Q&A With Expert Series: 5 Common Baby-Sleep Doubts With Solutions For Sleepless Parents!

Babies’ first year of life is filled with so many milestones, and one of them would be a miracle if it happens instantly. Wonder what? A baby falling asleep instantly without being have to calm or hushed to sleep! However, that might be not the case for most parents out there. We’ve heard and seen tales of sleepless parents about their babies’ sleeping troubles and try hard to help them. Here comes the solution! Thanks to baby sleep consultants, now our sleepless parents can have a good night's sleep. 

(Q&A Expert Series with Ms. Wing Yan Ho)

Dear parents, we heard your call for help and that’s why we have compiled a list of 5 common baby-sleep doubts that every parent has about their babies’ sleeping troubles. Tagging along the questions are solutions given by Ms. Wing Yan Ho from Precious Sleep, Infant & Child Sleep Solutions. Her answers don't only come from a consultant's point of view, but she also advises parents from a parent’s perspective since she herself is a mother of two. Before jumping to the questions and solutions, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Ms. Wing Yan Ho to spare her time for answering parents’ concerns. 

Now, let’s go to the 5 common baby-sleep doubts with solutions for sleepless parents!

Q1. My baby seems to be overtired, thus having a harder time sleeping & staying asleep. What are the symptoms, remedies, and prevention of over-tiredness in babies?

Over-tiredness occurs when your babies have been forced to stay awake longer than their bodies can tolerate. This causes their stress response system to be activated, releasing cortisol and adrenaline which makes it harder for them to settle down and stay asleep. Hence, it’s always important to observe their signs of tiredness. Symptoms of an overtired child differ from newborns, infants, and toddlers.

(Image credit to Sleep & Happiness)

Symptoms of over-tiredness in newborns and infants:

• Squirming or arching their back
• Clenching fists
• Rubbing their eyes or ears
• Pulling their knees to chest

Symptoms of over-tiredness in toddlers:

• Clumsiness
• Lack of coordination
• Short temper
• Tugging of hair and/or ears
• Fussiness and irritability

Here’s how over-tiredness in babies can be prevented:

• Keeping a close eye on the baby’s recommended wake windows and tired cues
• Understand and recognize your baby’s sleepy cues 
• Knowing how long they’re meant to stay awake for 
• Track their sleeping patterns and time closely

The better you understand their natural sleep patterns, the more predictable their sleep will be, and you can start establishing a regular sleep schedule.

Q2. When is a good time to introduce a bedtime routine for my baby?

You can introduce a bedtime routine right from the start! You can begin your sleeping schedule with a short and simple bedtime routine. This can be done when your baby is at his or her newborn age. From then on, you can slowly add a few more steps and extend it to about 20 minutes to 30 minutes as they grow older.