Peaceful Nights

The routine debate rages on in most parents’ minds. Do babies need a routine? Can it be gentle and baby-centric?  Is a flexible routine is better than a regimented one? Ask these questions to any baby expert and you will get a myriad of answers. Ask a parent and the responses will be even more diverse.   Like adults, babies have their in-built time clocks and physical needs, however these needs differ substantially from their parents. Where adults only need eight hours sleep a night, babies need anywhere from 18 or 20 hours for a newborn to 14 hours for a toddler, per 24-hour cycle...

QUESTION I'm having problems with my 14month old baby girl at night....for the past 3-4 weeks she's been waking up at 2-3am crying and we cannot calm her down unless we show her videos on our iPads or cellphones to distract her....this lasts for about an hour or more until she is eventually too tired to watch and then falls asleep again. I don't believe it's night terrors as she is fully awake in her cot when I go to her room.Could it just be nightmares as she is developing an active imagination? For the past 3-4 weeks she has also been sleeping much later...between 9pm-10pm. She...

Are you anxious the minute your baby goes to sleep that you may not hear her cry for comfort or food? Have you found yourself standing over her crib checking that she is breathing on your way to bed at night? Or felt that cold sweat as you awake from a dead sleep at 2am to rush through and check your little one is all right? If you have, you are in good company. We all want to be sure we meet our baby’s needs timeously and that our babies are safe as they sleep at night. There are a variety of baby monitors; some baby monitors only monitor sounds and cries, while others monitor breathing...

  QUESTION I'm wondering if the dummy (pacifier) is making my little one (4 month old) not get a  restful nap. She needs it to fall asleep but wakes 30mins and 45mins for her dummy. She rarely naps for more then 30-45mins and usually wakes up cranky, like she wants to sleep more but can't. She doesn't seem rested after a nap. Does she just need to develop her linking of sleep cycles? Or is the dummy the problem. She also wakes through the night for her dummy. ANSWER Dummies (pacifiers) are a lifesaver but can create habits and difficulties if managed badly.  Your baby’s...

  QUESTION My 3.5yr old son wakes up at 3am every morning.  He wants milkshake (Purity Goodies) and then stays awake till 5am.  Thereafter he sleeps till 10am. He will go to bed at 20h30 at night. I want to solve this problem as Dad needs to rest for work the next day. I am also worried that 2yr old girl will start it too.  She sleeps well at the moment and no problem with early hours wake up with her. ANSWER Firstly on a health level, a milkshake at 3am is very bad for your toddler.  The milk sugar will rot his teeth, may cause ear infections if he feeds lying down...