| Sleeping With the Clubfoot Baby Regarding Cribs, Blankets and Co-Sleeping, Your Clubfoot Baby May Need Just A few Little Considerations |
Next to breastfeeding, sleeping with your clubfoot baby is one of the top
frustrations a new mother might experience. More accurately, "Lack of Sleep"
is the true complaint. Helping your baby sleep, whether he has clubfoot or not,
is often very vexing for parents who have no prior experience...and even if this
is your 2nd, 3rd or 4th baby you will discover that no two babies are alike, thus,
no two babies will respond to the same "advice" regarding how to help a baby
sleep. What worked for one won't necessarily work for another.
It's important to take all the advice with a grain of salt, using what you think will
work, adjusting it to fit your family, and changing the plan when that fails.
baby sleep soundly all night (such as starting solids at a very early age, or
letting a baby 'cry it out') puts your baby at a higher risk for SIDS.
According to API: "[With co-sleeping] The proximity of the parent may help the
infant’s immature nervous system learn to self-regulate during sleep [and also]
help prevent SIDS by preventing the infant from entering into sleep states that
are too deep. In addition, the parents’ own breathing may help the infant to
'remember' to breathe."
This has been my assumption since I became a mother nine years ago, imagine
my delight in finding my opinion was backed by solid research.
The API article continues to point out that parents and infants sleep better; that
babies do not have to fully wake and cry to get a response thus both mother
and baby tended to sleep better and wake less fully.
Furthermore, co-sleeping increases breastfeeding an average of twice as long
as non-co-sleeping mothers. The sucking action of breast feeding increases
oxygen flow, which is beneficial for both growth and immune functions. API also
concludes that co-sleeping infants get more attention and protective care as
their mothers exhibited five times the number of "protective" behaviors (such as
adjusting the infant’s blanket, stroking or cuddling) as solitary-sleeping mothers
Read the full story here:
http://www.attachmentparenting.com/artbenefitscosleep.shtml
If you haven't figured it out by now, I am a fairly staunch supporter of
Attachment Parenting, and this spills over in to sleeping with the clubfoot baby
as well.
I am a co-sleeper. I've slept with all my babies, starting with Brian nine years
ago, right up to now with Garrison who still spends most of every night in bed
with his daddy and I. When three year old Everett feels like he needs it, he is
welcome back in to our bed as well. To my way of thinking, it is purely not
natural to send an infant to sleep in a separate container away from his
or her mother.
As humans we are supposed to be the superior species on Earth - but even an
old mother 'Possum has the God given sense to sleep with her children,
keeping them safe, warm and well fed through the long dark hours of the
night. Dogs do it. Cats do it. Hens, bears, goats, sheep and even rats sleep
with their infant young. In foreign countries, co-sleeping is still the norm
because their society hasn't talked them out of this natural and normal
phenomenon. These mothers know that co-sleeping promoting an over all
sense of well being for both mother and child.
Only in America does society heavily promote the idea of locking a small baby
away in a separate room to sleep with no physical nor emotional comfort coming
from her mother's presence. I blame it on our Material world and retail giants
who know American's really like their "Stuff" , status symbols which include
an entire room full of expensive and mostly not necessary baby products such
as ornate cribs with matching changing tables and dressers; fluffy comforter
sets that look mighty cute but would smother a child to death; baby monitors so
we might hear the child who is locked away down the hall...and the list goes on.
It seems acclaimed baby health expert Dr. Sears agrees, as he states in this
article:
No, retail giants don't want American parents to return to the age old concept of
co-sleeping with their children, who would buy all the stuff then? Just as you did
when looking for the right clubfoot treatment and the best Ponseti Method
doctor, I suggest you do your own unbiased research on the matter before you
decide. Surveys and studies on the dangers of co-sleeping can be heavily one
sided.
As I have said in other articles on this website, I believe a child born
with any ailment or birth defect needs the benefits of
Attachment Parenting even more than a non-affected
child, although I believe every child needs (and will benefit from) this style of
parenting philosophy.
Sleeping with the clubfoot baby is possible, although not always comfortable
because of the foot abduction brace. Sometimes the discomfort belongs to the
parent who cannot rest around a baby kicking a metal bar around.
Sometimes though, the discomfort belongs to the child, which was the case with
my second born clubfooted son. He could not get comfortable in bed with me.
The blankets weighted him down. I was in his way. He complained a lot. None
of us were getting any rest. At that point, I had to waiver from my attachment
parenting convictions and simply do what was right for us at that time.
I purchased a small portable crib from a 2nd hand store and put it up against
my side of the bed. I could reach though to touch Everett, he knew I was right
there within immediate reach should he need me, and we both slept well...
...for a couple nights.
Then it came to pass that all his active sleeping habits were waking him up
again - his boots getting stuck between the slats of the crib, or simply the noise
of his bar hitting the side of the crib making a loud "Bang!" noise.
Time for Plan C: We bought a small cheapie pay pen at Wal-Mart for thirty
dollars and set him up to sleep in it using some extra memory foam in the
bottom for comfort.
Voilà! With out the confines of being in bed with me, nor the noise of sleeping
in a wooden crib, Everett started sleeping quite well. The net siding of the
playpen didn't make any noise at all when he hit it. He was free to roll, flop and
flip all night long with out waking up himself or his Mommy, yet he was right
beside me so we both had the comfort of knowing the other was near, and
middle of the night breast feedings were simple.
Swaddle the new infant tightly. Infants, clubfooted or not, come from
spending about nine months wrapped up tight inside their mother. After they're
born, they want to return to that snug, fetal position and will feel more safe and
content if they are swaddled tight. It takes a baby a while to get accustomed to
having freedom to move her arms and legs wildly. At first, this freedom can
startle a baby more than please one.
An infant who is wearing serial casts will also benefit from a tight
swaddle because wrapped this way, the baby is not as prone to kicking his
legs - therefore he will not notice the weight nor the restrictions of the cast as
much.
Co-sleeping with your baby who is wearing serial casts, you may want to
sleep on your side facing the child, with his legs propped up on your thighs.
Use A Sleep Sack On Infants Who Are Wearing their FAB: Once you
begin using the foot abduction brace, swaddling is not so simple anymore. It
requires a much larger blanket and still the lower portion will come off the feet
easily.
Older babies who are put to bed with a blanket over them often wake up cold
because they lost their blanket, or mad because the blanket is tangled up
around their foot brace. Opt for a sleep sack instead. By the time most infants
start wearing their clubfoot brace per the Ponseti Method though, they no
longer crave the swaddle as they did before, making the sack a sensible idea.
Sleep sacks are available through most major baby supply retailers, or can be
easily sewn at home.
When co-sleeping with a child that is wearing the FAB, use the same side sleep
position placing the brace between your legs. This keeps the baby held on the
bed, held on his back, and keeps you from being kicked all night by his motions.
To help a baby nap during the day, consider placing a rolled up bath towel
or blanket under his legs to prop them up. If the child wants to lift his legs in
the air to sleep (and many do!), it may not look comfortable but obviously the
baby likes it that way so let him be.
It appears that clubfoot babies like to start sleeping on
their tummies earlier than most parents would want.
I believe the baby finds this position to be much more comfortable when wearing
the brace. My way of thinking is that if the baby can get himself easily on to his
belly, he is probably strong enough to be OK with sleeping that way. If it worries
you though, try to swaddle him tight enough he can't roll over by his own efforts,
or use one of those foam rubber pads that are designed to keep a child from
rolling over.
If you choose not to co-sleep, of course the ideas above can be used for night
time sleep as well as daylight naps.
To read more on the subject of helping babies sleep well, you can look at
Sleeping Safely With Your Baby.
To learn more about the benefits of Co-Sleeping with your child, click here.
To understand more about the principals of Attachment Parenting, visit the
International Attachment Parenting Page.
Eight Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
Your bed time routine can be anything you make it as long as it is
something you can do easily every night, and something you can take
with you if you happen to go stay with family, friends or in a motel.
The routine should follow logical steps that lead your baby from a state of active
wakefulnes down to a state of drowsy slumber. For example getting washed up,
playfully getting in to the pajamas, then maybe the music comes on, the lights
go dim then you sit in your favorite spot to rock and nurse her till she is asleep.
Whatever your routine, as the baby ages towards a year old and above, the
bed time routine becomes more and more necessary. By age two I believe
every child should have a set routine and a set bed time they must
adhere to under ordinary circumstances (rules are made to bend on
occasion).
Why a set bed time? Because parents need time off. Mothers especially, but
even fathers too, work at being a parent 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Stay-at-
home-mothers often do not get any time whatsoever away from their child(ren)
all week except when the children are sleeping. For her more than any other, a
set bed time should be established as soon as the child can handle it, and this
bed time should be respected by other members of the family, with Dad's full
support.
Full time caregivers (i.e. Mom?) need to know they will "get off work" at a certain
hour each night even if they will remain on call all night. They need to know
they can plop down to watch a good movie at a certain hour; that they can have
some down time to regroup. That they can cook themselves a private late
supper to enjoy with out the children at the table once in a while, or make a call
to a distant friend and not be interrupted during the conversation.
Besides personal benefits to the parents, children who are put to bed regularly
at a decent hour in the evening are well rested and better behaved in general.
In my experience, by age two, a child can be expected to learn his or her bed
time, and bed-time-routine, and these things should go in to effect for children
who both co-sleep, and those who do not. Once established, the bed time will
practically eliminate the bed-time fight.
For younger infants whose habits and routines will change both dramatically
and often, look for the clues the baby gives you that this is the time of night she
is ready to start packing it in. You can still have a gentle night time routine in
place that will help her calm down and go off to sleep in peace.
frustrations a new mother might experience. More accurately, "Lack of Sleep"
is the true complaint. Helping your baby sleep, whether he has clubfoot or not,
is often very vexing for parents who have no prior experience...and even if this
is your 2nd, 3rd or 4th baby you will discover that no two babies are alike, thus,
no two babies will respond to the same "advice" regarding how to help a baby
sleep. What worked for one won't necessarily work for another.
It's important to take all the advice with a grain of salt, using what you think will
work, adjusting it to fit your family, and changing the plan when that fails.
Parents should understand up front though that
babies are not supposed to sleep through the
night - so if your baby is waking up, she's
behaving perfectly normal and this is just part of
parenthood.
baby sleep soundly all night (such as starting solids at a very early age, or
letting a baby 'cry it out') puts your baby at a higher risk for SIDS.
According to API: "[With co-sleeping] The proximity of the parent may help the
infant’s immature nervous system learn to self-regulate during sleep [and also]
help prevent SIDS by preventing the infant from entering into sleep states that
are too deep. In addition, the parents’ own breathing may help the infant to
'remember' to breathe."
This has been my assumption since I became a mother nine years ago, imagine
my delight in finding my opinion was backed by solid research.
The API article continues to point out that parents and infants sleep better; that
babies do not have to fully wake and cry to get a response thus both mother
and baby tended to sleep better and wake less fully.
Furthermore, co-sleeping increases breastfeeding an average of twice as long
as non-co-sleeping mothers. The sucking action of breast feeding increases
oxygen flow, which is beneficial for both growth and immune functions. API also
concludes that co-sleeping infants get more attention and protective care as
their mothers exhibited five times the number of "protective" behaviors (such as
adjusting the infant’s blanket, stroking or cuddling) as solitary-sleeping mothers
Read the full story here:
http://www.attachmentparenting.com/artbenefitscosleep.shtml
- Despite all the mushy parenting magazines, on-
line articles and comments from well-meaning
friends and family, just know that to expect a
young baby to sleep all night is un-reasonable.
The best you should aim for, or hope for, is a
baby that sleeps well when he or she sleeps, so
the infant will wake up refreshed and in a good
mood.
If you haven't figured it out by now, I am a fairly staunch supporter of
Attachment Parenting, and this spills over in to sleeping with the clubfoot baby
as well.
I am a co-sleeper. I've slept with all my babies, starting with Brian nine years
ago, right up to now with Garrison who still spends most of every night in bed
with his daddy and I. When three year old Everett feels like he needs it, he is
welcome back in to our bed as well. To my way of thinking, it is purely not
natural to send an infant to sleep in a separate container away from his
or her mother.
As humans we are supposed to be the superior species on Earth - but even an
old mother 'Possum has the God given sense to sleep with her children,
keeping them safe, warm and well fed through the long dark hours of the
night. Dogs do it. Cats do it. Hens, bears, goats, sheep and even rats sleep
with their infant young. In foreign countries, co-sleeping is still the norm
because their society hasn't talked them out of this natural and normal
phenomenon. These mothers know that co-sleeping promoting an over all
sense of well being for both mother and child.
Only in America does society heavily promote the idea of locking a small baby
away in a separate room to sleep with no physical nor emotional comfort coming
from her mother's presence. I blame it on our Material world and retail giants
who know American's really like their "Stuff" , status symbols which include
an entire room full of expensive and mostly not necessary baby products such
as ornate cribs with matching changing tables and dressers; fluffy comforter
sets that look mighty cute but would smother a child to death; baby monitors so
we might hear the child who is locked away down the hall...and the list goes on.
It seems acclaimed baby health expert Dr. Sears agrees, as he states in this
article:
- "A conflict of interest? Who is behind this new national campaign to warn
parents not to sleep with their babies? In addition to the USCPSC, the
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is co-sponsoring
this campaign. The JPMA? An association of crib manufacturers. This is a
huge conflict of interest. Actually, this campaign is exactly in the interest
of the JPMA."
No, retail giants don't want American parents to return to the age old concept of
co-sleeping with their children, who would buy all the stuff then? Just as you did
when looking for the right clubfoot treatment and the best Ponseti Method
doctor, I suggest you do your own unbiased research on the matter before you
decide. Surveys and studies on the dangers of co-sleeping can be heavily one
sided.
As I have said in other articles on this website, I believe a child born
with any ailment or birth defect needs the benefits of
Attachment Parenting even more than a non-affected
child, although I believe every child needs (and will benefit from) this style of
parenting philosophy.
Sleeping with the clubfoot baby is possible, although not always comfortable
because of the foot abduction brace. Sometimes the discomfort belongs to the
parent who cannot rest around a baby kicking a metal bar around.
Sometimes though, the discomfort belongs to the child, which was the case with
my second born clubfooted son. He could not get comfortable in bed with me.
The blankets weighted him down. I was in his way. He complained a lot. None
of us were getting any rest. At that point, I had to waiver from my attachment
parenting convictions and simply do what was right for us at that time.
- That's all any parent is expected to do - the best
they can under their own unique circumstances.
I purchased a small portable crib from a 2nd hand store and put it up against
my side of the bed. I could reach though to touch Everett, he knew I was right
there within immediate reach should he need me, and we both slept well...
...for a couple nights.
Then it came to pass that all his active sleeping habits were waking him up
again - his boots getting stuck between the slats of the crib, or simply the noise
of his bar hitting the side of the crib making a loud "Bang!" noise.
Time for Plan C: We bought a small cheapie pay pen at Wal-Mart for thirty
dollars and set him up to sleep in it using some extra memory foam in the
bottom for comfort.
Voilà! With out the confines of being in bed with me, nor the noise of sleeping
in a wooden crib, Everett started sleeping quite well. The net siding of the
playpen didn't make any noise at all when he hit it. He was free to roll, flop and
flip all night long with out waking up himself or his Mommy, yet he was right
beside me so we both had the comfort of knowing the other was near, and
middle of the night breast feedings were simple.
- If you choose to co-sleep with your clubfooted
baby, here are a few ideas that I went through over
the course of three kids afflicted with this birth
defect.
Swaddle the new infant tightly. Infants, clubfooted or not, come from
spending about nine months wrapped up tight inside their mother. After they're
born, they want to return to that snug, fetal position and will feel more safe and
content if they are swaddled tight. It takes a baby a while to get accustomed to
having freedom to move her arms and legs wildly. At first, this freedom can
startle a baby more than please one.
An infant who is wearing serial casts will also benefit from a tight
swaddle because wrapped this way, the baby is not as prone to kicking his
legs - therefore he will not notice the weight nor the restrictions of the cast as
much.
Co-sleeping with your baby who is wearing serial casts, you may want to
sleep on your side facing the child, with his legs propped up on your thighs.
Use A Sleep Sack On Infants Who Are Wearing their FAB: Once you
begin using the foot abduction brace, swaddling is not so simple anymore. It
requires a much larger blanket and still the lower portion will come off the feet
easily.
Older babies who are put to bed with a blanket over them often wake up cold
because they lost their blanket, or mad because the blanket is tangled up
around their foot brace. Opt for a sleep sack instead. By the time most infants
start wearing their clubfoot brace per the Ponseti Method though, they no
longer crave the swaddle as they did before, making the sack a sensible idea.
Sleep sacks are available through most major baby supply retailers, or can be
easily sewn at home.
When co-sleeping with a child that is wearing the FAB, use the same side sleep
position placing the brace between your legs. This keeps the baby held on the
bed, held on his back, and keeps you from being kicked all night by his motions.
To help a baby nap during the day, consider placing a rolled up bath towel
or blanket under his legs to prop them up. If the child wants to lift his legs in
the air to sleep (and many do!), it may not look comfortable but obviously the
baby likes it that way so let him be.
It appears that clubfoot babies like to start sleeping on
their tummies earlier than most parents would want.
I believe the baby finds this position to be much more comfortable when wearing
the brace. My way of thinking is that if the baby can get himself easily on to his
belly, he is probably strong enough to be OK with sleeping that way. If it worries
you though, try to swaddle him tight enough he can't roll over by his own efforts,
or use one of those foam rubber pads that are designed to keep a child from
rolling over.
If you choose not to co-sleep, of course the ideas above can be used for night
time sleep as well as daylight naps.
To read more on the subject of helping babies sleep well, you can look at
Sleeping Safely With Your Baby.
To learn more about the benefits of Co-Sleeping with your child, click here.
To understand more about the principals of Attachment Parenting, visit the
International Attachment Parenting Page.
Eight Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
- Regardless of your parenting style, co-sleeping or
not, the most important thing you can do for your
baby to help her sleep is to establish a simple
routine to follow each night.
Babies need predictability, they need to know that after A comes B and
after B comes C. Stability and routine are the keys to helping your baby
grow up both confident and content in her big new world.
Your bed time routine can be anything you make it as long as it is
something you can do easily every night, and something you can take
with you if you happen to go stay with family, friends or in a motel.
The routine should follow logical steps that lead your baby from a state of active
wakefulnes down to a state of drowsy slumber. For example getting washed up,
playfully getting in to the pajamas, then maybe the music comes on, the lights
go dim then you sit in your favorite spot to rock and nurse her till she is asleep.
Whatever your routine, as the baby ages towards a year old and above, the
bed time routine becomes more and more necessary. By age two I believe
every child should have a set routine and a set bed time they must
adhere to under ordinary circumstances (rules are made to bend on
occasion).
Why a set bed time? Because parents need time off. Mothers especially, but
even fathers too, work at being a parent 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Stay-at-
home-mothers often do not get any time whatsoever away from their child(ren)
all week except when the children are sleeping. For her more than any other, a
set bed time should be established as soon as the child can handle it, and this
bed time should be respected by other members of the family, with Dad's full
support.
Full time caregivers (i.e. Mom?) need to know they will "get off work" at a certain
hour each night even if they will remain on call all night. They need to know
they can plop down to watch a good movie at a certain hour; that they can have
some down time to regroup. That they can cook themselves a private late
supper to enjoy with out the children at the table once in a while, or make a call
to a distant friend and not be interrupted during the conversation.
Besides personal benefits to the parents, children who are put to bed regularly
at a decent hour in the evening are well rested and better behaved in general.
In my experience, by age two, a child can be expected to learn his or her bed
time, and bed-time-routine, and these things should go in to effect for children
who both co-sleep, and those who do not. Once established, the bed time will
practically eliminate the bed-time fight.
For younger infants whose habits and routines will change both dramatically
and often, look for the clues the baby gives you that this is the time of night she
is ready to start packing it in. You can still have a gentle night time routine in
place that will help her calm down and go off to sleep in peace.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Read more about:
A Few Tips for Helping Your
Baby Rest Better
Baby Rest Better
 | Place a rolled up towel | |
| under the baby's legs. |
| Switch to using a sleep | |
| sack instead of a blanket. |
| Consider co-sleeping to | |
| help your baby rest when his legs might be aching from a new casting series. |
| Establish a night time | |
| routine to help lull your child in to a restful state of mind. You can start with your new born infant simply using a gentle CD while he sleeps (I have gone through five copies of Mozart For Mothers To Be in the past nine years for my three boys - we play it all night, every night). |
| If your clubfoot baby has | |
| been sleeping well but suddenly begins to wake a lot at night crying, check the length of his bar. Outgrowing the bar is the main reason our babies good sleep paterns fall apart. |
| Swaddled tight, my hours-old newborn clubfoot baby Garrison is sleeping snug. |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
"Sleep Sacks" are great for
clubfoot babies who wear their
foot abduction brace at night
because the sack keeps the
baby warm yet prevents the
baby from tangling up in his or
her blankets.
Sleep sacks are very simple
to sew and require no real
talent.
You can order a pattern
on-line if you do not have
access to a store that sells
them:
McCalls Sleep Sack Pattern
No.M4326
clubfoot babies who wear their
foot abduction brace at night
because the sack keeps the
baby warm yet prevents the
baby from tangling up in his or
her blankets.
Sleep sacks are very simple
to sew and require no real
talent.
You can order a pattern
on-line if you do not have
access to a store that sells
them:
McCalls Sleep Sack Pattern
No.M4326