Parent to Parent / By Betsy Flagler
Better ways for baby to sleep
Q: “My granddaughter, following a monthlong stay in the hospital after she was born, came home under the watchful eye of her parents. She has slept for about three months in a cradle next to mom and dad’s bed. But now my daughter is trying to put the baby down in the crib when she falls asleep, and the baby doesn’t seem to like that and wakes up. My granddaughter sleeps well in the cradle.” —A grandmother in Houston, Texas
A: Establish good habits early— between about six weeks and three months—by putting baby to bed when she’s sleepy but not yet asleep, says Jodi A. Mindell, Ph. D., author of “Sleeping Through the Night:How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night’s Sleep” (Collins Living, $14.99, 2005).
Also, is it too early to move the baby from her cradle into a crib in her own room? Trust in your own intuition to figure out what sleeping arrangements are best for your baby and family, says child-care expert Penny Warner of Danville, Calif.
There’s no one right way to help your baby go to sleep, says Warner, author of “Rock-a-Bye Baby: 200 Ways to Help Baby (and You!) Sleep Better” (Chronicle Books, $12.95, 2008).
“The first two weeks of life with your new baby will be unlike any others,” Louis Borgenicht, M. D., a pediatrician based in Salt Lake City, Utah, writes in a forward to “Rock-a-Bye Baby.”
Trusting in your instincts, believing in yourself that you have the ability to raise your child— these are a parent’s best assets, Borgenicht says.
The book, full of tips that Warner gleaned from parents, grandparents, nannies and doctors, opens with tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Parents need to watch for signs for tiredness, such as yawning or getting cranky, then put the child to bed before she gets overtired.
• Discuss any sleep problems with your child’s health care provider to rule out any medical or physical reasons for poor sleep. Sleep-related questions are among the most common concerns of young parents.
• Put your baby on his back to sleep to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
• Don’t overheat your baby in an effort to keep her warm.
• No pillows allowed in the crib, and be sure the mattress is neither too hard nor too soft. Test it by putting it on the floor and stretching out on it.
• Let your baby sleep with a lovey, such as a small blanket.
The role of parenting in the development of infant sleep patterns is the subject of a new project supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Working with 150 families over two years, the researchers will test whether parents who do not adapt are less emotionally available to their infants and experience more stress, and whether parents’ stress increases infant sleep disruptions.
“There’s probably not one universal formula that parents should use to promote sleep quality and well-being in infants,” says study leader Douglas M. Teti, professor of human development and psychology, Penn State. “It’s more likely that how parents feel about their children’s sleep and how well they adapt emotionally plays just as large a role in the development of infant sleep as the parenting practices being used.”
When baby turns about age 2 or 3, it will be time for another transition— from crib to toddler bed.
Can you help?
Q. “My 4-year-old son has been on an allergy medication for asthma for about one year. But now I am thinking it is affecting his behavior. Have other parents noticed that even after several months of taking a medication, a child can change and react to it?— A mother in Huntersville, N. C.
If you have tips or a question, e-mailp2ptips@att.net .
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