
- Co-sleeping 3-month-old thrashing & kicking at 4am
- We want 4-mo-old in bed but not between us
- 6-month-old only sleeps lying on top of mom
- Co-sleeping 9-month-old sleeps very lightly
- Baby naps only while being held
- We Love Co-sleeping but Baby isn’t sleeping well
- Co-sleeping with a baby and an older child
- Moving baby out of our bed
- Breastfeeding and Co-sleeping
- Safety Concerns of Co-sleeping
- More advice about co-sleeping
- Co-sleepers & Snuggle Nests (reviews)
Co-sleeping 3-month-old thrashing & kicking at 4am June 2005
Our 3 1/2-month old sleeps in bed with me and my husband. He does well until around 4:00 am (easily goes back to sleep after nursing, etc.). But starting around 4:00 am he becomes very restless — thrashing and kicking his arms and legs. (At first we thought it was because he had gas, but we have discovered he thrashes regardless.) He seems to sleep through it all, but my husband and I have a hard time doing the same. This has been going on for at least a month. Does anyone know if this is common baby behavior? Has anyone been able to calm their baby’s restless arms and legs? Or is it time for us to start transitioning him to his own bed?
My baby moved around quite alot as well at that age. We put her in a bassinet right next to the bed (or you could use a co- sleeper) which would minimize the disruption to your sleep. Good luck Your post reminded me of a friend’s infant – now 7 years old – who started to be a big thrasher around 5, 6 months. In that child’s case, the child was diagnosed with sleep apnea and was I guess thrashing around for increased air. The baby’s adenoids turned out to be big and partially blocked breathing. My friend described her baby as snoring, mouth breathing, and doing a kind of sucking, choking sound as well as thrashing. Just a thought. I think that an ENT doctor evaluates that sort of thing. P.S. The baby had her adenoids out and become a champion quiet, still sleeper. Good luck to you! Fredericka It’s normal for babies to move around when they sleep, particularly when they go through milestones. At this age your baby is becoming much more aware of the world around him, is getting control over his body and soon will start rolling around and sitting down, plus he may be starting to teeth. All these things disturb his sleep. Chances are that he’ll go back to a quiet type of sleep for a while, only to be disturbed again when he reaches another milestone. In a few months, you’ll have him crawling in his sleep! If his movements bother you and your husband, you should think of transitioning him now, when it’s still easy. You could put a crib near your bed so you still have him close but he doesn’t hit you. anon One of our babies did the same thing–he’s now 7 months and I’d say it hasn’t been a problem since 4 months or so? I’m finding that with most baby-related ”problems,” the simple answer is that you just need to wait and it will resolve itself! Genevieve Three months is when we moved our daughter into her own sleeping space. We really liked the idea of having her in bed with us but nobody was getting any rest because she is so restless. It was hard – I missed having her right next to me! – but it was really good we did because we all slept better and she really likes being in her own crib now. good luck sleeping well The same thing happened to us with our now 12 month old son when he was around that 3-4 months, so we began to swaddle him at naptime/bedtime and it helped a lot. We swaddled him until he was about 6 months and swaddling helped keep him asleep longer, and it also helped on the transition from our bed to his crib. Hopefully that will help you guys, good luck! Teresa My baby began to thrash around at four months and I started to transition him to his crib at this time. For me, it has worked out just great, and my son loves his crib. If you aren’t ready to start moving him out, you could try swaddling him when he sleeps with you and this might keep his movements down… lisette Try swaddling your baby. It sounded kind of old-fashioned to me but it works and it is fine for the baby. One explanation (and instructions) can be found in Harvey Karp’s ‘Happiest Baby on the Block’ book. Apparently there is a DVD version, too. Anon. i have a 2 year old who has done this on and off forever. he’s now transitioning to a toddler bed….i entirely missed the crib boat. my advice is you will all sleeep better if he goes in a crib. i wish i had taken my own advice. good luck We want 4-mo-old in bed but not between us May 2002
Our 41/2 month old son has been sleeping in bed since he was born, (first baby) now he is strong and big 16lbs. and rolling so we need to figure out something else, but we don’t know what. We need to have some personal snuggle time but the baby is always between us. We tried to get one of those bed rails so he could be on one side but our mattress is too big 15”… any suggestions- we were also told that co-sleepers are onle good for 17lbs or less? The bedis already next to wall – not good enough. The thought of a crib has come up but we still want him in bed with us and we don’t think he will sleep alone. He has to fall asleep on one of us and sleeps on me most of the night after nursing. Help with ideas are really appreciated. Liza
We kept our son in bed with or near us for the first year, which we all loved, except for the part about the kicking, thrashing, sideways-sleeping little body taking up most of the bed. My solution was to take my sister’s porta-crib [one of those miniature cribs where the sides fold in] and remove its 4th side, so that it became kind of a co-sleeper for big kids. I secured it around with a belt clamp, keeping the sides all snug. You can also use some c-clamps to secure it more snugly to your bed; ours was jammed between the bed and the wall pretty tight, so we felt it was safe. You can place a piece of board or cardboard beneath the crib mattress if you think the gap presents a problem. The crib’s mattress was somewhat lower than our mattress top, but our son climbed up to us when he needed us and we were able to slide him over into the crib pretty easily too. It’s so nice to just be able to reach over and comfort him – it worked really well for us. It did make it a lot harder to make the bed. Jean Have you tried all different types of bed rails? We have a tall mattress too and finally found a brand (Safety First I think?) that works perfectly. It doesn’t need to be really high off the bed-just enough to prevent a roll. I would not recommend the bed against the wall as baby can get wedged between the bed and the wall. I put my baby on the outside with the bed rail up and find she is more far more likely to roll towards me than she is to roll to the outside near the guard. Nicole we had a lot of luck putting our son’s crib, minus one side rail, right up against our bed. It functions just like a co- sleeper, but give us a lot more room in the parent’s bed. he can roll over when he needs some milk or a snuggle and we can roll him back when he falls asleep again. Jolie You could try putting your mattress right on the floor and adding a second mattress and extra bedding materials right next to it, to make a super-sized bed for all three of you!
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Natural Sleep Remedies and Sleep Medication for Insomnia Relief
Serenity in slumber
The complex nature of the brain can sometimes make the seemingly easy task of falling asleep difficult. For those young and old, sleep is a vital component of health.
It is essential that the time spent in slumber be quality sleep, deep and relaxing – to rejuvenate all body systems for optimum performance, as the brain needs adequate sleep to replenish itself on a cellular level. If this does not happen, we can expect ‘processing’ problems with mood, concentration, memory and thought processes all being affected.
Healthy Sleep: A Guide to Natural Sleep Remedies
Healthy Sleep 
A Guide to Natural Sleep Remedies Contents Introduction Many of us experience the occasional night of sleeplessness without any consequences. It is when the occasional night here and there becomes a pattern of several nights in a row that you are faced with a sleeping problem. Repeated loss of sleep affects all areas of your life: The physical, the mental, and the emotional. Sleep deprivation can affect your overall daily performance and may even have an effect on your personality.
If your insomnia continues for a long period of time it can cause problems in your relationships, compromise your productivity, and perhaps lead to other health problems. It can become a relentless cycle of worry and anxiety as night after night you toss and turn, wondering when sleep will come, wondering what is wrong with you. Insomnia and sleeplessness generally fall into three categories:
- “Initial” insomnia: where you have difficulty in falling asleep, generally taking 30 minutes or longer to fall into a sleep state.
- “Middle” insomnia: where after falling asleep you have problems maintaining a sleep state, often remaining awake until the early morning hours.
- “Late” or “Terminal” insomnia: where you awake early in the morning after less than 6 hours of sleep.
Insomnia can be the symptom of some medical conditions that may require your doctor’s advice and medical care. In those cases the cause will be treated, not the insomnia. If, however, your sleeplessness is due to a pattern of not sleeping, or because your body and mind find it difficult to settle into a state of relaxation necessary for sleep, this book offers you alternative choices for achieving healthy sleep without the use of prescription drugs. This document will teach you how to:
- Set the mood for a comfortable sleep atmosphere
- Prepare your body for relaxation
- Use colors to stimulate calmness and relaxation
- Understand the importance of exercise
- Use music and other relaxation techniques
- Relieve your mind of anxiety and worry
- Discover the importance of reducing stimulants
- Use herbal teas and warm drinks to promote relaxation
- Use herbs and vitamins to promote natural sleep
After reading this book you will have the information you need to turn your sleepless nights into restful ones, waking in the morning refreshed and alert rather than tired and anxious. All of the techniques and sleep-inducing aids in this book can be applied naturally and easily in your life. Get ready to embark on the journey of falling asleep naturally!
Getting Baby to Sleep through the Night
Getting baby to sleep through the night Does your baby sleep through the day, and keep you up at night? This has been the cry of mothers and fathers heard round the world.
A newborn baby will sleep from 16 to 20 hours per day. Unfortunately, this sleeping time is usually broken up into 2-4 hour periods. The key is to get your baby into a routine sleeping schedule. This type of consistency will allow you ample time for household chores, a good night’s rest, and time in general just for you…( because we know that all moms need some of that.)
You may just be one tweak away from a good night’s rest. Find out what other parents are doing to get their baby to sleep through the night in a week or two.
Guide to Healthy Sleep on
Your Guide to Healthy Sleep
- Introduction to sleep
- What is sleep?
- How much sleep is enough?
- Why sleep is good for you and skimping on sleep isn’t
- How much sleep do you need?
- Tips for a good nights sleep
- Could you have a sleep disorder?
- Patient Discussions: Sleep – Problems Experienced
- Find a local Sleep Specialist in your town
Are You Sleep Deprived?
Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stppler, MD
Medical Editor: Jay W. Marks, MD
No matter how much sleep you need, if you don’t get enough, you will suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. Research has shown that in tests of driving ability and hand-eye coordination, people deprived of sleep perform as badly as, or even worse than, people who are intoxicated. It’s no wonder that drowsiness is a major cause of traffic accidents and deaths.