- Trade off nights of sleep with your spouse. No one will like this arrangement, but at least you can get some sleep every other night.
- Consider co-sleeping with a newborn. Many people recommend it since co-sleeping babies have a lower incidence of SIDS. But the greatest benefit is that mom can nurse while half-asleep and roll over and go back to sleep immediately. Some moms almost “sleep right through it” and can’t remember nursing during the night.
- If you have to get a night of absolute sleep due to job demands, discuss it with your wife and then don’t hesitate to sleep in another room. Just don’t make it a routine.
- If you have an early-riser, go to bed when the kids do. Most people think this is a good idea, but fail to implement it since it steals the only time of the day when they get some peace and quiet.
- Break the night into shifts. One parent takes the 10–2 and the other the 2-6. The hard part here is that one parent of the two is usually the more “conscientious” of the pair.
- Get a rocking cradle and put the baby in it right next to you.
- Gorge the baby with milk. Babies always sleep better after a big meal. Just make sure the inevitable diaper change falls on your spouse’s watch.
– Paul Banas
Founder/Editor
Tom says
Infants who sleep in the prone position also have increased rates of:
– Social skills delays at 6 months (Dewey, Fleming, et al, 1998)
– Motor skills delays at 6 months (Dewey, Fleming, et al, 1998)
– gastroesophageal reflux (GER) (Corvaglia, 2007)
– Milestone delays (Davis, Moon, et al., 1998)
– Plagiocephaly, Torticollis, Strabismus, etc.
– Slow Wave Sleep Decrease, Overall Sleep Decrease, Increase in Apnea
– Also, Stomach sleep prevents subluxation of the hips
My question is: If a doctor was presented with a baby that had social skills delays, motor skills delays, and gastroesophageal reflux what would a doctor say if a child had these three things but not too bad. The doctor might tell the parent to be patient and that different kids develop differently. But, what if the case was more severe – what if the kids social skills were worse? The doctor might diagnose him with ADHD. But, what if the kids delays were really far behind – that is the kid had very large delays in social skills and motor skills along with GER? The doctor might diagnose him with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I think part (if not all) of the Autism Epidemic is caused by the SIDS Back to Sleep campaign.
8 year olds in the year 2000 (born in 1992) = 10,055 with Autism
8 year old in the year 2007 (born in 1999) = 24, 669 with Autism (146% Increase)
Infants that slept on their backs in 1992 = 13.0%
Infants that slept on their backs in 1999 = 65.7% (405% Increase)
“A lot of us are concerned that the rate (of SIDS) isn’t decreasing significantly, but that a lot of it is just code shifting,’ said John Kattwinkel, chairman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s special task force on SIDS.”
Scripps Howard News Service Interview
Four Factor Theory at Blogspot
Starleigh says
I think you’ve just captured the answer pefretcly