What makes some babies good sleepers

Of course not. I am simply a student of the interactions between parents and children around bedtime. Step one is to take sleep seriously. Good information is invaluable. This is flipside of the joyous formation of an attachment that will last a lifetime.

The freedom to see through the fatigue and relish the bond building grows if a parent can shed sleep-related fears. The sooner parents know that they will be able to guide their child to consistent sleep, the more they can enjoy the journey. Peters, whose son began to sleep through the night following the third day of our work together. During the first four months, parents can help a child to form the habits that allow for sound sleep.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of establishing and following a dependable, predictable routine. Families with a consistent, daily schedule of feedings, activities, and sleep have the smoothest transitions when, as they reach the age of four-to-six months, babies are ready to begin sleeping independent of their parents for long periods of time.

The transition almost always involves crying. Crying is what most often breaks the will of parents seeking better sleep for their child and themselves. Individual differences certainly matter. A common experience of parents who have more than one child is that every child is different. This is true in several areas and sleep is not an exception. Studies have found links between infant sleep and specific temperament dimensions: infants characterized by an easy temperament positive mood, high approach, and high sociability have been found to sleep longer at night and have fewer sleep problems than infants characterized by a difficult temperament negative mood, high withdrawal, high activity level, low sensory threshold, and poor regulatory capacity.

Infants with difficult temperaments tend to have more difficulty with sleep consolidation trouble sleeping for long stretches ; and, infancy is where sleep disturbances often begin. In addition to these internal factors, we also know that most sleep disturbances during early childhood are explained by environmental factors and parenting practices such as having a late bedtime.

However, the influence of genetic factors should not be underestimated since sleep duration and night wakings are strongly influenced by genetics. In summary, some children are good sleepers and others have trouble sleeping — but all healthy babies have the ability to sleep well with appropriate support when needed. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email.

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