By La leche league international

§ Nighttime and Naptime Strategies for the Breastfeeding family

Breastfeeding is our biological norm.

We’re recommending that all breastfeeding mothers prepare for bedsharing whether or not they ever intend to do it, since research finds that most breastfeeding mothers do sleep with their babies at some point and preparing for bedsharing is safer than accidentally falling asleep together. And even those researchers who are concerned about bedsharing agree that by four months, it’s a non-issue.

Being Attached and Attuned

– a human relationship, a communication

– Breastfeeding is an intense relationship with great food on the side, not a perfect infant food that may include a relationship

– For a baby, the environment is the mother

– The newborn baby will have only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three.

– Normal newborn sleep involves short cycles, day and night.

– Baby on your body. Your body is everything to your newborn. He may be able to sleep without you, but he’ll be most stable and relaxed if he’s in physical contact with you.

– The infant calming response to maternal carrying is a coordinated set of central, motor and cardiac regulations.

BABY SLEEP, IN A NUTSHELL

– Babies need to be in their parents’ room for about the first half year for safety and to establish a pattern of security and trust that will reduce their need to cry.

– Newborns can’t sort out day from night, and can go no more than two or three hours between most nursings.

– Young babies are more stressed when they’re not in physical contact with their mothers. Prolonged stress isn’t healthy.

– All children leave their parents’ bed eventually, no matter what you do or don’t do.

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– Lying down and gazing at your peacefully sleeping baby can be luscious. Wakening gently to snorts and stirrings rather than being jolted awake by cries is definitely more restful.

– Melting into motherhood (going back to work)

– If you really can’t afford downtime yourself, a wear-carrier is a fabulous way to “nap the baby”. What a baby wants most is closeness, not conversation, and you can offer that whether you’re lying down or getting things done around the house.

– All nursing mothers gain precious minutes of extra sleep time when they bedshare. Mothers in the workforce surely need it most.

– Breastfeeding and bedsharing give you a superpower many working mothers don’t have – the ability to reconnect deeply every night at the same time that you multi-task feedings and sleep. Breastfeeding and bedsharing can be a total win all the way around.

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YOUR OWN SLEEP NEEDS

– Front-loading

– More time is often spent trying to fix the baby’s sleep ‘problems’ (which are normal waking and short sleep periods)… rather than finding ways to deal with the resulting (and inevitable) sleep deprivation).

– It turns out that some very productive people “front-load” their days, doing more work early in the day and – here’s the key – winding down earlier in the evening.

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GENTLE SLEEP NUDGING METHODS

– Nudging toward more mature sleep is all about letting it happen or helping it happen, but recognising that it’s not always best to make it happen.

– These nudges are completely different from sleep training methods, especially the kinds that make a baby cry it out, which work against a mother and baby’s instinctive, magnetic pull toward each other.

– Babies under 6 months- the un-nudgeables

Infants aren’t ready for any kind of nudging. They need round-the-clock, responsive mothering, Nighttime feedings are essential because babies are growing faster than they ever will again. And they don’t start consolidating sleep (sleeping longer stretches) until somewhere between 6 weeks and 3 months.

– Bedsharing: You already know that bedsharing mothers get the most sleep. Bedsharing babies have a gentle walking and falling back to sleep that translates to greater calmness for them and more sleep for you.

– Skin contact: Most babies sleep longer with physical contact. Chest-to-chest or body-to-body contact works best, but even putting a hand on the baby can help.

– Nursing several times at night is still normal for a baby over 6 months.

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SLEEP GADGETS

Swaddling devices

– Swaddling does tend to produce quieter babies who will accept sleeping on their backs alone for longer periods.

– Because their movements are so restricted, swaddled babies are less able to defend themselves against even the smallest problem.

Mittens

– Mittens mean sensory deprivation. Touch is a powerful sense to babies.

Sleep sacks

– Sleep sacks and sleep bags are a healthier alternative to swaddling or thick blankets

Wear-carriers

– We think a wear-carrier – sling, wrap, tie-on, buckle-on, or strap-on carrier – is an essential for almost every mother and baby.

Hands-free baby holders

– Nap wraps – designed specifically for holding your baby upright against you, chest to chest, hands-free, while you sit back and relax. They keep the baby snug enough to prevent sliding and loose enough to allow them to move their head and hands.

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THE FIRST FEW DAYS

– No burrito babies in bed

Swaddling is not the same as having the baby held snugly against your chest. Swaddling is designed to quiet a baby without adult contact.

– Milk on tap

The more your baby nurses, day and night, the more she keeps the balance of milk and gearing-up fluids in balance. Your milk will come in faster and painful engorgement is far less likely.

The Magic Baby Hold