Baby Babble

Losing baby weight just requires a few more winks

You could almost hear new, young mothers across the nation nudging their sleeping husbands in the ribs when this news hit the airwaves last week: New mothers need to get enough sleep in order to help them lose the weight they gained during pregnancy!

Researchers have found that women who are mothers of six-month-olds and who don't get at least 5 hours of sleep per night were three times more likely to still be hanging onto their pregnancy weight gain one year after the birth of the child.

The authors of the study say that we've known there is a connection between sleep deprivation and obesity in the general population, so it stood to reason to assume sleepy new mothers were going to have some difficulty in regaining a healthy weight.  Getting just two hours more sleep per night could be as important as diet and exericse to a healthy weight for the recovering mother, said one researcher.

So, just how to achieve getting more sleep when there's a newborn in the house? Well, the research team say they'll have to conduct more research to figure that one out.

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Sleep needs vary widely among children, but stay consistent

Young children of the same age have widely varying sleep needs, but once a kid gets a pattern established, that's pretty much it for his or her childhood.  Such are the findings of new research from the Child Development Center at University Children's Hospital in Zurich. A child who doesn't need as much sleep will probably remain that way throughout childhood. Ditto for those who seem to need more sleep. These results seem to indicate that biological makeup is largely responsible in the development of sleep needs--in other words, we come pre-programmed with whatever is going to work for our bodies. The results also suggest that parents can quit worrying--some kids sleep more, some sleep less.  Average amount of sleep time over the years did decline throughout a child's early years. 

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To nap, or not to nap? That seems always to be the question

A lot of parents worry about letting their infants and toddlers sleep too much during the day and then having them awake too much at night. Most experts agree that a 1- or 2-hour nap in midafternoon will be fine for most preschoolers. In a November 2004 article in Parents Magazine, on doctor cautions that not napping during the day may actually over-stimulate a young child, who may then not be able to settle down come evening.

Here's a little guidance:
Age 3 mos: 3 to 4 naps during the day; about 2 to 4 hours each
Age 6 mos: 2 naps during the day; about 1 to 3 hours each
Ages 12 to 18 mos: 1 to 2 naps during the day;1 hour morning and/or 1 to 3 hours in the afternoon
Ages 2-3 years: 1 nap a day, 1 to 3 hours in the afternoon
Ages 4-5 years: 1 nap a day, 1 to 2 hours in the afternoon, if the child seems tired
Ages 5-6 years: 0 to 1 nap per day, 1 hour of sleep or 1 hour of just "quiet time"

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