Amra Circle

Navigating sleep during the early years can be anything but dreamy. It's a rollercoaster ride of sleep regressions and bedtime battles. From newborns who seem to have no concept of day and night, to toddlers resisting bedtime like champions of protest, each stage comes with its own set of sleep patterns. And just when you think you've figured it all out, a new milestone or developmental leap can tip the scales once again.

As parents, understanding these ever-evolving sleep patterns is crucial. It helps anticipate challenges and adapt the strategies accordingly. On this podcast episode, we'll delve into the details about age appropriate sleep requirements, indicators of readiness for various stages of sleep and shed light on transition from co-sleeping to independent sleeping.

Sleep is vital for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. In this guide, we explore age-appropriate sleep needs and readiness indicators to establish healthy sleep routines, nurture growth, and ensure peaceful nights for both you and your child.

Transition from co sleeping to independent sleeping:

Transitioning from co-sleeping to independent sleep is a significant step in your child's development and a milestone in their journey towards sleep independence. Here are some dos and don'ts to follow while transitioning.

Do: 

>Create a calming and consistent bedtime routine that helps signal to the child that it's time to sleep. 

>Pay attention to your child's daytime naps. Ensure they are age-appropriate and not too close to bedtime, as excessive daytime napping can interfere with nighttime sleep.

>Bring familiar sleep associations from co-sleeping into the baby's new sleep space, such as a favorite blanket or stuffed animal.

Don't: 

>Rush the transition. Give your baby time to adjust to the new sleeping arrangement at their own pace.

>Abruptly stop co-sleeping if it's been the norm. This can be distressing for the baby. 

>Allow excessive screen time before bedtime. The blue light from screens can interfere with the child's ability to fall asleep.

Sometimes it might seem like the littlest kids have the biggest emotions. Emotions that come out in loud, unpredictable, and sometimes aggressive ways.  When big emotions are too much for our little ones, we can see tantrums, mean words, or impulsive behaviour. Some of the most common emotions children feel are: Anger, Sadness, Fear, Jealousy to name a few.

While it would be wonderful if children were naturally equipped to stay calm and respond to disappointments or anger in a manageable way, that's not how they work. Young children lack the vocabulary to express their desires or articulate their emotions fully. The resulting frustration can make them susceptible to being overwhelmed by intense feelings. This is where children need adults to step in and help them constructively. It’s important to help our children learn how to talk about their big feelings. We can give them the tools they need to express how they’re feeling, before their emotions take over. Every outburst is an opportunity to steer them in a different direction and to strengthen the skills they need to name and manage their emotions in a way that works for them. We want our children to know All emotions are okay and normal, and want them to understand that it’s okay to feel whatever they are feeling. We also want them to know that emotions aren’t permanent, and if they ride that emotional wave it will eventually end.

Big emotions and tantrums are NOT a sign of bad parenting or bad children. They are never that. Taking tantrums or wild behaviour personally can make it more difficult to use them as an opportunity to nurture valuable skills in a child. It can be easy to feel judged when your child choose the top of the escalator on a busy Saturday morning to throw themselves on the ground because you peeled their banana all the way to the bottom and nothing – nothing – can ever be the same again, but you are raising humans, and it’s hard and it’s important and the path is a crooked one with plenty of uphills, downhills, and hairpin curves. 

The first 3 years of life is the most influential period for acquiring speech and language skills. These skills develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others. This is when the brain is best able to absorb language.

So, it’s a nobrainer to expose children to language in as many ways as possible in this critical period.

Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. However, they follow a natural progression or timetable for mastering the skills of language. Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss, while other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder.

Verbal communication is interpersonal communication that includes oral communication, written communication, and sign language. Nonverbal communication encompasses a whole host of physicalized nonverbal cues that convey emotional states and complement verbal messages

Reading is one of the best ways to encourage communication and language development. As an infant, hearing words and seeing pictures helps a child understand the two are connected. This lays a foundation for speech, which begins around nine months and typically increases as a child grows.

Children who have trouble understanding what others say (receptive language) or difficulty sharing their thoughts (expressive language) may have a language disorder. Specific language impairment (SLI) is a language disorder that delays the mastery of language skills. Some children with SLI may not begin to talk until their third or fourth year.

Children who have trouble producing speech sounds correctly or who hesitate or stutter when talking may have a speech disorder. Apraxia of speech is a speech disorder that makes it difficult to put sounds and syllables together in the correct order to form words.

Making informed choices during childbirth can be complex and multilayered. Understanding the various interventions in childbirth, pain relieving methods, common misconceptions and risks involved can go a long way in helping families understand the implications of every decision they make.

Normal labor and delivery is the term used when the baby is born in head down position at full term (9 months) through the vagina (birth canal) after spontaneous labor pains. Typically, for first-time mothers normal labor may last anywhere from 6 to 18 hours.

Normal delivery process has the following three stages

A pain-sensitive woman requires one of many pharmacological (using medications) methods using intravenous medications for short durations which have their limitations due to temporary undesired side effects during labor affecting both mother and the child.

Inhaling (Entonox) Nitrous oxide and oxygen mixture relieves anxiety, helps to tolerate mild pain in the early 1ststage and during the 2nd stage of labor from second delivery onwards.

Interventional techniques like spinal and epidural would give us maximum safety profile and comfort to the delivering mother. Spinal may be used in urgency when pain relief is needed for a short duration towards the end of 1st stage. Epidural is the gold standard and gives at least 90% pain relief.

The first 1,000 days of a human life also known as the Thousand Day Window of Opportunity- is the time spanning roughly between conception and one’s second birthday. More than 1,000,000 new brain connections are formed per second in the first years of a child’s life. 80% of brain development happens before the age two. This is a unique period of opportunity when the foundations of optimum health, growth, and neurodevelopment across the lifespan are established. While the human brain continues to develop and change throughout life, the most rapid period of brain growth and its period of highest plasticity is in the last trimester of pregnancy and the first two years of life.

For the first 6 months, exclusive feeding is beneficial for both the baby and mother. Breastfeeding can be done until the baby is 24 months or beyond (dependent on mother’s choice and baby’s reciprocation). Breast milk is an important source of nutrients and energy for the babies. It can provide half or more than half of an infant’s energy needs between the ages of 6 and 12 months. And also provides one third of energy needs to babies between 12 and 24 months. Breast milk is very important to protect the babies from harmful infections and also reduces the mortality rate in case of malnourishment.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends introducing complementary foods (i.e., any solid or liquid other than breast milk or infant formula) to infants at approximately age 6 months. Although a consensus on ideal timing is lacking, most experts agree that introduction of complementary foods before age 4 months is too early because of infant gastrointestinal and motor immaturity. In addition, early introduction prevents exclusively breastfed infants from reaching the recommended 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding and might be associated with increased risk for overweight and obesity.

Many women decide on one method before the birth and then change their minds after their baby is born. And many women decide to breastfeed and supplement with formula because they find that is the best choice for their family and their lifestyle. While you're weighing the pros and cons, talk to your doctor or lactation consultant. These health care providers can give you more information about your options and help you make the best decision for your family

Developmental problems are unique in that within any single diagnosis or disorder, more than one body system may be involved. In addition, many developmental disorders—especially learning disabilities—embrace all categories and types of developmental milestones, whether social, language, fine or gross motor, or cognitive skills. This can make it impossible to categorize the symptoms of most developmental problems within just one body system or within one category of developmental milestones.

Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD is a developmental occurrence that can be detected as early as 18 months. It impacts the development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Autism can cause children to experience difficulties with communication, distinct behaviour patterns like repetition (of words or behaviours); social withdrawal, lack of interest in relationships; and in some cases, speech impairments.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a spectrum which means that each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. The ways in which people with autism learn, think, and solve problems can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. While some people with ASD may require significant support in their daily lives, others may need less support or live entirely independent lives.

The World Health Organisation states that one in every 160 children is Autistic. April is Autism Awareness Month and a time to celebrate and promote acceptance for the condition. Because acceptance along with kindness goes a long way in building an equal world where people on the spectrum can achieve their full potential.

The Midwifery Model of Care considers pregnancy and birth as normal physiologic events in a women's life. Midwives work with women in the promotion of reproductive health, family planning, preconception care, antenatal care, care during labour and postnatal care including newborn care. 

The Midwifery Model of Care is a fundamentally different approach to pregnancy and childbirth than contemporary obstetrics. It includes:

·  monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother/birthing parent throughout the childbearing cycle

·  providing the mother/birthing parent with individualized education, counselling, and prenatal care, continuous hands-on assistance during labour and delivery, and postpartum support

·  minimizing technological interventions and

·  identifying and referring women/birthing people who require obstetrical attention.

Pregnancy involves making multiple decisions and one of the most important decisions a mother along with her family makes is the choice of a healthcare provider for pregnancy and childbirth. In today’s episode, we will be discussing the various childbirth options, healthcare providers and how you can go about choosing the right partner and optimal birth setting.

Pranjul Tandon, a Certified Childbirth Educator based in London, shares her thoughts on how to choose the right healthcare partner. She is the founder of Womb & Beyond and ReadyBabyGo and has worked with parents from across the globe.

http://www.wombandbeyond.info/

https://instagram.com/womb_and_beyond/

During the growing years between infancy and adolescence, adequate nutrition is of utmost importance. Choosing what and how to feed your baby has life-long effects for your baby and for you. What you have seen and learned about infant feeding from your family, friends, and teachers is likely to influence your attitude and perceptions. Infants typically breastfeed or are given formula the first 6 months Fluids besides these two are not typically recommended. These substitutes, such as milk, juice, and water do not possess what the infant needs to grow and develop, cannot be digested correctly, and have a high risk of being contaminated.

How to wean:

Traditional weaning:

Baby Led Weaning

Whether you wean using baby led weaning or traditional weaning focus on:

Division of responsibility.

Ellyn Sattar’s division of responsibility in feeding:

In the first few months of life, children don’t really distinguish between day and night. They have short periods of being awake, followed by longer periods of being asleep, with feeds in between. Most children need to be fed in two hourly intervals. However, children may need to feed much more frequently than that during growth spurts, teething and other periods of growth and change. Eventually, sleep consolidation tends to happen, and children are able to go longer stretches at night, but may still wake for a feed, or for comfort.

Recommendations:

Good practices:

Sleep regressions

These tend to happen during periods of intense growth. The four month sleep regression and the six month sleep regressions are well documented, and throw many a newly-sleeping longer stretches parents completely for a loop. Basically, as children begin to learn new skills or enter a new phase of their development, the impending changes can basically make it difficult for them to self-soothe.

Sometimes, difficulties putting children to sleep can be a result of them being overtired or overstimulated.

There are also serious medical concerns that can make sleep difficult including: