Infant Sleep Survey
December 23, 2008 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breastfeeding, scientific studies
Speaking of sleep, two prominent researchers in the field of breastfeeding are conducting a survey of mothers’ sleep and fatigue. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D., IBCLC, Research Associate at the Family Research Lab, University of New Hampshire, and Thomas W. Hale, Ph.D., R.Ph., Professor of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, invite mothers of infants 12 months and younger (breastfeeding or formula-feeding or both) to participate in the study by answering a survey online [Edited to remove link. The survey is now closed! Thank you for your interest!]. They explain:
In this survey, we will be asking you some detailed questions about how well you and your baby sleep, where members of your family usually sleep, and how tired you feel on most days. We will also ask you some questions about things that can interfere with sleep. There are very few studies on this important topic, and we will use the results for a research study.
The researchers obviously understand the realities of being a new mother, because they say:
It will take about 20-30 minutes to complete the survey. If you are not able to finish the whole survey in one sitting just close the survey when you need to take a break, by clicking on the X in the upper right corner of your screen. Come back to the same Internet address, at your convenience, to continue.
So click on the link above [link removed because the survey is closed] if you’re interested in contributing to this important research on mothers, sleep, and fatigue. I did and found it very interesting. The two things I would have liked to have seen addressed in the survey: (1) Back to Sleep. I did not see any questions about whether the baby is put to sleep on tummy or back, and I think that significantly affects how well babies sleep, and (2) length of awake times in the night. (a) Say I get a total of eight hours of sleep per night: eight and a half hours from bedtime to waking time, minus half an hour of time awake with the baby. Seems like a good amount, right? But what if that eight hours is broken up into four increments of two hours each, with five to ten minutes of time up with the baby for each waking? Not so good. I find I need at least one block of four hours in a row to feel decent. Anything else and I feel quite sleep deprived (and I’ve gone for years feeling quite sleep deprived!) (b) And how long is the baby awake for each waking at night? I am lucky in that it only takes a few minutes for the baby to nurse back to sleep in our bed at night. But what about mothers who are up for half an hour or more at a stretch? I imagine that would make it much harder to fall back asleep.
What is your sleep situation like? Do you feel sleep deprived? How do you think breastfeeding affects your quality and quantity of sleep? Please leave a comment!
Since my 20 month old son is and has always been such an amazing sleeper, we decided to do the same things we did with him for our now 3-week old. The first couple of months is rough, but I believe it lays a great foundation for having a good sleeper in the long run. First off, we do the crib right away, which is in another room. Mostly because I can’t sleep with all the little baby noises…it keeps me up thinking “is there something wrong?” I get up every time I hear the baby cry through the monitor, which is usually about every 2 hours. I nurse him, change diaper, put him back in his crib on his back. The process is roughly 20 minutes. Then I usually go to the bathroom, and head back to bed…it DOES take me awhile to fall back asleep after all the stimulation. That’s the worst part…I probably lay there for 15-20 more minutes before I fall asleep…then to wake up shortly to do it all over again! I feel very sleep deprived! But I try to take a nap during the day. Like I said, my toddler is a fantastic sleeper, still taking two 2-hour naps a day! So I don’t feel TERRIBLE, just “out of it”. But again, I really feel laying a good foundation like that in the first couple of months makes a big difference in the long run! At least I HOPE it will with this one!!!
I don’t nurse my daughter (19 months) anymore, but when I did, I was very sleep deprived. She did not start sleeping through the night (sleeping between 12 am and 5 am) until close to 5 or 6 months old. She slept in bed with me from birth through about 10 weeks, at which time she developed a mild case of reflux and refused to sleep laying down. Then she transitioned to a bouncy chair for sleep (tucked safely into the pack n play). She slept in a basinett next to my bed after I discovered a wedge positioner that elevated her head for teh reflux. She would wake every couple hours to nurse. I could not get the hang of side-lying nursing, so I propped myself up with pillows and nursed in a semi-reclined position, using a football hold. We would eventually both fall asleep, usually after about 20 minutes on a side. I would sleep for a while, then wake, and switch sides, and repeat. my poor husband slept on the couch because our bed was way too small for all three of us (double bed). I have already bought a cosleeper for the next baby, and we have upgraded to a king size bed. Hopefully I can have the same arrangement and can all fit in teh bed together!
BTW, my daughter is now a champion sleeper. After 6months of constant night wakings and a terrible time getting her to sleep and nap, she eventually found her own rhythm, and sleeps 12 hours plus a night, and naps once or twice a day for about 2 hours each time. No amount of “tricks” or “training” was going to get that child to sleep before she was developmentally ready- I know, I tried them all! For her, that was at 6 mos of age. All babies are different, and need to be treated that way.
i would say i am like you…i sleep 8 hours but they are briken up into increments so i feel dead in the morning…i feel better when she at least lets me sleep 3 to 4 hours at a time…its not an easy task and that is still taking into account i dont bottle feed and i dont even have to wake up to feed because she sleeps next to me…i imagine eventually it will all settle and she will sleep longer…its only a matter of time.