Sleeping
Some babies sleep much more than others. Some sleep in long patches, some in short. Some soon sleep right through the night, some dont for a long time. Your baby will have his or her own pattern of waking and sleeping, and its unlikely to be the same as other babies you know. Also, the pattern will change over time.
One thing is certain. In the early weeks your babys sleeping pattern is very unlikely to fit in with your need for sleep. Try to follow your babys needs. Youll gradually get to know when sleep is needed. Dont catch up on housework while your baby sleeps. Snatch sleep and rest whenever you can.
A baby who wants to sleep isnt likely to be disturbed by household noise. So theres no need to keep the house silent while your baby sleeps. In fact, it will help you if your child gets used to sleeping through a certain amount of noise.
Most parents want their children to learn to sleep for the longest period at night when they are sleeping and it helps if you encourage night-time sleeping right from the start by teaching your baby that the night-time is different from the daytime. During night feeds:
Keep the lights down low.
Keep your voice low and dont talk much.
Put your baby down as soon as you have fed and changed him or her.
Dont change your baby if a change is not needed.
If your baby always falls asleep in your arms, at your breast, in your partners arms, or with someone by the cot, he or she might not easily take to settling alone. This might not matter to you and may be unavoidable in the early weeks, particularly with a breastfed baby. But, if you want your baby to get used to going off to sleep alone, its wise to start right from the beginning, by putting the baby down before he or she falls asleep whenever this is possible. However, you may need to wait until the baby is alert for longer or more frequent periods. Remember though, the longer you leave it, the more difficult it will become.
Once youve established a pattern you may want to try and shift things around a bit. For example, you may wake your baby for a feed just before you go to bed in the hope that youll get a good long stretch of sleep before he or she wakes again.
SAFE SLEEPING:-
Reducing the risk of cot death
Sadly, we dont know why some babies die suddenly and for no apparent reason from what is called cot death or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). We do know that placing a baby to sleep on his or her back reduces the risk, and that exposing a baby to cigarette smoke or overheating a baby increases the risk.
All the advice that we now have for reducing the risk of cot death and other dangers such as suffocation is listed below.
Always put your baby to sleep on his or her back.
Cut out smoking in pregnancy fathers too!
Dont let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby.
Dont let your baby get too hot and dont overheat the room (see The right temperature, below).
Keep your babys head uncovered in bed place your baby in the feet to foot position.
If your baby is unwell, seek advice promptly.
A safe place to sleep
Your baby should always be put to sleep on his or her back unless theres clear medical advice to do something different. Babies sleeping on their backs arent more likely to choke, and the risk of cot death is increased for babies sleeping on their fronts.
It is advisable to keep your baby in a cot beside you for the first six months.
Avoid plastic sheets or bumpers, ribbons and bits of string from mobiles. If theyre anywhere near your baby, he or she could get tangled in them.
Make sure theres no gap between the cot mattress and the sides of the cot through which your babys body could slip. This is particularly important if you replace the mattress with a new or second hand one. If you do use a second hand mattress, make sure that it is firm, clean and dry, well aired and generally in good condition.
Remove any loose plastic covering from the mattress that could come off and smother your baby.
Dont give a baby under the age of one a pillow.
Dont let anyone fall asleep nursing a baby.
Dont let your baby fall asleep propped up on a cushion on a sofa or armchair.
The right temperature
Small babies arent very good at controlling their own temperature.
Its just as important to avoid them getting too hot, as it is to avoid getting chilled. Overheating is known to be a factor in cot death.
If the room is warm enough for you to be comfortable wearing light clothing (1620C), then its the right temperature for your baby.
Give your baby one light layer of clothing (or bedding) more than youre wearing. If the room is hot for you, keep your babys clothes or bed covering light.
Dont use duvets (quilts) until your baby is one year old. They get too hot.
Although it is fine to take your baby into your bed for comfort, a baby falling asleep under your duvet may get too hot.
Keep your babys head uncovered indoors (unless its very cold) because a baby needs to lose heat from his or her head and face.
Never use a hot water bottle or electric blanket. Babies have a delicate skin, which can scald or burn easily.
Ill or feverish babies dont need any extra bedding. In fact they usually need less.
If you smoke, sharing a bed with your baby may increase the risk of cot death.
Remove hats and extra clothing as soon as you come indoors or enter a warm car, bus or train, even if it means waking your baby.
Clean air
Babies shouldnt be exposed to tobacco smoke, either before birth or afterwards. If you, or anyone else who looks after your baby, smokes then dont smoke anywhere near the baby. It would be even better if everyone could make an effort to give up completely. Smoke is present in the air that is breathed out for a considerable time after smoking has taken place. Babies and young children who breathe in cigarette smoke are more likely to get coughs, asthma attacks, and chest and ear infections.
Cot mattresses
Current research has found that there is absolutely no risk of cot death from toxic gases from fire-retardant materials found in some cot mattresses.
Following the advice given above will help reduce the risk of cot death.