Between the baby who sleeps peacefully when leaving maternity and the one who still makes chopped nights at 12 months, the sleeping of children does not meet any standard! Juliette Moudoulaud, a specialist’s sleep consultant, helps us see more clearly.
“”So he is doing his nights?“. This is probably the question that most often comes up in the mouths of grandparents, friends, colleagues and even the baker. Because the sleep is the nerve of war when we are a young parent and our society which promotes performance would like our babies be perfect small sleepers As soon as maternity is leaving, it is difficult to answer “no” to this recurring question. Difficult also to deal with the eyes mixed with compassion and a point of judgment of all those who think that, most likely, if our baby does not make his nights, we are necessarily for something! But sleep, like everything, is learning.
What does it mean?
Ask the question around you, there will be almost as many answers as interlocutors. For Juliette Moudoulaud, sleep specialist consultant, To make your nights means that “Baby will sleep from 11 to 12 hours without interruption “. The specialist adds that a baby “Who will start to make the difference between day and night, sleeping from 4 to 7 hours at night with a different pace during the day, is on the right track. This is a first step towards making real nights “. On the question of age at which a baby is able to sleep a full night, Juliette Moudoulaud offers very factual data. “”A 6 -month -old child who is more than 6 kilos is physiologically capable of making his nights“. She adds that “”If we were to give an average, I would say thatFrom 12 weeks and more than 5 kilos, a child can start to make his nights“. This does not mean, however, that all babies must make their nights at that age, but simply that they are physiologically capable, which makes a huge difference. The consultant specifies that between this interval of 12 weeks and 6 months, there is no certainty and that baby sleep can be disturbed by many factors, in particular the quantities of milk taken during the day or breastfeeding.
The number of baby’s sleep hours per 24 hours
As baby grows, the awakening time is getting longer and naps shorten, but this data is of course only an average that cannot be hidden on each child. However, they give a good idea of baby rhythm, Especially during its first weeks when sleep still seems very anarchic.
Baby sleep and breastfeeding
Juliette Moudoulaud frequently observes that breastfed babies make their nights less quickly. “”But it is not breastfeeding that is in question! The difficulty comes above all from the fact that these babies fall asleep within, which is less found in the bottle, and which is a trend rather linked to breastfeeding “. The difficulty being that a child who does not fall asleep alone will therefore find it difficult to go back alone during the night and will therefore claim a feed. Even if it may seem complicated, the specialist recommends starting this learning as soon as possible. “”We must try not to make sleep as systematic, but try to find other techniques, such as the rocking“. Some babies will fall asleep easily by themselves, others, however, will need more time, you have to know how to be patient.”More than doing his nights, the important thing is especially that baby knows how to go back to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night“Recalls Juliette Moudoulaud.
Thanks to Juliette Moudoulaud, sleep specialist consultant
