Child Sleep Bedtime Issues
What sleep position is best for my baby?
The best sleep position for your baby, at least under a year of age, is on their back. The reason is because it's been shown that there's a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome if babies lie on their backs. There's one side effect of sleeping on your back, and it's not a big problem that's going to be lifelong. It's that sometimes babies that lie on their backs for a long time get little areas of their head go slightly flat. It's seen more in premature babies, because their skulls are a bit softer. Really, all you do is wedge them slightly so that they're sleeping on their back, but slightly to the left. Then you alternate a couple of nights slightly to the right. As babies get older, they can move their heads, and that's not an issue. But sleeping on your back is imperative. You can buy proprietary wedges, to ensure they do that. There are these wedge-type pillows you can buy that, for the most part, will keep the baby in that position.
What should my baby wear to help him sleep at night?
I think that to help your baby sleep at night, they should wear, primarily, what they're comfortable in. Some babies don't like tags; some babies don't like the feel of certain fabrics. You've got to find something that the baby enjoys being in. I think that what's more important is that you make sure your baby's not too cold, and not too hot. And how do you know that? Well, essentially, the way that you, as a parent, would feel comfortable temperature-wise is generally speaking what the baby would be comfortable in (maybe a little warmer). But it's very important to make sure that the baby's not over-covered or over-dressed. This would apply to the situation where your baby is sleeping in pyjamas, which is a full-body suit, and reasonably warm, meaning that they may not need to have covers. Conversely, if they're in lighter fabric, you may want to have them sleep under covers. The reality is that babies move around a lot at night and you'll probably find that the covers are at the bottom of the bed, and the baby's all curled up at the top of the bed anyway. Therefore for younger babies up to, say, eight or nine months of age, you'd probably want to dress them with a view to them not needing covers.
What can I keep in my baby's crib while she's sleeping?
Babies, because they have to sleep in association, it's nice for babies to have something that they can maybe feel, like a silky fabric, or a teddy bear, or something that they can get used to and hold. The key to the whole thing is, it mustn't be something that's going to smother them. So if it's going to be a little blankie, it's got to be small - maybe one foot square-type thing. If it's going to be a teddy bear, it's going to be, or some fluffy toy, something that is reasonably small, maybe six to nine inches in total length. You don't want these big, giant pandas in their cribs, you know, that's like twice the size of a baby. It's not a good idea.
Why does my baby climb out of his crib at night?
If your baby is climbing out of the crib, you've got to ask yourself the question why? They're either climbing out of the crib because it's daytime and they're ready to play, and if it's not and it's nightime, then they've woken up and they are looking for something. Now the question is why they are looking for something. If a child is used to putting themselves to sleep naturally, when they wake up naturally at night, there should be no reason for them to climb out of their crib. So, if they are climbing out of the crib, the only assumption is that they are wanting to be with their parents or they're wanting to play or there is something wrong with their sleep routine, and it has to be fixed. Now, again, looking at it you've got to go back and say "how did my child go to sleep?" If the child is climbing out of the crib, how did they go to sleep? If sleep was an issue and they were used to a whole bunch of things or you were lying with your child or you were sitting next to your child, or you were holding your child while they were falling asleep, then probably if they were climbing out of their crib, they're looking for you because they've woken up and they can't get back to sleep unless you hold them, or repeat exactly what you did at bedtime.
Should my child take toys to bed?
There's nothing wrong with a child taking something to bed. The issue is, what are they taking to bed, because the something that they're taking to bed is actually their comfort object or their transition object. It's something that they are used to during the daytime, and they can associate with, and it speaks comfort to them, it speaks sameness. So if they can take that to their bed it automatically implies that there is something that comforts them. The question is what's the something? It's got to be safe, so you don't want them to take some spiky toy with them to bed, or something that's going to damage them in some way or be harmful. Usually that's why fluffy toys are great, because they're soft, nice to feel. Blankets with nice silk edges are nice because kids like the feel of the blankets. There's some great proprietary toys out there with different textures, feels like it's rough and it's got a smooth texture. So there are a bunch of things out there. One can be very creative. But it's a great idea for children to get used to their "blankly". When I say "blankly", it doesn't have too be a blanket. It is their transition object. The child who takes their "blanky" around wherever they go, their blanket that's full of holes and it smells, that mom dare not wash because it's not the same after they've washed it, it doesn't matter. The point is the sameness. As long as they can take that with them to bed it really becomes a surrogate parent, that's really in essence what it becomes for them.
Should I co-sleep with my baby?
Many books will lay out rules about co-sleeping with your baby. There are really no set rules. It is to do with what works for you and your child, and how it affects your quality of life, for instance, is it wrong to co-sleep? Not necessarily. There are some safety issues, especially in a young child under a year of age, when considering SID (sudden infant death syndrome), and the risks involved, but yet the risk of smothering if you co-sleep with your baby. In essence, if you're able to sleep well as a parent and your child is able to sleep well, sleeping next to you, it's fine. If your child is kicking and turning around and ends up with his or her feet in your face and it bothers you, well then for you, it becomes a problem. So again, it's a case of what's right for the family. It's not what is right according to books. It's what works for everybody.
What is "co-sleeping"?
Co-sleeping is where a child and a parent sleep together in the same bed. There are pro's and con's to it. The pro is that you can be with your child, the child can be with you the whole night, and when your child wakes up spontaneously in the night, they can see that mom is there or dad's there or both are there, and they'll go, spontaneously go back to sleep. The problem is that when the child gets older, well firstly there's a privacy issue, if privacy's important to the parent or parents, and number two, as the child gets older you may come to a point as a parent that you don't want your six year old or your nine year old or your twelve year old to be in your bed and then it might become, it might become a problem because it has become so habitual that to get a child out of the bed can be difficult. I mean, if a child is twelve years of age it's probably not going to be much less of a problem because you can induce a lot of incentives and some other behavioral strategies, but for that's younger, you know a child that's maybe younger than six years, or even younger than eight years, they are so used to this that it's going to be significant work to undo that habit that they have to get them to sleep on their own.
