Safe Sleep
After meeting with a mom this morning who asked great questions about sleep, I though a safe sleep blog may be helpful. Infant sleep overall is often such a challenge for families, and perhaps one of the hardest aspects in the transition to life with a newborn.
There are many theories and recommendations about how to help baby and parents’ sleep. These theories range from responsive parenting (follow the baby’s lead) to sleep training (train the baby when to sleep), and there are several recommendations that fall somewhere in the middle. While there are many ways to encourage a well-rested family, the recommendations about safe sleep do not vary - there is much agreement about safety.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) shares 5 primary recommendations for safe sleep:
Always put the baby to sleep on their back, for night and nap sleeping, until they are 12 months of age. When babies start to roll, this becomes difficult, but start baby on their back.
Use a firm mattress.
Remove any soft bedding such as pillows, stuffed animals, blankets and crib bumpers.
Keep baby close - in the same room as parent until they are 6 months old. There are concerns about bed sharing, so if this is something you are considering, please read safe bed sharing information.
Do not cover your baby with blankets or too many clothes. We want to avoid baby getting too hot. Baby may need the same number of layers of clothing as parent, or one more layer.
https://www.cdc.gov/sids/Parents-Caregivers.htm
The Academy of Pediatrics also has put forth their recommendations that are similar to the CDC, but they also add 2 other recommendations:
Breastfeed the baby - the AAP recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding with complementary foods for 24 months and beyond if working well for the breastfeeding dyad.
Do not smoke around the baby - second hand smoke is harmful to developing children.
https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/safe-sleep/
Babies do not learn the difference between day and night for several months. They are born with immature circadian rhythms and are accustomed to their environment being dark, with noise. You can help babies feel comfortable and familiar by adapting their environment to mimic that of the womb. I have found that many babies like white noise such as the bathroom fan, a sound machine or someone repeating the “shh, shh” sound.
You can set their napping space to be in a darkened area similar to nighttime sleeping. Newborns tend to sleep 14-17 hours/day while infants age 4 - 12 months sleep 12 - 16 hours total. Here are more specifics about sleep https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html
Here is more information on safe sleep while breastfeeding https://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov/safe-sleep/breastfeeding
If there is one crucial guidance, I share with parents it is to rest. It can be so challenging to give in to the daytime naps, or put aside the To Do list, but parental rest is a gift to the adult as well as to the baby. Taking care of yourself is vital, and sleep is one important way.
