Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Fox News Co-Sleeping Report.
A Fox news video about co-sleeping that is an ABSOLUTE MUST WATCH.
and I'm usually NOT saying that about Fox News. Warning: Infant deaths referenced and tragic imagery.
If you start watching this, you MUST watch to the very end to get the full story!
Click here to read more about co-sleeping.
For the record, here is a checklist for safe cosleeping.
and I'm usually NOT saying that about Fox News. Warning: Infant deaths referenced and tragic imagery.
If you start watching this, you MUST watch to the very end to get the full story!
Click here to read more about co-sleeping.
For the record, here is a checklist for safe cosleeping.
Friday, April 23, 2010
BBC News- CIO Harms Babys Brains
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8636950.stm
and again, validation that the cry-it-out method is harmful to babies.
and again, validation that the cry-it-out method is harmful to babies.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sleep
There might be nothing more essential to life (okay, water and food are important too). But. sleep....my job is reminding me how crucial it is to how you feel, act, think, and ARE everyday. It's also probably one of the biggest frustrations for parents.
Why won't my baby sleep through the night? What can I do to get my toddler to go to sleep easier? and on and on. We've already talked about CIO and how that's NOT a good idea....but what do we do from there? How can we encourage healthy sleep without resorting to sticking the kid in his room and booking it with earplugs? Haha...
Elisabeth Pantley is one of my favorite authors on this issue. Her books, No Cry Sleep Solution and No Cry Sleep Solutions for Toddlers and Preschoolers are super in depth and well written and encouraging! She talks about how the sleeping through the night myth is really just that, a myth. Many children do NOT sleep through the night until much later than societies expectations. She also offers FREE downloadable booklets on sleep and other parenting issues that have such helpful info in them. She also has a new book on separation anxiety called The No Cry Separation Anxiety Solution - excited for this one! Here is a link to all of her books.
Dr. Dettwyler also conducts research on this and has done some good studies on how sleeping through the night is purely developmental. ( She also has GREAT breastfeeding commentary) Some children STTN at 10 months, some at 3 years... it just depends on the child. Just as you can't force a child to be ready to eat solids or walk or get all 20 teeth earlier than they actually do, the same is with sleep. There are of course things you can do to encourage healthy sleep as well as unhealthy sleep but in general, they with sleep through when they do!
In Noah's case - he has never truly "slept through the night" for 12 hours. I think we've have a couple of 7 hour stretches but in general is he up to nurse or be comforted at least every 3-4 hours (or more if teething, etc). Sleep experts also say that a stretch of 5-6 hours is considering sleeping through the night so many parents have VERY unrealistic expectations of their babies and children. Right now, he wakes to nurse and I think he is ready to night wean and learn how to soothe himself to sleep without rocking or nursing. I am going to tread lightly in this area and take it slow. We haven't started this yet but as soon as his molars are in and he is feeling well, we are probably going to try Dr. Jay Gordan's Night Weaning Plan.
I highly recommend the books and sites above and hope you'll check them out!
"Our children's early years represent the most important and influential time of their lives. It passes all too quickly. But meeting your child's needs during these first few years will pay off in many ways in the years to come." -Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Never let a baby Cry It Out.
http://www.drbenkim.com/articles-attachment-parenting.html
Cry It Out: The Potential Dangers of Leaving Your Baby to Cry
Some highlights from the article....
The child stops crying because she learns that she can no longer hope for the caregiver to provide comfort, not because her distress has been alleviated.
According to attachment theory, many babies are born without the ability to self-regulate emotions. That is, they find the world to be confusing and disorganized, but do not have the coping abilities required to soothe themselves. Thus, during times of distress, they seek out their caregivers because the physical closeness of the caregiver helps to soothe the infant and to re-establish equilibrium. When the caregiver is consistently responsive and sensitive, the child gradually learns and believes that she is worthy of love, and that other people can be trusted to provide it. She learns that the caregiver is a secure base from which she can explore the world, and if she encounters adversity she can return to her base for support and comfort. This trust in the caregiver results in what is known as a secure individual. Children who do not have consistently responsive and sensitive caregivers often develop into insecure individuals, characterized by anxious, avoidant, and/or ambivalent interactions. Long-term studies have shown that secure individuals, compared to insecure individuals, are more likely to be outgoing, popular, well-adjusted, compassionate, and altruistic. As adults, secure individuals tend to be comfortable depending on others, readily develop close attachments, and trust their partners. Insecure individuals, on the other hand, tend to be unsettled in their relationships, displaying anxiety (manifesting as possessiveness, jealousy, and clinginess) or avoidance (manifesting as mistrust and a reluctance to depend on others). North American parenting practices, including CIO, are often influenced by fears that children will grow up too dependent. However, an abundance of research shows that regular physical contact, reassurance, and prompt responses to distress in infancy and childhood results in secure and confident adults who are better able to form functional relationships.
It has been suggested in the past that CIO is healthy for infants’ physical development, particularly the lungs. A recent study looking at the immediate and long-term physiologic consequences of infant crying suggests otherwise. The following changes due to infant crying have been documented: increased heart rate and blood pressure, reduced oxygen level, elevated cerebral blood pressure, depleted energy reserves and oxygen, interrupted mother-infant interaction, brain injury, and cardiac dysfunction. [-similar to a stroke victims vitals! -] The study’s researchers suggested that caregivers should answer infant cries swiftly, consistently, and comprehensively, recommendations which are in line with AP principles.
CIO supporters tend to view their infants’ cries as attempts to manipulate caregivers into providing more attention. Holding this view can be detrimental to the immediate and long-term health of the baby. In the field of cognitive psychology there exists the premise that our thoughts underlie our behaviour. Thus, if we think positively about an individual, our behaviours toward them tend to be positive as well. Conversely, if we think negatively about an individual, we will behave correspondingly. Consider people in your own life whom you consider manipulative – how does that perception influence your behaviour toward them? It is unlikely that the interpretation of a manipulative personality will result in the compassionate, empathetic, and loving care of that individual. Infants, quite helpless without the aid of their caregivers, may suffer both emotional and physical consequences of this type of attitude.
When faced with a crying baby, it may be prudent to ask yourself the following questions: Why am I choosing this response? Do I want my baby to stop crying because he feels comforted and safe, or do I want my baby to stop crying for the sake of stopping crying? What is my baby learning about me and the world when I respond in this manner? If I were a baby and was upset, how would I want my caregivers to respond?
Cry It Out: The Potential Dangers of Leaving Your Baby to Cry
Posted By Margaret Chuong-Kim on Mar 22, 2005
Some highlights from the article....
The child stops crying because she learns that she can no longer hope for the caregiver to provide comfort, not because her distress has been alleviated.
According to attachment theory, many babies are born without the ability to self-regulate emotions. That is, they find the world to be confusing and disorganized, but do not have the coping abilities required to soothe themselves. Thus, during times of distress, they seek out their caregivers because the physical closeness of the caregiver helps to soothe the infant and to re-establish equilibrium. When the caregiver is consistently responsive and sensitive, the child gradually learns and believes that she is worthy of love, and that other people can be trusted to provide it. She learns that the caregiver is a secure base from which she can explore the world, and if she encounters adversity she can return to her base for support and comfort. This trust in the caregiver results in what is known as a secure individual. Children who do not have consistently responsive and sensitive caregivers often develop into insecure individuals, characterized by anxious, avoidant, and/or ambivalent interactions. Long-term studies have shown that secure individuals, compared to insecure individuals, are more likely to be outgoing, popular, well-adjusted, compassionate, and altruistic. As adults, secure individuals tend to be comfortable depending on others, readily develop close attachments, and trust their partners. Insecure individuals, on the other hand, tend to be unsettled in their relationships, displaying anxiety (manifesting as possessiveness, jealousy, and clinginess) or avoidance (manifesting as mistrust and a reluctance to depend on others). North American parenting practices, including CIO, are often influenced by fears that children will grow up too dependent. However, an abundance of research shows that regular physical contact, reassurance, and prompt responses to distress in infancy and childhood results in secure and confident adults who are better able to form functional relationships.
It has been suggested in the past that CIO is healthy for infants’ physical development, particularly the lungs. A recent study looking at the immediate and long-term physiologic consequences of infant crying suggests otherwise. The following changes due to infant crying have been documented: increased heart rate and blood pressure, reduced oxygen level, elevated cerebral blood pressure, depleted energy reserves and oxygen, interrupted mother-infant interaction, brain injury, and cardiac dysfunction. [-similar to a stroke victims vitals! -] The study’s researchers suggested that caregivers should answer infant cries swiftly, consistently, and comprehensively, recommendations which are in line with AP principles.
CIO supporters tend to view their infants’ cries as attempts to manipulate caregivers into providing more attention. Holding this view can be detrimental to the immediate and long-term health of the baby. In the field of cognitive psychology there exists the premise that our thoughts underlie our behaviour. Thus, if we think positively about an individual, our behaviours toward them tend to be positive as well. Conversely, if we think negatively about an individual, we will behave correspondingly. Consider people in your own life whom you consider manipulative – how does that perception influence your behaviour toward them? It is unlikely that the interpretation of a manipulative personality will result in the compassionate, empathetic, and loving care of that individual. Infants, quite helpless without the aid of their caregivers, may suffer both emotional and physical consequences of this type of attitude.
When faced with a crying baby, it may be prudent to ask yourself the following questions: Why am I choosing this response? Do I want my baby to stop crying because he feels comforted and safe, or do I want my baby to stop crying for the sake of stopping crying? What is my baby learning about me and the world when I respond in this manner? If I were a baby and was upset, how would I want my caregivers to respond?
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