Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Avoid Stimulating Your Baby during Night-time Feedings

As the newborn baby grows up, he gets used to sleep at night and awake during the day time. Also when the baby’s stomach is accumulating more breast milk or formula, he will be able to go for longer periods between feedings at night. Approximately at three months of age, your baby will likely be sleeping about 15 hours out of each 24-hour period and out of this, two third of that sleep will take place during the night. Most babies, by now have settled into a daily sleep routine of two or three sleep periods during the day, followed by sleeping for 6 to 7 hours at nights, after a late-night feed.
You can help in adjusting your baby towards sleeping at night, by avoiding stimulation during nighttime feedings and diaper changes. The act of breastfeeding itself provides frequent eye and voice contact, so try to keep the lights low and resist the urge to play or talk with your baby. This will reinforce the message to him that nighttime is for sleeping. Keeping the door closed to keep out any of the other members or the pet will also reduce stimulating your infant. Avoid the use of musical mobiles or toys as a way to calm your infant to sleep after night-time feedings.
The overly tired infants often have more trouble in sleeping than those who've had an appropriate amount of sleep during the day. So keeping your baby waking up may not always prove that he or she will sleep better at night. You will find out that when your infant sleeps at regular intervals during the day time, it will be easier to put him back down to sleep after night-time feedings.
A Hanukkah Bear for Me