Baby Sleep Myths Explained
In this week’s blog post, I am picking 5 misconceptions and myths about baby sleep I came across and giving you the right information to help you as a parent make the right decision.
1- Babies need a sleep schedule from day 1
This is an absolute myth for many different reasons; newborns will always wake up for regular feeds, their bodies still do not understand the difference between day and night and they are on a 24 hrs schedule. Also, the sleep cycle is not mature yet. Every baby is different at this stage, the main thing you can do, at this stage, is to follow the baby’s cues and make sure he/she is not awake for more than 1 hr so that he/she does not become exhausted or overtired and start fighting sleep.
2- Sleep training is only for young infants and not for toddlers
Toddlers’ age is a very interesting and sometimes very challenging period when it comes to sleep. I have worked with toddlers who were sleeping perfectly as babies and things went off track for different reasons, some other toddlers have always been sensitive sleepers and it was never addressed. Whether you are in group 1 or group 2, there is a way to get things back on track. It will take a longer time (at least 3-4 weeks to see progress), but you can definitely promote healthy sleep at any age. With toddlers, we use different techniques and methods that fit you as a family and we include different behavior and communication techniques that help them understand the changes.
3- Never wake up a sleeping baby
A very popular myth, that is always a shocking piece of news for parents to hear from me when we are working together. Sometimes yes we need to wake up a sleeping baby to protect the day and ensure that the baby is sleeping in timings that are restorative and provide him/her with the benefits of sleep, such as always starting the day by 7 am maximum or end the naps by 5 pm maximum for younger infants. Sleep quality is as important as sleep quantity and the “when” the baby sleeps is a very important piece of information we look into when doing sleep training to ensure that the baby is getting the rest needed.
4- A late bedtime will help my child to sleep in late in the morning
Late bedtimes are timings that are not aligned with the baby’s biological needs, in most of the cases I have noticed that when a baby sleeps in late, he/she will experience multiple night wakings.
Early bedtime helps children sleep better because of the quality of sleep before midnight. It works like magic with sleep-deprived children and helps to keep them rested.
5- Sleep training will ruin the bond I have with my child
Many parents are concerned that sleep training will ruin the bond between them and the child, but according to many studies and research on the impact of sleep training concluded that it actually affected the relationship positively as the whole family becomes rested and not sleep deprived, as sleep deprivation is usually accompanied with anxiety and depression.
I have never worked with parents who regretted doing sleep training and they will share how it impacted the family dynamics positively when everyone is sleeping better.
Got any questions about the above? Shoot me on my email hello@yasminegaddis.com. You can also follow me on IG and FB to have access to more information and facts about healthy sleep.
