13 Oct 😭Is every nap time and bedtime taking an hour to settle baby👶🏻 only to have them sleep for 20 minutes before they wake up fussy and unsettled again
😴Sleep restores children physically. It helps them learn and remember things, and it boosts immunity. And sleep helps children grow because children’s bodies produce growth hormone when they’re asleep. Children often need more sleep at times of rapid growth.
Children of all ages need to get enough sleep so they can play, learn and concentrate during the day. Unfortunately, for many new parents trying to figure out their newborn baby sleep patterns can be extremely challenging. 🥴
Here are 3 Common Mistakes we see many parents make that makes sleep time more challenging:
😬1. Missing baby’s “Sleep Talk”
Often babies will mumble to themselves as they start to fall asleep, many new parents would mistake it as baby wanting to chat and play. So parents start to engage baby by talking with baby instead of wrapping baby to settle them to sleep.
😳2. Making eye contact with baby when settling baby to sleep
When babies are mumbling their “sleep talk” they may still be looking around with eyes wide open, fighting sleep. Instead of gently stroking baby’s forehead downward to encourage baby’s eyelids to close, new parents would make eye contact and babble with baby. Within minutes this can escalate into an overtired baby screaming on top of their lungs.
🥺3. Giving Baby screen time to settle their overtired crying
Once baby starts to scream and cry from being overtired, new parents often resort to putting on their favourite nursery songs on their electronic devices in attempt to settle baby. This may temporarily distract baby, however, the blue light from screens tends to suppress melatonin levels and delay sleepiness, resulting in an even more tired baby and upset baby. Instead, trying turning off the lights and playing some white noise to help baby settle.
So if you’re struggling with sleep and settling your baby, ring My Favourite Physio 📱on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists 🤓today.
#myfavouritephysio #paedsphysio #kidsphysio #bankstown #newborn