Helping Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night
Jodi A. Mindell, author of Sleeping Through the Night, offer expert advice for adoptive parents on helping your child to sleep and sleep issues. Dr.Mindell is Pediatric Clinical Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Allegheny University and assoiciate professor of psychology at St. Joseph's University. She is the author of numerous publications on the subject of pediatric sleep disorders. Her book Sleeping Through the Night provides research based suggestions for parents coping with their children's sleep issues.
Interview By Allison Martin
What advice would you give to parents of babies in the early days of their
adoption?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: Get help! It will be difficult to predict how your
baby/child is going to respond to sleeping in a new place, possibly having
jet lag, and coping with so many life changes. To start, begin from the earliest
days establishing a quiet routine before sleep time and continue to build
on that as the days and weeks pass. You will clearly need to respond to your
child's sleep cycles during this transitional period. So, as you may be going
through your own jet lag and changes in your family, make sleep a priority
for yourself by napping when the baby naps and seeing if someone else can
help out at night, even if it is just for the early part of the night so that
you can get some sleep and then take over the rest of the night.
What would you suggest for parents of children adopted at an older age?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: Again, expect a time of transition during those
first few weeks, while at the same time establishing good sleep habits. Develop
a consistent bedtime routine, maintain a similar sleep schedule day to day,
and establish a warm and cuddly bedroom that is conducive to sleep.
What can parents do to help their children get to sleep?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: The key things that parents can do to help their
children get to sleep is to have a set bedtime (preferably between 7:30 and
8:30), a consistent and soothing bedtime routine, and have their child fall
asleep on his/her own.
What should parents do if their children waken during the night?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: All children wake during the night. The issue is
whether or not they can return to sleep on their own. A child who can self-soothe
to sleep at bedtime will be able to do so in the middle of the night. So,
the best and easiest thing to do is to teach your child how to self-soothe
at bedtime. Within about two weeks most little ones start naturally sleeping
through the night. During this process, continue to respond to your child
in the middle of the night.
What are some signs of sleep disturbance that parents might want to be
on the lookout for?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: One of the most common serious sleep disturbances
seen in children is obstructive sleep apnea, a breathing disorder that occurs
during sleep. Some symptoms of sleep apnea are snoring, breathing pauses,
mouth breathing, restlessness, and daytime sleepiness. If you are concerned
about your child's sleep, speak with his/her physician or contact a sleep
center in your area.
Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disorder that is characterized by
a creepy-crawly feeling in the legs at bedtime. People with RLS feel a need
to move their legs to make this uncomfortable feeling go away. In children,
they have difficulty falling asleep and are often running about the house
after being put to bed.
Nightmares are common in all children, especially between the ages of 3 and
6. Nightmares are part of normal development and young children often have
nightmares of monsters and scary things. Children also have nightmares about
specific events that may have worried them or scared them, such as getting
lost in a grocery store or being afraid of a dog. Although there are no data
available, I suspect that nightmares are common in adopted children, especially
around the time of adoption for older ones. These children are going through
many transitions in their lives which can be disorienting or even frightening.
The best way for parents to handle nightmares is by providing lots of reassurance
and comfort.
What prompted you to write Sleeping through the Night?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: I wrote Sleeping Through the Night in response to parents' need for accessible information on how to get their children to sleep through the night. Parents clearly want a gentler and kinder approach and a source for what to do when they encounter obstacles. One of these obstacles, which is usually not addressed elsewhere, is parents own emotional responses to dealing with their child's sleep problems and helping them cope with sleepless nights.
What are your future plans?
Dr. Jodi A Mindell: That is always a difficult question as so many
exciting opportunities keep developing. In terms of research, this summer
we are beginning a large scale project on sleep issues in internationally
adopted children and the continuation of another project on sleep in twins.
I am also continuing to work with DuPont Sleep Products on a sleep campaign.
As part of this educational campaign we developed a free booklet entitled
"How to Know When To Throw Your Pillow Away . And Other Tips to Ensure
Sweet Dreams!" that can be gotten by calling 1-800-54-SLEEP. I have also
been working with Walt Disney Records on sleep tips in conjunction with an
upcoming lullabye album. So, as you can see, I keep busy and thoroughly enjoy
balancing both academics and parent education about sleep.
Read review of Sleeping Through the Night
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