Sleeping problems with babies – Colic and the 5 S’s
Sleep is important for the mental and physical development of children and although not as common, sleeping problems with babies and toddlers can exist as they do with adults. So what is the normal sleeping pattern for babies?
For the first couple of months sleep lasts from between 10 and 18 hours a day waking for 1 to 3 hours at a time to get fed.
Colic
The most common disruption to a babies sleep is colic which commonly occurs during the first few months of life but usually disappears at about 4 to 5 months although it can go on for up to 12 months. Colic is where a baby cries or screams and maybe writhes for long periods of time for no apparent reason. These sessions more often occur in early evening or during and after feeding.
It is becoming widely believed after many theories in the past that colic is the baby overreacting to normal sensations taking place within the digestive processes. Just as the baby over reacts to external stimuli, such the mother’s face suddenly appearing or a sudden sound, he is overreacting to the normal reflexes that tell his body to begin emptying the stomach to make room for more food. It takes him 3 or 4 months to learn to ignore theses sensations.
The change of environment
One theory for a colicky or fussy baby is that the normal term for pregnancy is actually shorter than ideal and is only the length it is because of the continuing increase in size of the brain and therefore the head. A pregnancy any longer would be dangerous for both the mother and baby. The baby is therefore evolutionary premature and is thrust into the relatively silent world with the sudden loss of all the hypnotic sounds, the swishing and swooshing of the blood pumping through the mother’s body, the comforting stroking against the uterine walls, the jiggling movements and constant warmth.
The 5 S’s
There is the best evidence yet that soothing measures which may be a harp back to the lost environment of the mother’s womb can dramatically calm the baby during fits of crying and screaming preparing him to settle for sleep. The following 5 S’s is the core of the theory and work done by Dr. Harvey Karp a Californian paediatrician and have worked in studies with a 98 percent success rate when done correctly.
- Swaddling – using bulky blankets loosely around head and body taking care not to overheat the baby and making sure he can flex his hips
- Side or Stomach position – hold the baby on his side or stomach – when sleepy can then be laid on his back
- Shooshing sound – making this sound quite loudly or use recorded sound
- Swinging motion – with a small jiggly movement whilst supporting the head
- Sucking – using breast, clean finger or pacifier
When the key elements, swaddle, swing and shoosh are used correctly and in combination they can quickly reduce crying and promote sleep.
Milk allergy
The process above is the first steps to overcome any sleeping problems with babies but if there is still some serious screaming it’s just possible that there could be a problem with food allergies, either cows milk allergy or a reaction to a property in the mother’s milk.
The doctor will suggest a change to the mother’s diet if the baby is being breastfed or a change to an hypoallergenic formula to work out what the allergy is. If the crying is because of an allergy to cow’s milk benefits should be seen between 2 and 7 days.
Good habits
Once able to manage the sleep pattern of the baby it’s important to maintain a fixed and consistent waking and bed time schedule. Being persistent with this regime is necessary in order for the baby to develop the correct sleeping patterns. Having said that it’s also important to put the baby down when he is sleepy and not when asleep, this will encourage him to learn to go to sleep keeping him in good stead as he develops.
Co-sleeping
Having the baby sleeping in bed with one or more parents hasn’t been shown conclusively to be good or bad in the long term although there is some evidence to show that infants who develop Sleep Disorders later in life did experience co-sleeping in infancy. It mustn’t be forgotten the importance for the mother to get as good an uninterrupted sleep as possible.
It’s normal for there to be sleeping problems with babies and considering the incredible change that has recently occurred in their short lives it’s no wonder as they adjust to the new sensations and learn the ways of this new world away from the hypnotic rhythms, the warmth and wetness of the mother’s womb.
About the Author
Lelliot is a long term sufferer of insomnia and movement related sleep disorders and has been researching into sleeping problems with babies and all things sleep related for 15 years. Get more insights into sleeping plus a free email mini-course at www.SleepandSleepingTips.com
Children and Sleep, Goryeb Childrens Hospital
|
|
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child $6.53 One of the country’s leading researchers updates his revolutionary approach to solving–and preventing–your children’s sleep problemsHere Dr. Marc Weissbluth, a distinguished pediatrician and father of four, offers his groundbreaking program to ensure the best sleep for your child. In Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, he explains with authority and reassurance his step-by-step regime for institu… |
|
|
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night $6.27 A breakthrough approach that offers hope to exhausted parents looking for gentle ways to help their baby sleep without the heart-wrenching tears. Until now the only two ways to deal with sleepless nights were to let your baby cry herself to sleep or to become a sleep-deprived martyr and tough it out from dusk until dawn. The No-Cry Sleep Solution will show you how it is entirely possible and withi… |
|
|
Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition $6.77 Does your child Have difficulty falling asleep? Wake in the middle of the night? Suffer sleep terrors, sleepwalking, or nighttime fears? Have difficulty waking for school or staying awake in class? Snore, wet the bed, or head bang? In the first major revision of his bestselling, groundbreaking classic since it was published twenty years ago, Dr. Richard Ferber, the nation’s foremost autho… |