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BABY SLEEP webchat - Monday 7 Feb 12-1pm

Babyexpert is pleased to welcome Pampers Village sleep expert, Wendy Dean, to answer your questions on any baby sleep issues in a LIVE webchat on, Monday 7 February, from 12-1pm.



Don't worry if you can't make chat on the day, leave your question below now and Wendy will endeavor to answer as many questions on the day as possible.



Remember that Wendy will be returning to our message boards on Mon 14th February at the same time to find out if her advice given on the 7th is helping and if she can offer any further support. Click the link to find out more: http://www.babyexpert.com/Baby_Sleep_Webchat_
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  • My son is 11 months old, he's always been a bit of a light sleeper...and an early riser. He's in a good routine during the day:- takes 2 naps of 1-2 hours each [the 2nd nap is just after lunch]He eats incredibly well and goes to bed at 7pm. BUT he wakes up any time after 5am, happy and squealing and ready to start his day, which I definitely am not!



    If he wakes earlier he's easily settled with a dummy, or even a bottle if he's having a growth spurt. But the 5am wake up is different, I try and settle him the same way I would at 1am but he gets livelier and squealier until about an hour later - after I've been in to settle him half a dozen times - when he realises he's hungry so I have to get up anyway!



    So my question is, how do we get him to sleep in, even a tiny bit later, we're so, so tired!



    Thanks, Lisa
  • How can I get my 9 month old to take longer daytime naps? We don't have too much difficulty with night times (touch wood) as she'll sleep 12 hours overnight and will wake only if teething / ill / stranded in a funny position. She doesn't have a dummy at night time. But we seem to be struggling with daytimes.



    She takes 2-3 30-40 minute naps in the daytime, but always seems to wake up tired. On the odd occasion that she sleeps for longer (1-1.5 hours) she wakes up properly rested and is much happier. She sleeps upstairs in her cot (unless we're out, in which case she'll settle herself in the pushchair or car), with curtains drawn, not hungry and with a clean nappy so I don't know why she wakes up too early. It is impossible to resettle her once she's woken in the day as she ends up crawling round the cot, sitting up or pulling herself up, whilst moaning because she's still tired. I usually end up giving up and bringing her back downstairs.



    I settle her for naps in the same way as for night time sleeps, with a bit of calm play before going up and music whilst she drops off. The only difference between night and day is that she sleeps in a sleeping bag and night and with a blanket in the day. She also still has a dummy for daytime naps. Putting her in a sleeping bag in the day wouldn't help with the crawling / sitting issue as she can do that in the sleeping bag.



    So what can I do to try and encourage her to take a longer nap?
  • Hi!



    I have a very good friend whose 4 month old baby girl will not nap during the day unless she's either on her mum or out in the car/pushchair. I've been there at times when my friend has tried to settle her daughter in her moses basket and it just doesn't work. She's tried upstairs where it's quiet, downstairs where there's background noise, with her dummy, without her dummy, with a muslin that my friend's had with her all day so it smells of her, in her sleeping bag, out of her sleeping bag, putting her down when she's awake, putting her down when she's very sleepy, everything. The only suggestions I had were to shhh and pat her, as that worked with my son, but that doesn't work either and the poor little thing just cries and cries, even while she's being comforted. It's as if the car/pushchair or on mum are the only two places/circumstances in which she can sleep. She sleeps reasonably well at night, but in my friend's words, "No two days are the same" regarding daytime sleeping. She's breastfed, has yet to begin weaning and shows no signs she's still hungry when put down for a nap. My poor friend is at her wits' end, she even said she can't wait until her dd is 6 months so she can do controlled crying, even though she doesn't particularly like the idea. Is there anything my friend hasn't tried that she should be doing to help her daughter nap?



    Many thanks! image
  • Hi my name is Wendy Dean and I am the Baby Sleep Expert on the Pampers Village Parenting Panel. Welcome to my live web chat image I will be available to answer questions until 1pm and I am looking forward to hearing from you.





    Wendy
  • Hi Lisa, thank you for your post about your 11 month old early riser. The key to the issue could be linked to what goes on at other points in the night even if these wake ups do not happen regularly. At your little boys age he really doesn't need a milk feed at night even if he is having a growth spurt. However, he will wake at regular intervals as part of his sleep cycle and may well regularly look for a milk "prop" in order to gte back to sleep. Likewise if he falls asleep sucking a dummy at the beginning of the night, when he wakes he may well need it again to fall back to sleep. At first glance, these issues do not seem relevant to the 5am wake up. However, after 4am babies and toddlers are in their lightest stage of sleep. If he is quite "prop" dependent then this is the time when he will find it the hardest to re-settle. So my advice to you would be to stop all night feeds, consider ditching the dummy and try and not get him out of bed until after 6am (which whilst a bit early, is in the "normal" range. Pop in and out and reassure him you are around, but keep the room dark and keep repeating a ket message that its still not time to get up. It may take a few weeks, but he should start to sleep later. Hope that helps.





    Wendy
  • Hi Wendy,

    How long should my 2 year old be napping for during the day? He sleeps between 10 and 11 hours per night and every day i have to wake him from his nap or he'd sleep all afternoon!

    Thanks x image
  • Hi Wendy,

    I have a 2 year old who is generally very good at sleeping but recently he will wake in the night crying and shouts out 'my mummy'over and over again. I only go into his room if he gets really upset and sometimes hie eyes are closed so it looks like he is still sleeping, but he can get very upset. Are these night terrors? is there anything i can do to help him sleep more soundly?

    thanks
  • Hello Kristin, thank you for your post about little Liam. Can I ask, does he fall asleep on his bottle at bedtime? If the answer is yes, then he is almost certainly looking for the same "prop" to get him back to sleep when he wakes as part of his natural sleep cycle throughout the night. Even if he does go down in his cot awake, he could still be waking out of habit. If you are confident that he is eating well through the day and is drinking most of his milk then you can stop the night feeds. In your circumstances I would start with making sure that he goes down awake after his bottle - you could try a split feed i.e. give him most of his milk and then read a story or play a quiet game. You can then top him up before bed when hopefully he won't get a chance to fall asleep on the milk. If he protests about the new arrangement, try one of the Soothology routines on the Pampers website www.pampers.co.uk/goldensleep. It may take a week but you should see a big difference. I will be back next Monday so pop back on and let me know how it went.



    Wendy
  • Hello, thank you for your post about your 9 month old reluctant napper. It appears that on the days when she has her shorter naps (40 minutes), she is only sleeping for 1 sleep cycle. All babies sleep in cycles and through the day these are generally around the 40 minute mark. At that point they wake and if she hasn't learned how to re-settle into a second cycle, she is up until the next nap or bedtime.If she does occasionally sleep for 2 cycles then it sounds like she can do it but not regularly (is she generally in the pram or car when this happens?). There are a couple of ways that you can approach the issue. Either try and leave her for 10 minutes when she wakes to see if she can settle herself back off to sleep. If she starts to cry, pick her up and pat her back until she stops and then put her back down again. Try this for 20 minutes and if she doesn't go back to sleep, get her up and try again the following day. Alternatively, if you have the space in your house, consider rocking her off for naps in her pram. When she has been asleep for 30 minutes, gently rock the pram again and this should send her into a second sleep cycle. Good luck and I hope you see a good improvement.



    Wendy
  • Hi Wendy, thanks for the advice, we'll try ditching the dummy and let you know how we get on!



    Thanks

    Lisa
  • Hi, thank you for your question about your friend's non-napping baby. It's lovely that you are trying to support her. It sounds like she has a problem with settling herself to sleep - do you know if she can do this at bedtime? If not then that would probably be the best place to start as it tends to be easier. If she does go down awake ok at bedtime then the key to the naps is going to be perseverance and a lot of patience. The little girl prefers a cuddle with mum or a rocking motion to her own bed and in a way one can understand it. However, she will learn to love her bed. Advise your friend to set a "sleep window" of 40 minutes around 2.5 hours after she woke from her night sleep or last nap. Suggest that she does a little pre-nap routine - perhaps take her outer clothes off, wrap her in a blanket or sleeping bag if she has one at night, sing a song, listen to music or play a quiet game. Tell her to shut the curtains to dim the light. Once she has done this, lower the little girl into her basket. If she cries, pick her up and pat her back rhythmically until she stops. As soon as she does, lower her back into her bed. If she starts to cry, pick her up again and repeat. The aim at this stage is to just get her to fall asleep on her mattress - the length of the nap doesn't matter at this stage, 2 minutes would be a success. If she only has a short nap or is still awake after the 40 minute "window" has elapsed tell your friend to call it a day, put the little one in the pram and take her for a walk. She should then try again for 1 nap the next day. It will take a few days to see an improvement, but if she sticks with it, she will get there. Hope that helps.



    Wendy
  • Hi, congratulations on having a 2 year old that sleeps so well.A 2 hour nap is fine and he could probably have a little longer (around 2.5 hours) as long as its not affecting his falling asleep at bedtime. If he sleeps past 5pm this is more likely to happen. Enjoy the time and treat yourself to a hot cup of tea. My daughter had a good 2 hour sleep every afternoon until she started school so try not to worry.





    Wendy
  • Hello and thanks for the question about your 2 year old and his possible night terrors. If he still appears to be asleep, then that could be what he is experiencing. Does he have any recollection in the morning? If its ok with you can I check a few details:



    1. Does he fall asleep on his own, in his bed at bedtime or are you with him until he falls asleep?



    2. Does he have any aids to fall asleep e.g. a dummy, milk?



    3. Has anything changed in his daytime routine that might have upset him e.g. started a new nursery?



    If none of the above applies, then it may well be night terrors and whilst its horrible for you, he is unlikely to be bothered by them once he wakes up. Keep doing it what you are doing and reassure him regularly when he is having one. Hope that helps.





    Wendy
  • Hi



    I'm wondering how much sleep is too much?



    My daughter is nearly 23 months now. She's always been an amazing sleeper, but I do worry about whether I should wake her more often.



    She is always asleep by 7pm, normally much earlier (5.30 sometimes!), and she sleeps for about 15 hours. When she wakes, she'll be tired after an hour or so and will go back to bed for up to 4 hours... Is this too much?



    Thanks!
  • Hi, thanks for the question about your daughter's long sleeps. It does sound like she is taking quite a bit more sleep over 24 hours than the average 2 year old. If she seems happy and healthy then its probably nothing to worry about, but why not go and talk to your Health Visitor just to get her checked out and reassure yourself that all is well. I will be here at the same time next week, so let me know what she says.





    Wendy
  • Hi, thanks for your question about Zac. I actually specialise in baby's under 2 so he is a little old for me to offer specialist advice. It does sound like he is asserting himself rather than that he has a specific sleep problem. The way forward is probably to start and stick with a bedtime routine and make it clear that it is bedtime and he is to go to bed - don't let him downstairs after the bath, story etc. You could combine this with a reward chart e.g. if he stays in bed he can have a star and a small treat. It would also be worth having a word with your Health Visitor and see what she suggests. Hope that helps.



    Wendy
  • Thanks Wendy.

    Sorry I'm at work and just saw your response. He falls asleep himself every night, no dummy or milk and he's awake when i leave the room. His routine hasn't changed either. I have never asked him if he remembers calling for mummy as i didn't want to remind him. But maybe i should ask him.
  • Thank you for your questions and will be back on the 14th February at 12pm to see how you are getting on.



    If you need any further help, Pampers and I have created four new age related sleep routines called the Pampers SoothologyTM routines designed to help you establish a good sleep routine for you and your baby which adapt as your baby grows. Covering 0-3mths, 4-6mths, 7-12mths and 12+mths.





    Visit the Pampers land of golden sleep at www.pampers.co.uk/goldensleep to read the Pampers SoothologyTM routines in full. There are also many other useful items on the website, including a sleep diary, Frequently Asked Questions factsheet, lullabies and bedtime stories, plus more information on the new Pampers Baby-Dry nappies which now feature 14% wider Extra Absorbent Zones to channel wetness away faster and help keep your baby dry for up to 12 hours.



    Good luck.







    Wendy
  • Thanks to Wendy Dean for a full and informative chat.



    As Wendy has already mentioned, she will be back a week from today at the same time to see if her advice has helped and to answer further questions on baby sleep.



    Thank you to everyone involved.



    Come back on Monday 14th February from 12-1pm
  • Hi.I have a 4 wk old baby. At what point do I introduce a routine and how? The only problem is that our son cluster feeds between 6-10pm. Then wakes every 3 to 4 hrs at night time. He doesn't sleep much in the day, only if we have a ride in the car or pram. He only seems to have a couple of naps which last on average half an hr. He feeds on demand.

    Cheers

    Nicki
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