Marc Weissbluth's Blog, page 2
June 17, 2012
Drowsy but Awake
I think it is a good idea to sometimes put babies down drowsy but awake so they can have the opportunity to learn self-soothing to sleep. If your baby cries hard, immediately pick the baby up. If your baby makes sounds that are not hard crying, wait and watch. Success is more likely if you start this practice sooner rather than later. Success is more likely to occur in the mornings when your baby is best rested from night sleep and for some babies it makes no sense to do this in the evenings around 6 weeks of age during peak fussiness. Also, if it never works, for example with colicky babies, forget about trying it until the baby is older. Success might be more likely if father (or anyone else besides mother) puts baby down after soothing and mom is out of the house. Success is also more likely if the intervals of wakefulness are short (30-90 minutes) so they do not develop a second wind.
I am interested in your own observations and experiences whether successful or not in making these attempts.
Marc
Filed under: Uncategorized
June 9, 2012
“The Basics of Infant Sleep for Parents of Twins and More”
Dr. Marc Weissbluth and Dr. Dawn Li (mother of 6 month-old twins) will present “THe Basics of Infant Sleep for Parents of twins and More” on July 18th, 6-7:30PM, at Prentice Women’s Hospital, Chicago. Call 312-926-8400 to register.
Filed under: Uncategorized
June 6, 2012
Our Audiobook is now available for all phones via iTunes and Amazon
“Sleep Consult” is now available as an audiobook if you just search for “Weissbluth” on iTunes on your phone/tablet/ computer or if you use Audible.com .
Enjoy!
Dan and Marc Weissbluth
Filed under: Sleep Consult
June 3, 2012
Brief Naps: Good News!
During my nap study, I divided all children into 5 groups based on the total duration of naps at 6 months of age. Those in the briefest nap group had a mean total duration of naps at 6 months of 2.3 hours and the range was 1-2.5 hours. By 9 months of age, the mean total duration of naps had increased to 2.7 hours. So hang in there and expect your brief napper to sleep longer during the day.
But in all the other four groups, the mean total nap duration decreased during this time. This suggests that among about 20% of babies there is a slower maturation of day sleep rhythms. I do not know if post-colicky babies (about 20% of all babies) are over represented in this briefest nap group but I suspect that this is the case. What are your thoughts?
Another piece of good news, by 19-21 months of age when about 80%-90% of babies are taking a single nap, those babies who had been in the briefest nap group have a mean nap duration of 2.2 hours which is similar to the babies in the other 4 groups.
Marc
Filed under: Nap Facts
May 31, 2012
Never wake a sleeping baby; why depressed moms dont follow that advice.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/17...
Maternal anxiety in the absence of depression is probably an equally powerful factor.
Any thoughts?
Marc
Filed under: Uncategorized
May 24, 2012
“Good” Parents #2
I would like to summarize some of the comments from the previous Post and ask some more questions.
1. Good parents are sensitive, kind, caring, compassionate , patient, and understanding. Can anyone imagine a situation where this is a problem?
2. Good parents are attentive; they take an interest in what interests their child. When might an excessive interest such as “helicopter” parents be harmful?
3. Good parents put their child’s well-being first. I think this, #1, and #2 are candidates for being true for all cultures.
4. Good parents have consistent routines. Well, you know I am biased here.
5. Good parents set boundaries, set limits, say “no,” and use age-appropriate discipline. When might excessive control limit personal growth, inquisitiveness, development of independence in a culture that promotes individualism or teach mindless conformity in a culture that promotes fitting in for the common good?
6. Good parents teach respect for people, property, and authority. I have a problem with this as written because should respect for people refer to all people or only people that we value? Should respect for authority refer to all authority or only the authority that we value? You can imagine culture clashes such as any religious opposition to an established authority. How can #5 and # 6 be modified to be more applicable for all value systems and all cultures?
7. Good parents build confidence, self-esteem by praising effort, achievement, or participating. I am not sure if this is only a fad. Some psychologists think that the “self-esteem” movement is bogus. They think that putting forth effort to help the family (think chores) creates respect, value, and a sense of belonging that is more important than prizes, ribbons, or praise at outside events. Other psychologists say that praising achievement is wrong because it fosters a “perfectionist” attitude in the child and therefore it is better to praise effort.
8. Did anyone say that “good” parents teach skills. I may have missed it. That’s OK. My personal belief is that having family dinners where family events, values, religious ceremonies are shared build character and this is more important than hiring coaches and tutors for skills and lessons. This is similar to the comments in #7 referring to the family.
I am surprised that the list above is this short and I would like to hear from all of you for additional comments on what constitutes a “good” parent. Also, I would appreciate your replies to my comments in the list.
Marc
Filed under: Uncategorized
May 22, 2012
“Good” Parents?
How do you define a “good” parent? I have seen many parents over close to 40 years of pediatric practice and I think that it is a mistake to judge parents by focusing on their children because children come with their own genetic endowments. Perhaps you have heard of having a “good fit” between parenting and the child’s temperament but in actual practice, I am not sure how this leads to parenting guidelines except in a superficial sense. Perhaps you have also thought about what it means to be a “competent” parent but here again, I am not sure exactly what this means. It appears to me that it is easier to define a “bad” parent (abusive or negligent) than a “good” parent. Different cultures have different values (for example, fostering independence versus fitting in to society) so I am interested in your thoughts regarding what constitutes being a “good” parent that is not culturally dependent. For starters, I think there would be little disagreement that a “good” parent provides shelter, food, and safety but these might be trivial answers because they are embedded in the notion of parenting.
What are your thoughts?
Marc
Filed under: Uncategorized
May 20, 2012
A Question.
Some mothers of babies in the range of 3-4 months have observed that a “nap” occurs around 5-5:30pm and around 7ish the baby is up. Surprisingly, if the baby is quickly changed. fed, and briefly soothed, she goes back to sleep within 30-45 minutes. Previously, the “bedtime” was later at 8-9pm and the baby was kept up to that time. Naps improved when they made the interval of wakefulness around 7PM briefer.
My view is that the baby’s night sleep rhythm was kicking in around 5-5:30pm and the increased total net “night” sleep helped naps. Any other observations or opinions?
Marc
Filed under: Uncategorized
May 11, 2012
Sleep Consult: Our Audiobook has Arrived!
If you are too tired to read, here is our audiobook link for “Sleep Consult”
Check it out:
Sleep Consult Audiobook
Marc and Dan
Filed under: Announcement
May 6, 2012
Drowsy Signs?
Drowsy signs might be absent if your child is often somewhat sleep-deprived. He might appear to be full of energy much of the time (second wind) and then quickly crashes into an over-tired state before a sleep period without going through a drowsy phase. Is it also possible that drowsy signs might be absent in a well-rested child whose parent knows when to begin the soothing based on clock times? in this scenario, there is a synchrony between soothing to sleep and the early emergence of sleep rhythms so mom or dad do not see “drowsy signs.” If this is true, then the presence of drowsy signs before sleep times might suggest that sometimes the interval of wakefulness before sleep times is a little too long and the child is slightly sleep deprived because very well-rested children do not exhibit them. Maybe drowsy signs indicate slight sleep deprivation and are something that we try to avoid by soothing our children to sleep before they have a chance to surface. Please share your observations and thoughts.
Marc
Sleep Consult for iPad
Six Sleep Problems and Solutions
Infant Nap App for iPhone/iPad
Filed under: Individual Differences
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