I'm sure you've also heard of sleep advisors or coaches. We are launching the interview section "Petite Marmotte talks with..." Desire from Duerme Feliz.
We chatted with Desire, and I asked her some questions that I think every mother would want to know:
- Desire, why do babies wake up at night?
We all wake up at night, both adults and children. The most important difference between an adult and a child or baby is that an adult has learned to manage these micro-awakenings, while a baby does not yet have that ability. They will learn this skill as they grow and practice, and they will continue to wake up until that skill is fully acquired.
But, in addition, babies have many other reasons to wake up, especially during their first year of life or even longer: the need to ensure their survival, hunger, teething, stomach pains, developmental milestones (crawling, walking...), etc.
- When should they start sleeping through the night?
This is a question I get asked frequently. The reality is that, biologically speaking, a child can wake up until they are three years old or even more, and it is not abnormal, pathological, or strange; quite the opposite.
- What can parents do to teach them to sleep well?
Actually, you don't need to teach a baby or child to sleep because they all know how to do it. Perhaps they don't know how to sleep in the way that society and culture have told us they should: in their crib, by themselves, and sleeping for 12 hours. But the reality is that a baby is not born programmed to sleep alone, let alone for 12 hours. For a child to sleep, you just need to provide the right place, the right environment, and the right moment. If you want them to sleep in their crib, that's another matter.
- What products help children fall asleep?
I could talk about several products, in addition to the Petite Marmotte crib nest, which I always recommend in my consultations.
- A co-sleeper crib, for example, is one of them.
- A sleeping bag to avoid having to try and cover a child who moves around a lot.
- A muslin, to swaddle them when they are very small (from 0 to approximately 4 months old)
- What does a sleep coach do?
My main mission as a sleep coach is to inform. To inform families about what baby sleep is like and how it works, to help families create realistic expectations about sleep, to understand why a baby wakes up so they can then understand why certain tools exist regarding our children's sleep, why the culture of sleeping alone exists, etc. And thus, help them make conscious decisions regarding the rest of all family members. I always say that I am not here to tell families what they should do, but rather I try to provide the necessary information so that they are free to do what feels best for them.
Thank you very much, Desire! If you want to know more about her work, you can visit her website.http://www.duermefeliz.net
0 comments