04/12/2024
It's flu season, and it is pretty much unavoidable to some degree. So here are my tips around sleep and illness.
▪︎ Firstly, we always want to make sure we continue to keep things consistent to see if your baby actually needs more support or if they are happy to go down as usual.
▪︎ If they are upset while being unwell and need more support, you can absolutely provide them with the comfort they need. You can give a cuddle and then put baby down, place your hand on them in the cot, stroking their face, offer pain relief, sip of water, etc. and just see how they go with that.
▪︎ If they then continue to cry, you can offer them a cuddle or help them to sleep. If they fall asleep on you unexpectedly, just roll with it to let them sleep, then transfer to their crib.
▪︎ Some babies may need a cuddle to calm down, and then they will go back to sleep right after that. If you need to completely help them to sleep and have contact sleep, it's completely understandable. Then, for the next nap or sleep, you can see if they are happy enough to go down as usual.
▪︎ Babies who are unwell may need to go down for their nap or bedtime a little earlier, so try to shorten their usual wake window and allow them to have longer naps. This is important as their little bodies recover faster when they sleep.
▪︎ Remember to always make sure they are going down for their naps and bedtime comfortable and pain-free. Try to keep feeds as normal, but keep in mind that many babies will go off their solids and will only tolerate small but frequent feeds.
▪︎ Some fresh air and a little sunshine go a long way to help with their recovery.
▪︎ If they wake up in the night, you can give them a moment, then go in and see what type of support you need to offer and how they are doing.
Most importantly, please don't stress about habits. Support is number one. You can get sleep back on track once they have fully recovered.
If you need help getting sleep back on track, please reach out, and let's chat about how I can help.