Bounty feature

Sleep Problems

• Waking babies
• Night feeds

Sleeping through the night
Whatever you do to get your baby to sleep in the evening, he will need the same thing when he wakes at night. If he feeds to drift off to sleep, he will need a feed at night. If you rock your baby to sleep, he will need rocking again in the night. But if your baby has fallen asleep alone, he will be able to do the same in the night.

Bedtime routines
A bedtime routine is very helpful in signalling the end of the day for your baby. This often consists of: bath; sleep suit; milk or feed; clean teeth; story and/or songs then dim the lights.

Stick to the same things in the same order, at the same time every evening, as much as you can when you first start your routine. This helps your baby know what to expect and will make it easier for him to fall asleep alone.

Falling asleep alone
Once you have put your baby to bed, leave the room. Your baby may protest, especially if he has got used to drifting off to sleep during a feed, for example, but stay calm and stick to your strategy. You want your baby to learn that he can fall asleep by himself. Go back in every few minutes until he does fall asleep, but don’t be tempted to give him one more cuddle or one more song. You will simply be teaching your baby that if he cries long enough, you will give in.

For a more detailed discussion of sleep training, or ‘controlled crying’ as it’s sometimes called, see ‘Sleep clinic’.

You can also help your baby associate his bed with being asleep. Put him in a cot or pram to sleep, and move him into another room, with company, when awake.

Waking babies
If your baby is waking in the night because he has kicked his covers off, think about using a baby sleeping bag. They are available in a range of weights and are great for wriggly babies. Babies are unlikely to overheat, as the sleeping bags do not cover their heads or their arms, but make sure you use the right weight sleeping bag for the season.

If your baby is waking early when the sun rises or is finding it difficult to fall asleep if it is still light outside, try using a blackout blind or curtain lining for the bedroom window.

Night feeds
Now your baby is six months old, he may well sleep for 10–12 hours at night, and 2–3 hours during the day in morning and afternoon naps. Babies often drop their night feeds around six months, but many are still waking for a feed at this age.

You can keep feeding at night if it keeps you and your baby happy, but you may now feel that you want your baby to sleep through the night without waking you.

If you want to stop giving feeds at night, there are a number of ways to encourage your baby to do this:

• if you are bottle feeding, try gradually giving your baby less milk until it is cut down to almost none; then he may feel that there is no point waking up in the night
• try giving a drink of water instead of a breastfeed or bottle, but not if this upsets your baby
• asking your partner to go in when your baby wakes; your baby may associate you with a feed and be harder to settle if you go in
• ask your health visitor’s advice about making these changes.

Helen’s sanity saver
‘I bought a night-light that plugged in to an electric socket. It gave enough light for me to see by if I had to go into Jenna in the night, and meant I didn’t have to turn the bright lights on and wake her up even more when she stirred.’

Bedclothes
It’s still wise not to use duvets or quilts until your baby is at least a year old. Younger babies can’t regulate their own temperature well so get hot easily and this can increase the risk of cot death.

Use cotton sheets and blankets, you can then add or remove layers easily. Your baby doesn’t need a pillow yet either.

For the next You and your growing baby guide Chapter, Going back to work, Click here