Dealing with sleep problems
No-one is ever immune from sleep problems! But there's always something we can do to improve matters. It's usual for babies to become reliant on a prop like a dummy or a parent rocking them to sleep to settle them. To break the habit, they need to learn to settle into sleep without any props.
In practice, this means putting them into bed sleepy, but awake, so that she can soothe herself to sleep. This allows her to settle herself back to sleep when she wakes at night, without help.
Start by putting them down to sleep in the day awake. They mustn't fall asleep feeding. Habits are hard to break at first. Be consistent in the new routine, giving them lots of reassurance. Within a couple of weeks, the pattern should show signs of improvement.
Annette Maloney, health visitor.
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By Annette Maloney, health visitor
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Where to next?
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Early-morning wake-up
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Establishing a bedtime routine
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Get your child to sleep through the night
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Help your child get a good night's sleep
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Sleep strategies that work
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Sleeping problems in children with Down's Syndrome
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When your baby's too tired to sleep
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Your baby's sleeping pattern
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Babies who struggle to sleep on their back
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Baby sleep solutions continued
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Baby sleep tips: Day & night, make noise
Wendy, about 1 year
My baby is 7 months old and I am trying to establish a routine on the advice from our doctor. I limit her daytime sleeps so they are all before 2pm, which is extremely difficult. I make sure she is well fed and sleepy before I put her to bed around half 7pm, she will sleep for about 2 or 3 hours then wake up crying. I 've been told to not offer her milk but just water, which I do and she seems okay with. She's a terribly light sleeper, everybody I speak to tells me their stories eg "We could drill in the wall in our babies room whils she was sleeping" and I just feel like I'm doing something wrong. I have real trouble keeping her asleep from half 7pm til 5.30am. I am a single mother with no help and I am finding it really difficult because I am always exhausted, which magnifies the problem, I also suffer from postnatal depression and it seems like everything is against us at the moment. Any help would be really appreciated. Ta x
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