Sounds of Silence is a baby settling and health guide in addition to soundtracks by Dr. Harry Zehnwirth, a pediatrician. This comes as a set and includes a condensed and informative book on baby sleep. I agree with the advice Dr. Zehnwirth shares, along with his advocating of white noise. He has a very realistic way of communicating through his book- he even challenges us to rely more on a very under utilized skill- intuition. The book covers sleep and health issues. Where it discusses sleep I am almost in complete agreement. The only two things that I differ slightly on are: total amount of sleep needed each day- it seems slightly low but just slightly, and the age a child can be sleeping through the night. He suggests 6-7 months, I have experienced it happening earlier on a pretty regular basis. BUT I highly recommend this book- it really covers many great areas and provides you with great information as you sleepily wade through the first months of being a new parent.
Not only can you use the soundtrack for home- you can put it on your computer, iphone, or some sort of traveling music player- then, whenever you have to put down your baby out you have their chosen white noise with you. I don't know how many times I have put a radio alarm clock on static or dealt with the interference in some alarm clock sound makers, or pulled a white noise track off the internet to play in the room with my child. This is a way that you can keep your white noise with you as you put your child down out.
*Make sure you read the HOW TO USE section. You need to play Sounds of Silence loudly!
They have generously given a set for a GIVE-A-WAY. Comment on this post to enter. The winner will be selected the last week of November.
Showing posts with label adequate amount of sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adequate amount of sleep. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Product Review:
Moody Mamas is a company that makes pregnant and breastfeeding mamas feel "empowered, vivacious, and sexy." This cute nightie is one example of how they have accomplished that goal. It is made from the softest modal and spandex. It comes in a pretty pink with black lace accents. This is a great summer addition to your pregnancy wardrobe that can also be used after birth for breastfeeding. (It has concealed nursing slits.) Price: $68 (and take a minute and check out Moody Mamas Steals and Deals as well as the rest of their clothing line- very impressive).
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sticking to Our Guns
I was having a conversation the other day with a friend. She was telling me that on her camping trip that past weekend her 22-month old learned how to climb out of her pack n play for the first time. After trying once and succeeding, she did it repeatedly throughout the night and became unable to settle herself to sleep. A few days after they returned home, her daughter climbed out of her crib once too when aggravated. (They immediately set up
a crib tent to nip this behavior in the bud, which the little girl accepted basically without complaint.)
At different ages and stages our children discover new talents/abilities/skills/self-decided privileges and like to practice these to the chagrin of the parents. It seems to be often unpleasant to guide them back into "correct" behavior or adequate sleep as my experiences relate. We parent may have to endure "crying it out" or protests or tiredly staying consistent to help our children move past these disruptions in their sleep. It is hard to avoid wavering from our decided path and falling into the path of just doing whatever to avoid conflict or crying.
But, I do implore you to be deliberate in the decisions you make about sleep at 1pm when you put your two-year old down for their nap, as well as at 3am when your child wakes up with a variety of requests. If your child begins to try something new, you also may need to try something new and establish new boundaries that fit the situation. If your child starts climbing out of his crib before you feel he is ready for a bed, put on a crib tent on it- even though it may cause your child to protest. If your child gets sick and subsequently gets in the habit of looking to you to soothe them in the middle of the night- allow them the chance to rediscover how to soothe themselves and not look to you. If your child takes hours to fall asleep at night because they have requested you leave a light on in their room, turn it off.
As parents, we need to figure out what is best for our children and be deliberate and intentional about our follow-through. If we decide that sleep is very important to our child's health, brain development, attitude and emotions, and the sanity of our home we need to deliberately strive to get our little ones the sleep they need, even if it means they cry, or whine, or yell no. Stick to your guns.
a crib tent to nip this behavior in the bud, which the little girl accepted basically without complaint.)
But, I do implore you to be deliberate in the decisions you make about sleep at 1pm when you put your two-year old down for their nap, as well as at 3am when your child wakes up with a variety of requests. If your child begins to try something new, you also may need to try something new and establish new boundaries that fit the situation. If your child starts climbing out of his crib before you feel he is ready for a bed, put on a crib tent on it- even though it may cause your child to protest. If your child gets sick and subsequently gets in the habit of looking to you to soothe them in the middle of the night- allow them the chance to rediscover how to soothe themselves and not look to you. If your child takes hours to fall asleep at night because they have requested you leave a light on in their room, turn it off.
As parents, we need to figure out what is best for our children and be deliberate and intentional about our follow-through. If we decide that sleep is very important to our child's health, brain development, attitude and emotions, and the sanity of our home we need to deliberately strive to get our little ones the sleep they need, even if it means they cry, or whine, or yell no. Stick to your guns.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Article Review Day 12: Summary of the Study
You may think, "Hmm, my kids don't get that much sleep but I don't think they are tired. They don't yawn much, or fall asleep in the car or at school. And they have so much energy at night! How could they be tired?"
Well, according to the Sleep in Infants article by Davis, Parker, and Montgomery and my observations, "children often manifest symptoms that are paradoxical to sleepiness such as irritability, hyperactivity, short attention span, and low tolerance for frustration." Now, you may be thinking, "That sounds like my child." Let's remember that 1 in 4 children has some sort of sleep problem. "These indicators are often overlooked because children may have a long history of these symptoms or they may be mild in nature."
As parents, educators, people in contact with parents and children, we need to advocate for the importance and necessity of sleep. "Considerable clinical and anecdotal evidence supports an association between sleep loss and resultant cognitive and behavioral changes. Children's emotional and behavioral problems often significantly improve when underlying sleep problems are identified and rectified resulting in the attainment of adequate amounts of sleep. Furthermore, several studies have found a link between typical symptoms of inadequate sleep in children and symptoms characteristic of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."
So, think again before thinking "Sleep, Shmeep". This is serious stuff- just increasing the amount of sleep our children receive could change our child's behavior, performance at school, emotional well-being, decrease kids accidents and injuries, and even answer some of the unanswerable questions regarding ADHD.
Well, according to the Sleep in Infants article by Davis, Parker, and Montgomery and my observations, "children often manifest symptoms that are paradoxical to sleepiness such as irritability, hyperactivity, short attention span, and low tolerance for frustration." Now, you may be thinking, "That sounds like my child." Let's remember that 1 in 4 children has some sort of sleep problem. "These indicators are often overlooked because children may have a long history of these symptoms or they may be mild in nature."
As parents, educators, people in contact with parents and children, we need to advocate for the importance and necessity of sleep. "Considerable clinical and anecdotal evidence supports an association between sleep loss and resultant cognitive and behavioral changes. Children's emotional and behavioral problems often significantly improve when underlying sleep problems are identified and rectified resulting in the attainment of adequate amounts of sleep. Furthermore, several studies have found a link between typical symptoms of inadequate sleep in children and symptoms characteristic of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."
So, think again before thinking "Sleep, Shmeep". This is serious stuff- just increasing the amount of sleep our children receive could change our child's behavior, performance at school, emotional well-being, decrease kids accidents and injuries, and even answer some of the unanswerable questions regarding ADHD.
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