No Fuss Baby and Toddler Sleep E-Book

Niamh O'Reilly

• Herausgeber: Mercier Press
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 289

Beschreibung

Niamh O'Reilly combines the practicality of Mary Poppins, the humour of Mrs Doubtfire and the magic of Nanny McPhee to bring parents back from the brink of total sleep deprivation. With her wealth of knowledge and years of experience, Niamh O'Reilly's comprehensive guide to baby and toddler sleep is a must-have handbook for every parent. Niamh offers practical advice, reassurance and simple, effective techniques to help deal with the various challenges every parent faces. Sometimes all a family needs is some structure and practice at working together to get back on track; Niamh can give you the confidence to achieve this without endless nights of crying or the feeling that you are abandoning your baby. Niamh's gentle and intuitive technique for encouraging better sleeping habits is designed to teach your little one how to self-settle and sleep for longer stretches with minimum fuss and upset. What makes this book unique is Niamh's absolute belief that parents know their children best and are in a position to guide them to better sleep in an effective, considerate way.

Leseprobe

No FussBABY & TODDLERSleep

No FussBABY & TODDLERSleep

Niamh O’Reilly

MERCIER PRESS Corkwww.mercierpress.ie

© Niamh O’Reilly, 2015

ISBN: 978 1 78117 317 6

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher in writing.

Printed and bound in the EU.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Lucy Kennedy

Author’s note

1Pre-birth and newborn to four months

2Four to six months

3Six to twelve months

4Sleep coaching: is it for you?

5Sleep coaching technique in the cot

6Toddlers, big beds and tantrums

7Sleep disorders and things that go bump in the night

8Time changes, travelling and hospital stays

Final message

Appendix 1Sample sleep diaries

Appendix 2Testimonials

Appendix 3Useful contact details

For Ava, Sive, Caoimhe, Andrew and Jamie

I love you to the moon and back

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My mum has never really told us if she had to undertake any sort of sleep coaching with us as kids, but I’m pretty sure none of us were textbook children. So thanks, Mum, for doing everything you always did for us, while still allowing us to become well-adjusted individuals. Dad, thanks for at least pretending to understand my career choice! You have given the four of us a perfect start through your support and love (and the slipper placed threateningly outside your bedroom door at night – which, I might add, was never used).

My gorgeous nieces, Ava and Sive, have given me first-hand experience of what it is to love and adore two small people, while, at the same time, allowing me to practise what I preach!

I’m grateful for all the babies I have cared for over the years – not just in The Nursery, but all those I have helped along the way. Thank you so much to the parents – not only for the privilege, but also for your faith in the systems I helped to put in place for you all. You have been so kind in spreading the word and helping me reach so many others.

Aisling Wynne, thank you for helping me get my business up and running a few years ago. Anne Marie Dempsey and Suzanne McGloughlin, thank you. You both know why. And Leonie Henson, I can’t begin to thank you for your wonderful, creative mind. The cover would not be what it is without your help.

A special thank you to Emily Rainsford Ryan and Christine Doran for their practical and helpful breastfeeding advice.

Finally, to all the team at Mercier Press and, in particular, Sarah Liddy, thank you for your support, patience and unwavering assistance along the way. Also, without the careful editing eyes of my aunt, Marie Dillon, and my lovely mum, Monica O’Reilly (who I realised, all too late, has a degree in English!), this publication may have been more of a leaflet than a book!

Names have been changed to protect the identity of all the families in my case studies. All parents gave me permission to include them, and I am so grateful to them all for doing so.

FOREWORD

LUCY KENNEDY

When my children, Jack and Holly, were having trouble sleeping during the night, or were waking up too early, we all struggled, and it was then that I turned to Niamh for professional advice. At the time, I was trying to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the nation on 2FM’s Weekend Breakfast show, but in reality I was often in a daze, with little or no recollection of the nights before!

Both I and my husband work, and were tired, emotional and at a loss. As busy parents, having a sense of what was going on with the kids, and needing them to play ball at least some of the time, was really important to us, in order to actually function in the world! Being so close to the situation, though, we were barely able to see the wood for the trees.

So, instead of questioning our own methods any further, we decided to trust someone who knew. That was Niamh.

Niamh gave us a simple routine to follow, which was easy to adopt and to understand. The routine also fitted in with our childcare situation at the time, so it wasn’t too much of a change, particularly for Holly. Niamh showed us a simple plan for daytime, which really helped with the nights and those dreaded 4.30 a.m. starts. Best of all, it worked!

Niamh reassures you and keeps you motivated through the haze of exhaustion and diminishing will-power. Knowing that someone was on our side gave us the confidence to keep going, and to make the changes that ended up really suiting our family. Niamh in your life is a must-have when you have a baby or a toddler. Or, as in our case, both!

I really trust her advice and expertise.

Fan for life.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Welcome to my baby and toddler sleep guide, where you will find tips and techniques to help you reach the Holy Grail – extended periods of uninterrupted sleep for your family. Here you will find ways to understand why little ones wake at night and why they need your support when nodding off. It is important to know just what causes sleep troubles and disruptions, and how to approach these challenges when you are already tired.

Firstly, some background information about me. I have always had a keen interest in and huge love of babies and children. I am the eldest of four children in a very close family and, as if that wasn’t enough, I also have great relationships with my thirty cousins – who, in turn, have produced thirty-two babies, making up the next generation. They say ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, and that is certainly true in our case!

At the ripe old age of seventeen, back when I was leaving school, I really wanted to work somewhere in the field of childcare. Unfortunately (and in hindsight, misguidedly), my Career Guidance teacher had other aspirations for me; to keep everyone happy I enrolled in a Business Studies course. Nine years later I left my job in banking to study childcare full time. Finally, I was doing what I wanted. I have found my subsequent studies and work exceedingly rewarding.

After six years working in crèches, I fulfilled a long-held ambition and built my own nursery. For seven years, The Nursery became a little ‘home from home’ for babies aged from five months to eighteen months and a haven for (usually) first-time mums.

It was here that I was really able to see first-hand the difficulties parents were having in establishing good sleep habits for their children. Whilst in my care the babies would go down for their naps without much of a fuss, whereas at home anything could happen. For example, they might be allowed to fall asleep in the car or in buggies at all hours of the night. They might be sharing beds or simply sleeping really badly, no matter where.

My own favourite story (and the one that started me really thinking seriously about all of this) is of a set of parents who took turns to sleep on the floor of the baby’s room, with one arm reaching into the cot – all night!

The parents and I had great relationships, and no child-related conversation topics were off-limits. I found myself advising them about sleep habits, using a combination of my training, my experiences in The Nursery, my gut feelings and my instincts. But I had a hunch that there was more to it. So I decided it was time to explore further the minefield of infant and childhood sleep.

I closed The Nursery as a childcare service and completed a Registered Sleep Coaching course in the UK. (I was awarded ninety-seven per cent, if you don’t mind, and I assume the final three per cent was deducted for misspelling!)

So, for the past few years I have been busy consulting with families in their own homes and helping them to get their wide-awake babies into a more settled pattern of healthy sleep. I have worked with hundreds of families and it is no small boast that our track record has been excellent.

My scrapbook is filled with lovely messages of thanks received over the years from parents expressing appreciation for the help and support they received. They tell tales of relief and restorative calm in households where babies and children sleep soundly and regularly – and the parents do too!

It is easy to feel alone and upset if your child is not sleeping well and you find yourself walking the floors late at night. You can end up feeling that you are the only person in the world wide awake, in the middle of the night, suffering from sleep deprivation. Please be assured that this is not the case. You most definitely are not alone.

How to use this book

There is lots to choose from within these pages – handy daytime routines, simple explanations for various sleep disorders, tips for babies with reflux issues and simple but effective sleep techniques, to mention but a few things. You may wish to dip in and out and choose the sections that apply to you, rather than read the book from cover to cover.

If you are pregnant or have a very new baby and are hoping to get things on the right track from the beginning, start at chapter one for some advice about the early months. If your baby is more than six months old and still waking up a lot at night, chapter four, which looks at all the considerations around sleep training, will be useful.

Oh, and don’t just go looking for the ‘technique’ straight away. I give you some background information at the start of the book, which is important as part of an overall approach to tackling sleep problems – you are less likely to give up if you understand the reasons why you’re doing something!

And – before you ask – I am not a parent. Neither am I a parenting expert. I have never claimed to be one. But I have many, many years of experience with babies and toddlers and, by not having my own children I believe I can – more often than not – be a little detached from parents’ situations in a helpful way. It allows me to take an overview of the ‘big picture’ in a family and to stand aside from the emotional side of things that can sometimes be overwhelming.

Lastly, healthy sleep outcomes are not all down to me. It is always you, the parents, who are the ones to put in the necessary hard work and commitment. However, I am pleased to tell you that it can be a surprisingly short-term investment, and one that brings change for the better. The outcomes can be life altering! There are no hard-and-fast rules, just your commitment and a promise to be consistent.

Reading and reflecting on the material in this book will do nothing in itself. Practice is key. I promise that the results will speak for themselves if you do invest your time and energy in making a commitment to change. Sleep will come.

Always keep in mind that my advice is just that: advice. I am here simply to help and offer practical reassurance and guidance. But, whatever you do, please, please, please be consistent. Confusion is the last thing your child needs in the wee small hours of the morning. As I constantly say to clients, ‘Good luck. Be strong and be brave!’

I know about sleep.

Trust me!

1

PRE-BIRTH AND NEWBORN TO FOUR MONTHS

All grown-ups were once children … but only few of them remember it.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

As Julie Andrews sang in The Sound of Music, ‘Let’s start at the very beginning …’ For all mums, but especially first-time mums, having a baby means taking a step into the unknown, and it can be daunting. Women now hold equal status in the workplace, where their competence is recognised and rewarded. Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, a baby arrives and everything changes. Many new mums find themselves questioning the smallest things: Is my baby too warm? Too cold? Is it okay to let the baby sleep in the car seat? Is that poo the wrong colour?

Nothing can adequately prepare new parents for the change their new baby will bring to their lives. It can, paradoxically, be both the most joyful and the most challenging of times. I have often heard new mums saying they went from feeling confident and independent to confused and lonely – in the space of just a few hours! For some it is a smooth transition, but it is so hard to predict which course your journey will take. Many parents have told me that the greatest challenge following the birth of their first child was no longer feeling like they truly knew who they were. Life had changed so much for them that they felt frightened, with their very sense of self under threat. Questions like these arose: Am I me? Am I a wife? Am I a mother? Am I a lawyer/teacher etc.? How can I be all of these things – and yet still be me?

A new mother can sometimes feel lost in a fog. This feeling may be short-lived, or it can last for longer. Support is key at this stage, even if some women find it difficult to ask for help – or to accept it when it’s offered.

Look after yourself

Even before your baby arrives, it is just so important to take time to be yourself and do those things that you love. Go for walks and enjoy meals out with your partner. Pre-baby date nights are to be cherished! I have recently heard of couples going on ‘baby-moon’ – a little holiday before their baby arrives. Obviously, not everyone can afford one of these, but it can be so beneficial to have that time as a couple looking forward to your new baby’s arrival. Simply ‘battening down the hatches’ and spending a weekend at home together can also work, and keeps the costs down! Turn the phones off and just hang out; life is about to change, and seizing the opportunity to be alone together can help you to strengthen your ties and charge your batteries.

Be prepared

Once you have reached the later stages of pregnancy, you should be prepared for baby’s imminent arrival. The baby may even come a wee bit early and catch you off guard! Have your hospital bag ready and waiting by the hall door. You may want to have two bags – a small one for the labour and your main one for after you have had the baby. Many hospitals will allow you to bring only your ‘necessities’ into the labour ward with you, so pack separately anything else you might need over your stay.

What do you need to put in this bag (or bags) waiting in the hall? Actually, not as much as you might think. Your partner might like a bit of breathing space outside the hospital, and going on errands for things you need could provide this, as well as giving you an opportunity to include him in meeting both mum’s and baby’s needs. There is a huge change going on in his life too!

Another reason to try to resist the temptation to pack too much if you will be staying on a hospital ward for a few days is that you may not have much storage space. Arrange for your partner or someone else to replenish the stocks you’ll need while you are there. Below are some checklists to help with this. I’ve included a special list for mums having a scheduled Caesarean section (C-section), as in this case there can often be a little delay and some waiting around, depending on what is going on in the hospital on the day.

Checklist: labour bag for you

Maternity notes with your birth plan, should you choose to have one.An old T-shirt or nightdress for labour, with front opening if you want to breastfeed straight away.An old pair of socks – who needs cold feet while in labour?Disposable/old knickers for after the birth.TENS machine (if desired).Small water spritzer for use during labour.

Checklist: main bag for you

Spare nightdresses/pyjamas.Support bra/nursing bra, if breastfeeding.Dressing gown and slip-on slippers (to avoid having to bend down!).A couple of towels (large and small).Toiletries.Breast pads.Nappy bags – to get rid of nappies and your sanitary wear.Sanitary towel packs (maternity x 2).Any medication you are taking.

Checklist: C-section mums

If you know in advance that you are having a C-section, you’ll probably have a little more time to think about what you’ll need. You are also likely to have a longer stay in hospital, so factor this in when packing for yourself and the baby.

You may also find that you have a little more time on your hands in the hospital before the birth if you are having a section. Schedules may change and emergency situations may arise, which could put you at the end of the queue. Stockpile a few things to keep you occupied.

Books and magazines.Music – CDs or downloads to your phone.iPad/tablet – don’t forget your chargers for these!Once you have delivered your bundle of joy, the same things you need for a regular delivery will apply but bring high-waisted comfy knickers – you don’t want any elastic waist-bands sitting uncomfortably on your scar.

Checklist: hospital bag for baby

Double or, indeed, triple this if you have more than one baby coming!

Long-sleeved babygros x 6+.Vests x 6+ (try to wash these before you pack them).Cardigan.Little hat.Pre-washed baby towel x 2.Pack of nappies (newborn).Cotton wool (not wipes).Bibs/muslin cloths.Baby blanket.Cot sheet.Car seat (ask someone to bring this in only on the day you are going home, as it will take up space and I am pretty sure the hospital won’t let you store it).

Checklist: non-essentials (but nice to have)

Let dad/birthing partner take charge of this.

Change for parking charges/payphone.Camera (although most people have great cameras on their phones so it mightn’t be necessary).Light snacks, magazines, newspapers.Your own pillow (if you’re allowed).Comfortable clothes for going home.Mobile phone charger.Eye mask (keeps bright lights in wards from interfering with your sleep).Earplugs.Arnica tablets (to help heal any bruising).A snack for dad – the last thing you need is a ‘fainter’ in the delivery room!

The new arrival and managing hospital visitors

You will be so excited and possibly a little overwhelmed when you meet your baby for the first time. You will want to show your little one off to the world with pride. But you may be exhausted! It is important to keep a close eye on your energy levels, as you will need all your resources to care for your precious new arrival – and yourself. I can’t stress this enough. Try not to let too many people come in to see you while you are in hospital (in fact many hospitals allow only immediate family).

Use your stay as a valuable opportunity to rest and to learn about your little one and your new role in life. Ask for help, with anything at all, if you need it. No need or question is too little or too large! You will be with the experts, so take full advantage of their training and experience. The professionals are there to help and make your transition as seamless as possible. Take their advice – and my advice: just don’t overdo things.

Coming home

The same advice applies when you get home. Well-meaning visitors may form a queue at your door. However, endless cups of tea and much admiration of your new baby can leave you feeling tired and emotional, particularly if you are also working to establish breastfeeding in the early days. Ask your friends to call ahead, rather than arrive on your doorstep unexpectedly. It can be hard to find a balance between having too many visitors and too few – but don’t worry, you will soon learn how much space and alone-time you and your baby need!

It is important for you and your little one to have support and company when you need it, and also time on your own. Your partner can play a vital role in helping you to work this one out. Allow yourself the opportunity to choose a suitable time for visits. Friends and family will be looking forward to meeting your son or daughter, but for now, this time is about you, your new baby and your partner. Prioritising is important – you will never have those first few precious days back again.

Supplies

Stock up on freezer meals and washing powder ahead of time – be practical when it really counts. There’s nothing worse than snuggling in for an afternoon at home and then realising that there’s nothing appetising to eat! You have to do your best to eat healthily in order to keep your energy levels up. Accept all offers of food, especially cooked food, from well-wishers, and don’t be afraid to ask people to pick up items for you. If a friend of mine has had a baby, I will send a text before going to visit her to see if she needs anything. Sometimes a good meal is valued more than a packet of vests or a cute outfit for junior!

On a practical note: believe me, there will be an awful lot of washing and laundry when your new baby arrives. Have plenty of non-bio washing powder at the ready. Even if you vastly overestimate the amount of washing you are going to do in the next few years, you still won’t even come close to understanding how often you will fill that washing machine!

Sleep for you

You will have heard it before, but honestly, my advice is this: sleep when baby sleeps! It will do you the world of good.

You’re not alone in thinking that your baby will stop breathing if you’re not standing over the Moses basket looking in at all times. But you will do that child no favours if you become exhausted and strung out. A healthy mum is a happy mum! I know that this is not always possible, but at least try to make good use of the headspace or time out at your disposal when your little one naps. Do not use this time to engage in tiring activities – it is vitally important that you nourish yourself at each and every opportunity. These early days of infant care pass quickly, so make the most of your time and energy to ensure a rewarding experience.

Once baby arrives, make sure you don’t neglect your partner. Dad and baby will benefit from spending time alone in these precious early days, and beyond. Remember, you can help to facilitate (or hinder) this!

In the early days, weeks and months of your baby’s life, two issues are likely to preoccupy you most – feeding and sleeping. Both are basic needs, and your new baby may take a little time to settle into a pattern with them. However, approaching feeding and sleeping almost like a blank canvas will help you find your rhythm. Worry little about advice from friends and relatives until you establish your own pattern.

Preparing your home for a new arrival

Baby equipment and paraphernalia don’t come cheap, and you may find you don’t actually need everything you see recommended in magazines or online. Wait until you are setting up your baby’s own room before going shopping. Holding off for a while will also give you a chance to save up for some of the bigger things you will really need. You definitely don’t have to break the bank – at least for a while!

Where your baby will sleep

When it comes to sleep, there are a few things to consider. The leading health organisations recommend that babies sleep (particularly at night) in a cot beside their parents during the first six months of life. You probably won’t want it any other way. Not only is this a good rule of thumb, but if you are planning on breast-feeding it simply makes most sense to have the little one near you. However, if you are setting up a baby’s room from scratch, or simply making space for your baby in your own room, you have a few options as to where exactly your baby will sleep.

Moses basket

Initially, at night your baby will sleep (hopefully!) in a Moses basket beside your bed and during the day probably in the sitting room/kitchen, or wherever you spend your daytime hours. As a general rule, babies can stay in a Moses basket until they are about four months old, but for each baby the time varies depending on how big they become in that period. Most parents will choose to leave the base/frame in their bedroom and just transfer the top part of the cradle to other rooms during the day. I may be stating the obvious, but it is really very important to say this: never carry your Moses basket downstairs or around the house when your baby is in it. Once your baby is in there, the basket should remain stationary. Be sure always to place it on a hard, steady surface, well out of harm’s way.

Co-sleeper

A ‘co-sleeper’ is a small cot that is open on one side. You can attach it to your bed, or pull it right up beside the bed as you sleep. This enables you to transfer your baby easily during the night for feeds. Once fed, you can place the baby back in their cot with little fuss. They are still beside you, but you won’t be fearful of rolling onto them while you sleep. (This rarely, if ever, happens, by the way, but it is always a good idea to move baby back into the co-sleeper after a feed.) If you are using this co-sleeper type of bedding, then during the day your newborn can sleep happily in a pram elsewhere. Just make sure the mattress in the pram is a good one.

Cradle

A cradle has a lightweight frame and can usually be rocked from side to side. Many parents choose this as an alternative to a Moses basket, as they feel that the motion of rocking will help their little ones to fall asleep, which it does in many cases.

Do not worry that you are setting yourselves up for a lifetime of rocking by investing in one of these. If the rocking becomes a habit for your baby, this can be easily changed. Cradles are usually suitable for infants up to about six months old.

Cot or cot bed

Many parents will decide to have their infants sleep in a cot or cot bed from day one because they would like them to become used to the idea of being in their cot from the start. It can also dramatically reduce the expense of buying cradles or baskets for them. It is absolutely fine for a baby to sleep in a cot from birth from a safety point of view. But I think they look so tiny in there, and in my experience they will sleep more soundly in a more comfortable, cosy space. However, there is no harm in placing your baby in the Moses basket at night and into the cot for naps, if your aim is to get them used to the cot.

Mattress

I want to underline the importance of a good and safe mattress. A good-quality mattress is definitely an investment worth making. Your newborn will spend the vast majority of the first few weeks either in your arms or in a Moses basket, pram or cot, so don’t scrimp when it comes to buying the mattress.

A sprung mattress is possibly your best option, as it will maintain its shape for longer than other types, so you won’t get that ‘dipping’ in the mattress as your baby gets bigger and starts to roll around in the cot. Sprung mattresses may be a little more expensive than others, but they are worth it in the longer term. If you go on to have a second child, or more, it is a bit of an unwritten rule that you buy a new mattress each time. This is not at all essential, but bear in mind that your baby’s mattress should be clean and firm, and it should fit the cot correctly.

Make sure the level of the mattress base is set at the appropriate height for the baby. Once children start to pull themselves upright, or begin to stand up, then it is time to drop the base to a lower setting. This is really important if you decide to do any sleep coaching, as little ones may try to climb out if you are not reacting to them in the way they want or expect you to!

Sheets

Your cot sheets should ideally be 100 per cent cotton and should correctly fit your mattress. I suggest you buy them in bulk, as during your baby’s first months you may find that not only do some nappies leak, but also your tiny, gorgeous ‘bundle of joy’ can release more fluid than you could imagine – from both ends!

Lighting

You might find that your little one will happily sleep ‘any time, anywhere’. But right from the start, try to encourage good sleep habits by having baby sleep in a dimly lit room. If parents get into a good habit of keeping things dark – or at least a bit dark – then this encourages babies to start associating darkness with sleep.

Darkness also helps to produce melatonin, a sleep hormone. Brightness will stimulate your little one and can also be a bit startling. Use side lamps where possible, rather than central lighting.

Blackout blinds, although not essential in your baby’s first couple of months, are a good investment to make; once little ones can distinguish between day and night, the creation of darkness during the day will encourage solid blocks of sleep at naptime, along with the production of melatonin.

Mobiles

Music mobiles over the cot can be really useful for grabbing some time to jump into the shower, but when it comes to sleep I wouldn’t recommend them. It can be handy to place your baby in the cot to watch the mobile rotate and thus provide stimulation, but the last thing you want at bedtime and naptime is a stimulated baby! So, I suggest that if you are thinking of buying a mobile, try to use it only for playtime or when you need to distract your baby for a while, not when sleep is your intention. There is a time and a place for both – but as your little one gets older, the time is probably not bedtime!

Monitors

There are plenty of different baby monitors available in baby stores – from the simple ‘walkie-talkie’ type to more elaborate systems that you can hook up to your TV. Choosing one can be a bit daunting.

In use, the simple monitors are often just as good as the high-end ones – with one exception. Several brands have an added feature: a sensor mat which you place in the cot where your baby will lie. These monitors will detect sounds in the same way that a regular monitor will, but they will also notify you when there is no movement after a certain period of time. They can provide real peace of mind for parents. The only downside is that if you go to feed your baby during the night, once you lift the little one you have only a few seconds to turn the sensor off or it will start beeping away and the whole house could be awake! But, more often than not, turning it off will become second nature after a few false starts.

White noise

A variety of musical sounds and soothing noises can also be helpful when you are encouraging sleeptime for your baby. Many people swear by the sound of the hairdryer, or various white noise sounds in the background – you can buy these on CD or download them as apps. While initially they are useful, they can quite often become a crutch; your little one can become dependent on them very quickly in order to fall asleep. I suggest that you use these gadgets while you are winding down and settling your baby, but that you turn them off just as the little one is about to fall asleep.

White noise and other sounds are sleep aids. I will talk later on about such aids, and also about sleep associations and the differences between them (see chapter 3, pp. 89–91).

Room temperature

The recommended temperature for a baby’s room is somewhere between sixteen and twenty degrees Celsius. Three bodies in a bedroom can have an impact on this, so be mindful of temperature fluctuations overnight, particularly if they are sharing a room with you.

Don’t get too hung up on exact figures here. If you are warm, you can be pretty sure your baby is feeling this temperature increase too. The opposite also applies: obviously, if you are feeling chilly, so will your little one. Babies can’t self-regulate their body temperature until they are approximately six months old, so it is your responsibility to monitor this as best you can.

Some handy baby monitors which show room temperature are available, and they can be quite useful if you are inclined to worry about this. But, like anything electronic or ‘gadgety’, you would be as well off going with your own instincts on how warm or cold you are feeling. Trust yourself. Have a little cardigan handy for baby, or be prepared to remove any extra blankets, just in case.

Clothing and swaddles

Baby sleeping bags

Gro-bags are handy for night-time, but not necessarily for a newborn. They are simply too small to fit into them properly, and a few cellular (breathable) blankets work well at this stage instead. These are easy to recognise as they have the little holes in them. They are available in every baby store.

Swaddling is another great way to encourage comfortable sleeping for your little one – but I will say more on this subject later on (see p. 33).

Seasonal changes