Balancing your Baby’s Sleep
Is your baby sleeping well at childcare, but not at home, or vice versa? Well, we have some advice to help!
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
A solid sleep at childcare can mean a patchy one at home, or the other way around, and if you’re struggling to get the balance right, then read on!
We’ve asked the experts at Red Nose Australia to share their advice on this matter, and they tell us that consistency around sleep routines is the key to helping a child with their sleep – regardless of where they are sleeping.
Babies from a very young age recognise predictability and patterns and will begin to learn when it’s time to sleep, and both you and your educators can work together to set your little snoozer on a great path.
To do this, Red Nose encourages you and your educators to look out for signs of sleep.
They say, ‘Seeing signs of drowsiness and placing your child in their cot when they are almost asleep will help them to learn that the cot is where they sleep – not in a care-giver’s arms or pusher, or whilst being rocked or fed.’
Red Nose explains that being in this environment will also help your baby when they wake briefly between sleep cycles (as we all do).
When this happens, your child will recognise their cot as their sleep space, making it more likely for them to resettle themselves without needing an adult's intervention.
This consistency in sleep routines can be applied at childcare and at home, ensuring a smoother transition between the two settings, but keep in mind that consistency doesn’t mean rigidity!
Flexibility is important too, and this means that instead of trying to forward-plan your baby’s sleep or predict what will happen, it’s best to read their cues and fit in with them.
Red Nose says, ‘Your baby is very good at telling you, sometimes loudly, what they are needing. So, trust in them – and yourself. Don’t be afraid of being flexible and adapting to what your baby is communicating, instead of going by a timed schedule. Your baby will respond and sleep will improve.’
Practically speaking, this might mean that you respond to your baby’s tired signs and put them down sooner, rather than waiting for the clock to strike ‘Bedtime.’
Red Nose understands that this can be hard to do when you’ve waited all day to see your beautiful baby, but says, ‘Keeping them up will lead to your baby becoming overtired and this can lead to it being harder for your baby to go to sleep – and can cause frequent night wakes.’
To make sure you get plenty of quality time with your bundle of joy, it can help to carve out some cuddle time in the morning, before work and childcare.
And if a super early start isn’t possible, there’s some consolation in knowing that your baby’s early-to-bed phase won’t last forever!
As well as listening to your baby, it’s also really important to communicate with your educators.
Responsive, two-way communication helps to ensure that all of your family’s needs and wants are looked after, and when it comes to sleep, it’s a good idea to talk to your educators about what they are doing and what is working well to get your baby to sleep.
Introducing a sleep diary can also be helpful, and this involves your educators writing down your baby’s sleep patterns so you can compare any differences between childcare and home, and apply what works.
Hopefully your little one will get in a great sleep groove soon, and it’s important that they sleep, not just soundly, but safely.
Red Nose can definitely help with this, because they are the recognised national authority on safe sleeping for infants and children.
They offer trusted advice for parents and care-givers, and if you’re curious or concerned about anything sleep-related, you can call the Red Nose Safe Sleep Advice Line on 1300 998 698 (Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm) to get sleep advice from an educator.
Red Nose’s online library also contains lots of helpful information, and if you have a specific question, there’s always the option of putting it in writing.
The Red Nose Q&A Forum enables you to ask a question specific to your family’s situation, then have it answered by an expert, and it’s interesting to see what other people have asked as well.
Good luck with everything, and sweet dreams!
