My baby is not getting enough sleep
My baby is not getting enough sleep
I’m worried my baby is not getting enough sleep, or proper awake time. Night time sleep is going ok. Not so much in daylight hours though. We spend hours trying to go to sleep, then have to get up for the next feed without having slept at all. He doesn’t really cry when put in bed, mostly grizzles. I try patting, rocking, white noise, dim lights, wrapping. Then he gets over tired and sometimes frustrated. Help!
Over the last while we have had many parents expressing similar concerns as yours which should help put your mind at ease somewhat...establishing routines in terms of sleep, and especially with infants, is not uncommon, nor is it an exact science and as such it requires experimentation, time and patience. I realise that patience can wear thin and you can become frustrated when you yourself might be sleep deprived but hang in there, and remain calm...children have a unique capacity for sensing parental stress and becoming stressed themselves. Moreover, if your child is sleeping well at night, then that is a good sign and if not so much during the day then it may be that your child does not need to sleep during daylight hours. Not all children are the same and as such the amount of sleep they need during the day varies. Importantly, children generally have no trouble falling asleep if they are tired regardless of time of day. It might be worthwhile just moving through the day as usual and during what used to be naptime just relax in a quiet environment with your son...if he is tired he will fall off to sleep and if not then at least you have both had some time to relax and as noted earlier if he is sleeping well through the night then he will be fine overall.
Dr Michael Nagel
Associate Professor, School of Education, University of the Sunshine Coast
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