Baby Sleep Help - Natalie's Response

Mum Zone's resident Sleep Expert Natalie of Sleep and Settle is available to answer some of your questions about settling your baby and more.

Topics include: Sleeping and settling, moving from bassinette to cot, cot to bed, breastfeeding/formula, solids, floorplay for babies and play for toddlers/children, wrapping/sleeping bags/dressing baby, behaviour/tantrums, what's normal? bedroom environments, music, lights, entertainment, mattresses, mattress protectors, sheets, unsettled babies and the 0-12 week afternoon arsenic hours, reflux/colic, teething, worms, toilet training, night terrors/nightmares, the older child issues 5-10 years and single parenting/separation/divorce.

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Reader's Question

My 13 month old son keeps waking up at least twice a night for a feed, but it seems to be more a comfort feed. He doesn't respond to 'controlled crying' as he will just cry endlessly. Is there any other things I can do to try make him sleep through the night.

Natalie's Response

Hi,

I appreciate that you don't want to use controlled crying. Actually the Australian Infant Mental Health Association doesn't recommend anyone use it either. It is better for you to find a strategy you feel comfortable with that responds to your baby and then feel confident being consistent and persistent with.

Consider the following:

• As the parents we establish the good and not so good habits in our children. We do this with our consistency with a routine or response to the child. So I would like you to consider that in order to change your son's habit of waking in the night for a feed it is about you changing your habits and then that will change your son's habits.
  
  
• Many parents desperately want to change their baby's sleep routine but don't want any crying! Please consider that you are changing 13 months of habits and asking your intelligent and sensitive baby to do so without any warning! Contemplate how quickly you would take to adjust to a significant change in your own routine without any warning! Of course your baby is going to protest at the changes to the routine that he has become accustomed to, when he wakes overnight. Feeding your baby overnight in order to get him to go back to sleep has been working for you both. Now it's not working for you but... it's still working for your baby. Until your baby can talk he is going to communicate displeasure with crying and or screaming.
  
  
• You may like to have a simple five minute, four step ‘going to bed' routine that works for you family for the day and night sleeps. This will provide cues for sleep and communicate routine with your baby, providing comfort and security.
  
  
• Overnight, when your baby wakes, try not to rush into the room. Decide on a short period of time that you feel comfortable with and stick with it. By rushing into the room you are preventing your baby from the opportunity to self-settle, which is your goal.
  
  
• If baby is crying I would respond briefly to reassure only and repeat until baby was asleep. Many parents entertain and stimulate baby at this time and encourage the waking. Consider the ‘rewards for waking' your baby is receiving.
  
  
• Apply your chosen sleep strategy consistently and persistently in order the change your habits and affect change in your baby's routine.
  
  
• It usually takes 3-7 days to achieve sleeping approx 7pm-7am.
  

Happy Sleeping,

Natalie

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The opinions expressed on these pages are of a general nature and are by no means a substitute for professional advice. Therefore neither Mum Zone or Natalie Ebrill of Sleep and Settle are liable for any actions pertaining to the use of the supplied information.