What is a Baby Sleep Crutch and Why It Matters?
Maybe you can relate to the sleepless nights that you can literally feel throughout your body?
Each month, hundreds of parents share their newborn sleep struggles with me. I can totally relate because I was once there as a new mom! I remember feeling so tired.. that it was running through my whole body. Kind of like the body shakiness of drinking a triple shot venti iced coffee on an empty stomach….. BUT instead of feeling awake and caffeinated - you feel very shaky and depleted. Ever been there? Ever felt like that? Maybe you are feeling something like this right now.
Good news: The best thing about parents working together with me is that babies develop the sleep independence that fosters happy and healthy sleep. It’s totally doable! P.S. That means that parents are getting sleep, too!
Say “HELLO” to sleep for everyone!
I wonder if your newborn might be having similar sleep struggles? Sleep struggles that impact routines and healthy consistent sleep . . . Guess what? Baby sleep crutches might be one issue! If you didn’t read our last blog post and want to learn how to help with routines, you’ll definitely want to read “How to start EAT PLAY SLEEP.” Why? Well, because babies crave routines! :)
Welcome to Sleep and the City!
If you are new I want to say HELLO!
Hi there! I’m Lauren - owner and #babysleep fairy at Sleep and the City – a baby sleep agency. We’ve helped thousands of families with sleep and love to provide as much support as we can. Today’s topic is a really great one and lots of fun, too!
Let’s talk about baby sleep crutches or sleep associations!
One major culprit of poor sleep or short naps is sleep associations or undesirable sleep habits (even though they are so innocent in nature). These habits can be sleep crutches because baby feels they need them to fall asleep (ex: feeding/sucking to sleep, needing to be rocked, bounced, or held, sleeping in parent’s bed, etc.).
Let’s walk through a few things that we need to understand about newborn sleep when it comes to baby sleep crutches.
your newborn baby does not have the ability to self-soothe.
As adults, if we are tired – we might shut off the TV, put away our phones, turn on some soothing music, cuddle up under a comfy blanket, put on eye-masks, and so on! These things help us get to sleep. But babies can’t do these things to self-soothe to sleep. Therefore, babies develop a “sleep crutch” – something that baby needs to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Sometimes, a parent can be enabling the negative sleep associations.
A lot of factors come into play with this. But sometimes, when a parent reacts too quickly to baby during naps or sleep – baby can quickly learn and cling to negative sleep associations. This in turn may actually require more of parent’s presence because baby will need mom or dad even more than before to fall asleep. The goal is to give baby a happy and healthy sleep – so we want to create a thought-out plan to avoid any enabling behavior that will stimulate negative sleep crutches for your baby.
baby Sleep crutches impact naps, which can impact sleep at night.
Short naps can definitely be caused by sleep associations – although they are very common in 3-4 month old babies. When baby doesn’t have consistency in sleep routines or sleep environments – sleep crutches kick in. Poor naps can lead to babies being overtired, which can lead to poor sleep at night. So, it’s really important to develop consistency in routines and sleep environments so naps and night sleeps can improve.
It’s always a good thing to Consult with baby’s pediatrician.
One important thing to note, it’s always good to check in with baby’s doctors! Discuss baby’s daily intake/nutrition and see if you can agree upon a length of time to allow baby to go at night without a feed. Because, if nutrition is on track - insufficient napping can be an issue because baby will be overtired at night.
There is so much more to it.
Sleep crutches are just one component to baby’s sleep. There are so many things that cause poor sleep and so many ways to help promote happy and healthy sleep. So, it’s hard to unpack everything in one blog post. This is just scratching the surface of sleep associations and ways parents can foster sleep independence in baby.
Good news: I’ve piled EVERYTHING into one place just for you!
In my proven baby sleep classes and courses online, we walk through baby sleep crutches and ways to help baby sleep in much more detail. If you are looking for World class help for your baby’s sleep – you’ll definitely want to hop inside! That is my biggest encouragement to you! Don’t wait— it gets harder the older they get!
Bonus: MY NEWBORN’S SCHEDULE
Ever wonder WHAT to do with Baby all day long??
I know as a new Mom on maternity leave, I had literally no clue—even after reading a popular baby book, I didn’t understand wake windows, if I could use a schedule, should I feed exactly 2 hours after a feed or from the start?
After pouring over my daughter’s baby books last weekend, I stumbled onto her newborn (12 week) schedule, and I wanted to share it with you Mamas! Does this sound like yours?? *Note that nap lengths varied by day, which is normal for babes under 6 months, and this is just an EXAMPLE 😆*
We’ve helped thousands of families become happy sleeping ones.
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