Episode 88 - Babies Most Common Sleep Challenges - Part 1

In today's episode, we delve into a topic close to the heart of many, ' Babies Most Common Sleep Challenges', from newborns to toddlers. Our insightful host, Tove Gant, a mother of three, shares her experiences and discusses these challenges with Meg Faure. We went through various challenges associated to sleep including: Understanding Newborn Sleep Patterns: Meg emphasizes that newborns sleep more during the day and feed regularly, establishing a routine within the first 14 days. She suggests waking the baby every three hours for a feed during the day, allowing longer stretches of sleep at night as long as the baby is gaining weight. Common Sleep Challenges with Infants Meg identifies the most common challenge as teaching infants to self-soothe, advising parental support until around 17 weeks. Breastfeeding, rocking, or holding to sleep are common practices during this stage. Reversing Day and Night Sleeping Pattern To address the day and night sleep pattern, Meg recommends encouraging more daytime feeds to reduce nighttime awakenings, helping infants establish a more consistent sleep schedule. Handling Dummy Use Tove raises the common challenge of using dummies effectively. Meg advises providing support for infants up to six months, either by avoiding dummies or assisting the baby in self-soothing until they can manage it themselves. Waking Babies for Feeding Meg dispels the myth around waking babies to feed, asserting that it's unnecessary except for toddlers with extended afternoon naps, which could impact nighttime sleep. Co-sleeping as a sleep challenge Controversies Around Co-Sleeping: Co-sleeping is discussed, emphasizing its benefits for attachment parenting and breastfeeding. While sharing a room is common, having a baby in bed can be dangerous. Meg stresses the importance of doing it safely, using separate bedding for the baby. Nightmares vs. Night Terrors Meg clarifies the distinction between nightmares and night terrors, highlighting that nightmares involve imagination-based fear, while night terrors occur when the baby is fast asleep. She advises handling night terrors with presence and comfort rather than waking the child. Managing Babies Sleep challenges  Navigating sleep challenges with babies requires understanding, patience, and informed choices. Meg's expert insights provide practical guidance for parents on this journey.