Yes, there are babies out there that sleep through the night. This, however, is not the norm.
At some point in time, Western society adopted this idea that babies and toddlers should sleep through the night despite the scientific fact that they are not supposed to.
In fact, this belief is so prevalent in today's society that many mothers are made to feel like there is something wrong with their baby if he or she does not sleep through the night. Even health care professionals will tell you that your baby should be sleeping for 6 hour stretches at night (the actual definition of "sleeping through the night"). A million things are suggested as the cause of night waking from teething to digestive problems to separation anxiety. In addition, suggestions as to how you can get your baby to sleep through the night are abound and range from stuffing them with solids right before bed to letting them cry it out.
The Fact is that Babies Sleep Differently
Babies have shorter sleep cycles and twice as much light sleep as adults. In the early months, their sleep cycles are about an hour long and the period of light sleep in which they are vulnerable to waking is longer. As they get older, their sleep cycles get longer and the length of time they are in the stage of light sleep gets shorter. Why do babies have such short cycles and spend so much time in light sleep? Imagine your baby was unable to wake when he or she was cold, hungry, or when his/her nose was plugged and breathing compromised. Babies are designed to awaken easily in the early months for exactly these reasons. It is also believed that this light sleep is good for babies' development because it provides mental exercise in the form of dreaming (which happens during the light sleep phase).
In general, a baby's sleep habits will reflect their eating habits. In the early months (0-3 months) when babies are feeding frequently, you can expect them to also sleep frequently and for short periods. Older infants (3-6 months) are generally awake for longer periods of time and may also sleep for longer periods as well, but you can expect at least one or two night wakings. As your baby gets older, his or her sleep habits will mature and begin to resemble a more adult-like sleep pattern. Here is the kicker...once a baby starts to sleep better, developmental milestones, teething, illness, and separation anxiety begin to interrupt sleep. Night wakings should lessen over time, but you will never truly be off the hook at night!
Breastfed Babies Sleep Differently than Formula Fed Babies
The simple fact is that night waking is normal for breastfed babies. Babies that do not wake in the night are atypical (and usually formula fed). It is completely normal for a breastfed baby to continue waking two or more times a night until the age of 2 years. Stretches of sleep for the breastfed baby typically last between 4 and 6 hours. Research has shown that babies that are formula fed from birth have what is called "poor vagal tone". This basically means that their nervous system is disordered and they tend to be sleepier and less alert than breastfed newborns. Babies that are weaned after several months also tend to sleep for longer periods, but the jury is still out on the reason for this. It has been suggested that it is probably the case that weaned babies that sleep for longer periods have learned to go back to sleep using their thumb, a pacifier or bottle, some method whereby feedings are scheduled and slowly eliminated or some sleep technique like 'cry it out'. Whatever the reason, it is rarely a naturally occurring phenomenon.
Sleep Techniques
Sleep problems have reached epidemic proportions in our society and the amount of time parents spend trying to end night waking by forcing their children to sleep is quite alarming. Additionally, many of these efforts do not work. Using comfort objects (pacifier, bottle) usually means you are still getting up in the night to help baby find the object. The 'cry it out' technique does work for some parents, although this method is seen as quite harsh by many. The kinder "No Cry Sleep Solution" is also an option by which you gradually shorten the amount of time baby is at the breast with the aim of ending nursing. If you are desperate for your baby to sleep through the night, you could try one of these techniques as they have worked for many families.
A better alternative in my opinion, is to:
1) Provide baby with a variety of healthy sleep associations (ie. people, objects, events) that help baby to get to sleep/back to sleep when awakened until baby is old enough to do so without these associations.
2) Parent baby to sleep until they are ready to put themselves to sleep. Too often, babies are forced to become self-soothers before they are ready which can lead to a fear of sleeping in addition to more severe sleeping problems down the road.
3) If baby has begun to 'enjoy' the attention he or she receives at night rather than 'needing' the attention (ie. they are waking to nurse more than once or twice each night), steps may need to be taken to rectify the situation. If you are going to try out a 'technique', make sure you thoroughly research the benefits and consequences of the technique before hand and remember to be flexible.
*The information in this posting comes from:
The Nursing Mother's Companion - Kathleen Huggins
What To Expect the The First Year - Heidi Murkoff
The Baby Book - Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two -William Sears & Martha Sears
Monday, July 5, 2010
Immunizations...A Necessary Discomfort
Next week, Lilah will be getting her 6 month immunizations. It seems like so long ago that I was stressing out about her first round of immunizations at 2 months. I was terrified that they would hurt her, she would cry, she would have some kind of reaction, she would develop a fever, she wouldn't sleep, she wouldn't eat. You name it, I was worried about it.
Luckily, none of the aforementioned events happened. She was a trooper. She did cry a little a few seconds after the needles went in, but the tears didn't last long. Even though she didn't cry for long, I still nursed her right after her 2 and 4 month shots just to comfort her.
Several people had told us that we should give her infant pain medication before hand to head off any pain and/or fever that might develop. We did this for her 2 month immunizations, however, one of the first things our doctor asked us at her appointment was whether we had given her anything.
Why?
Well, recent research suggests that the immune response that infants have to a vaccine is decreased by pain medication. Our doctor noted that infants should not be given pain medication unless they absolutely need it. We did end up giving her another dose about 4 hours after she received the immunizations because she was truly in pain. We avoided giving her pain medication before her next appointment, but we did give her a dose about 4 hours afterward again when she started to exhibit signs that she was in pain. One dose afterward was all she needed on both occasions.
It is pretty difficult to stand there and watch needles being stuck into your tiny little baby (especially when you have to help hold them still). It gets a little easier as they get older, but they also become more aware of what is going on which is equally hard to deal with. Up to this point, nursing right after has seemed to do the trick and your doctor should be more than accommodating about letting you stay in the room afterward for a few minutes if you would like to nurse.
As we currently live in the U.S., we have been following the immunization schedule here (which is fairly similar to the one in Canada). This requires that Lilah be given 3 injections and one oral vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. We decided that we didn't want her to be given 3 needles at the same time so we opted to request a follow-up visit about a week later for her to receive 1 of the vaccines. I am not sure if this has contributed to the fact that she has had very little trouble with her immunizations, but it certainly makes me feel better. We have also never had to give her pain medication after these follow-up visits (when she only received one injection) which is a bonus as I would rather not give her medication of any kind unless it is absolutely necessary. Your doctor should be more than happy to accommodate any special requests you may have regarding immunizations (as long as they are within reason). Opting not to have your child vaccinated, for example, does not fall under the "reasonable request" category.
The idea that vaccinations cause autism spectrum disorders was the driving force behind a large group of parents deciding not to immunize their children (which in turn led to outbreaks of measles and mumps). This claim was made in a 1998 paper in The Lancet (a British medical journal). It was later discovered that the author of the paper manipulated evidence and had broken ethical codes. This paper has since been retracted and the author found guilty of professional misconduct (May 2010).
Needless to say, going for the third round of immunizations is old hat. I must say though, I am very happy we don't have to have any more needles until Lilah is a year old!
Luckily, none of the aforementioned events happened. She was a trooper. She did cry a little a few seconds after the needles went in, but the tears didn't last long. Even though she didn't cry for long, I still nursed her right after her 2 and 4 month shots just to comfort her.
Several people had told us that we should give her infant pain medication before hand to head off any pain and/or fever that might develop. We did this for her 2 month immunizations, however, one of the first things our doctor asked us at her appointment was whether we had given her anything.
Why?
Well, recent research suggests that the immune response that infants have to a vaccine is decreased by pain medication. Our doctor noted that infants should not be given pain medication unless they absolutely need it. We did end up giving her another dose about 4 hours after she received the immunizations because she was truly in pain. We avoided giving her pain medication before her next appointment, but we did give her a dose about 4 hours afterward again when she started to exhibit signs that she was in pain. One dose afterward was all she needed on both occasions.
It is pretty difficult to stand there and watch needles being stuck into your tiny little baby (especially when you have to help hold them still). It gets a little easier as they get older, but they also become more aware of what is going on which is equally hard to deal with. Up to this point, nursing right after has seemed to do the trick and your doctor should be more than accommodating about letting you stay in the room afterward for a few minutes if you would like to nurse.
As we currently live in the U.S., we have been following the immunization schedule here (which is fairly similar to the one in Canada). This requires that Lilah be given 3 injections and one oral vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. We decided that we didn't want her to be given 3 needles at the same time so we opted to request a follow-up visit about a week later for her to receive 1 of the vaccines. I am not sure if this has contributed to the fact that she has had very little trouble with her immunizations, but it certainly makes me feel better. We have also never had to give her pain medication after these follow-up visits (when she only received one injection) which is a bonus as I would rather not give her medication of any kind unless it is absolutely necessary. Your doctor should be more than happy to accommodate any special requests you may have regarding immunizations (as long as they are within reason). Opting not to have your child vaccinated, for example, does not fall under the "reasonable request" category.
The idea that vaccinations cause autism spectrum disorders was the driving force behind a large group of parents deciding not to immunize their children (which in turn led to outbreaks of measles and mumps). This claim was made in a 1998 paper in The Lancet (a British medical journal). It was later discovered that the author of the paper manipulated evidence and had broken ethical codes. This paper has since been retracted and the author found guilty of professional misconduct (May 2010).
Needless to say, going for the third round of immunizations is old hat. I must say though, I am very happy we don't have to have any more needles until Lilah is a year old!
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