How breasts make and deliver milk for kids

The lactation system inside your breasts resemble a tree. The milk glands (the leaves) are grapelike clusters of cells high up in the breast that make milk. Milk travels from these glands down through the milk ducts (the branches). These ducts then widen beneath the areola (the dark area surrounding the nipple), forming milk sinuses (the tree trunk), which then empties into the approximately twenty openings in your nipple (like the channels going down to the roots of the tree). These milk sinuses are located beneath your areola.

To empty these milk sinuses effectively,your baby's gums must be positioned over them so that baby's jaws compress the sinuses where the milk is pooled. If baby sucks only on your nipple, only a little milk will be drawn out, and your nipple will be irritated unnecessarily. Remember the golden rule of effective latch-on: Babies suck on areolas, not nipples. Baby must have enough of your areolas in her mouth to get the milk out.

Your baby's sucking stimulates nerves in your nipple that send messages to the pituitary gland in you brain to secrete the hormone prolactin. Prolactin surges encourage continued milk production, which goes on around the clock. As your baby continues sucking, the sensors in your nipple signal the pituitary gland to secrete another hormone,oxytocin. This hormone causes the elastic tissue around each of the many milk glands to contract, squeezing a large supply of milk through the milk ducts into the sinuses and out the nipple. This is called the milk ejection reflux, or MER. The milk may come out so fast that it leaks out the side of your baby's mouth. If you were pumping or expressing by hand, you would see the milk spray out in every direction.

The first milk your baby receives at each feeding is the foremilk, which is thin like skim milk because of low fat content. As baby continues to suck, more oxytocin brings on phase two, squeezing out the later milk (called hindmilk), which is much higher in fat and slightly higher in protein and, therefore, helps baby gain weight and helps baby's tummy feel full. Consider this creamier hindmilk "grow milk."

The more milk that is removed from your breasts, the more milk your body makes to replace it. Frequent removal of milk from your breasts by your baby or by a pump will sti9mulate your body to produce more milk. When your baby breastfeeds less, the body responds by cutting back on milk production. This supply and demand system is how mothers produce enough milk for twins or even triplets.

Why Breast Milk is best for Kids & Infants

Each species of mammal makes a unique kind of milk, which meets all the nutritional requirements of its offspring at the beginning of life. Each species' milk has specific qualities that insure the survival of the young in a particular environment. This principle is known as the biological specificity of milk. Mother seals, for example, make a high-fat milk because baby seals need lots of body fat to survive in cold water. Since brain development is crucial to the survival of humans, human milk provides nutrients for rapid brain growth.

No matter what animal it comes from, milk contains the basic nutritional elements of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Let's look at each one of these nutrients in human milk, comparing them to the same nutrients in formula or cow milk, so you can further appreciate how your milk is custom-made to meet the needs of your baby.

Unique nutrition for unique humans. As hormones levels change in the days after birth, the mother's body starts to make more plentiful amounts of milk. Colostrum gradually changes into mature milk--the stuff babies have been thriving on for thousands of years. Milk's basic ingredients are fat, proteins, lactose, vitamins, minerals, and water. This is true of milk from all kinds of mammals. Yet, the proportions of these ingredients differ, as do the kinds of protein and fat. This is what makes each species' milk uniquely suited to its young. It's also why cow's milk and cow's milk-based formulas are not the ideal food for human infants.

HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN

Protein is a prime example of how human milk is unique nutrition for human babies. Human milk is low in protein, at least when compared with the milk of other species, especially cow's milk. This isn't a nutritional deficiency; there are good reasons for this. Human infants are designed to grow slowly. While it's important for humans to develop strong bodies, even more important is brain development and the learning of social skills. The experiences that shape the brain come from close contact between mother and baby when baby is held and carried. If human infants doubled their birthweight in less than 50 days the way baby calves do, and then continued growing, how could their mothers carry them and talk to them and keep them close? Baby cows need to learn where to find the best grass in the meadow; baby humans need to learn how to work with others so that everyone's needs get met.

Though the protein content of human milk is generally low, the types of amino acids that make up these proteins are important. One particular amino acid, taurine, is found in large amounts in human milk. Studies show that taurine has an important role in the development of the brain and the eyes. The body can't convert other kinds of amino acids into taurine, so its presence in human milk is significant--so significant that some formula manufacturers have begun adding it to artificial baby milks.

If you let milk stand out of the refrigerator and sour, you will see that milk proteins fall into two categories, curds and whey. (Remember Miss Muffet?) The curd portion, the casein proteins, are the white clots; the liquid is the whey. Cow's milk is mostly casein protein, which forms a rubbery, hard-to-digest curd in babies' tummies. Human milk has more whey than curd, and the curds that are formed are softer and more quickly digested. Breastfed babies get hungry sooner than babies who are formula-fed because human milk proteins are digested so efficiently. It doesn't take as much energy to digest human milk as it does to digest formula. Frequent feedings also ensure that human babies get lots of attention from their mothers.

SELF-DIGESTING FATS

There's another reason why babies digest human milk so quickly: the fat in human milk comes with an enzyme, lipase, that breaks the fat down into smaller globules so this important nutrient can be better absorbed into the bloodstream. Fat is a valuable source of energy for babies, so the presence of lipase makes the fat in human milk more available. This is one of the reasons human milk is so good for premature babies, who need lots of energy to grow but whose digestive systems are very immature.

A changing nutrient for changing needs. The fat content of human milk changes constantly. Typically, fat levels are low at the beginning of a feeding and high at the end. Babies nurse eagerly to get the low-fat, thirst-quenching foremilk, then slow down and linger over the high-fat dessert at the end of their meal. Babies who nurse again soon after the end of the last feeding get more high-fat milk, so babies who breastfeed more frequently during a growth spurt get more calories. Longer intervals between feedings bring down the fat content of the milk stored in the breast. This nutritional fact of human milk is one of the many reasons why the rigid 3 to 4 hour scheduled style of feeding is biologically incorrect.

Smarter fats. The special kind of fat in human milk is important to brain development. As newborn babies grow, the nerves are covered with a substance called myelin which helps the nerves transmit messages to other nerves throughout the brain and body. To develop high-quality myelin, the body needs certain types of fatty acids--linoleic and linolenic--which are found in large amounts in human milk.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

The vitamins and minerals listed on the formula can are no match for those in the milk made by mom, even if milligram by milligram comparisions suggest otherwise. When formula researchers want to know how much of a particular vitamin or mineral babies need each day, they look first at how much of that nutrient is present in human milk and how much milk a baby of a given age takes in a day. But just doing the math doesn't tell the whole story. More important than the amounts of nutrients in the milk is the amount that is available for the infant to use, a nutrient principle called bioavailability. The bioavailability of a nutrient is influenced by many factors, including its chemical form and the presence of other substances.

The three important minerals calcium, phosphorus, and iron are present in breastmilk at lower levels than in formula, but in breastmilk these minerals are present in forms that have high bioavailability. For example, 50 to 75 percent of the iron in breastmilk is absorbed by the baby. With formula, as little as four percent of the iron is absorbed into baby's bloodstream. To make up for the low bioavailability of factory-added vitamins and minerals, formula manufactures raise the concentrations. Sounds reasonable, right? If only half gets absorbed by the body, put twice as much into the can. Yet, this nutrient manipulation may have a metabolic price.

Baby's immature intestines are required to dispose of the excess. Meanwhile, the excess unabsorbed minerals (especially iron) can upset the "ecology of the gut," interfering with the growth of healthful bacteria and allowing harmful bacteria to flourish. This is another reason formula-fed infants have harder, more unpleasant smelling stools.

To enhance the bioavailability of nutrients, breastmilk contains facilitators - substances that enhance the absorption of other nutrients. For example, vitamin C in human milk increases the absorption of iron. Zinc absorption is also enhanced by other factors in human milk. In an interesting experiment, researchers added equal amounts of iron and zinc to samples of human milk, formula, and cow'd milk, and fed them to adult volunteers. More of the nutrients in the human-milk sample got into the bloodstream compared to the formula and cow's milk. In essence, breastmilk puts nutrients where they belong - in baby's blood, not in baby's bowels.

HORMONES AND ENZYMES

Every year medical journal articles describe more valuable substances discovered in human milk. Scientists are only beginning to write the story on other factors in human milk that may be important to baby's growth and development. For example, other enzymes besides lipase are available to aid infant digestion. Epidermal growth factor, present in human milk in significant amounts, may promote the development of tissues in the digestive tract and elsewhere. Other hormones in milk may influence a baby's metabolism, growth, and physiology. The effects may be subtle, but they may also have far-reaching implications. Being breastfed has advantages that reach into adulthood. Science is only beginning to learn what these benefits are.

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Bathing your Kids & Infants

Most babies are over washed. In reality, newborns don't get very dirty. The toddler/mud puddle friendship has not yet begun.

First Baths

When to give baby her first bath is a matter of some debate. It is still general practice to advise parents to sponge bathe baby until the cord falls off and the circumcision heals. Some physicians question the necessity of this advice, feeling that an immersion bath does not increase the risk of infection. Check with your doctor. Our own personal recommendation is to sponge bathe baby until the cord falls off and the circumcision is well healed. We advise sponge bathing if there is discharge around the base of the cord or the circumcision site or if a putrid odor emanates from the cord. If both sites are reasonably clean and dry, we see no harm in going directly to an immersion bath.

Sponge bathing

• Select a bathing area. Try the kitchen or bathroom counter next to the sink. The room should be warm and draft-free. Take the phone off the hook so that you will not be tempted to leave baby unattended "just for a moment."
• Have your bath kit ready in the bathing area before you start. You will need:
  • Two wash cloths
  • A mild soap
  • Baby shampoo
  • Cotton balls
  • A hooded towel
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Cotton-tip applicators
  • Diapers
  • Clean clothes
• A sponge bath. While some babies like to be bare, most don't, so remove all clothing except the diaper and swaddle baby in a towel. Hold baby on your lap while sitting in a chair with your bath kit on an adjacent table, or stand up at the counter with baby lying on a pad of thick towel.

Have your swaddled baby's head and face exposed. Begin washing his face with warm water, especially behind the ears, in the ear crevices, and in the neck creases. Unless baby's skin is sweaty, oily, or dirty, plain water is enough; otherwise use a mild soap.

Hold baby in the clutch hold. Squeeze a bit of warm water on top of baby's head, apply a dab of baby shampoo, and gently massage the entire scalp. Use no special caution over the soft spot. It's really tough underneath. (If baby's scalp is flaky or crusty, see cradle cap. Rinse over sink with running water. Blot dry with a towel hood. Meanwhile, baby is still swaddled in a towel, with only his head and face exposed, not getting cold. As you proceed with the rest of the body, cover the head with a towel hood.

Unswaddle baby, remove his diaper, and wash the rest of his body. Extend the arms and legs to wash the groin, knee, and elbow creases, where there are like to be oily collections. Clean around the base of the cord with a cotton-tipped applicator dipped in rubbing alcohol.

Turn baby over on his tummy and clean the crevice just above his buttocks and around the diaper area. Or you can lift both feet up and clean the lower back and buttocks while baby is lying on his back. To keep baby from getting cold and upset, cover the rest of the body while cleaning the diaper area.

Clean the genitalia. Hold baby's legs outward like a frog. For girls, spread the labia and using a moistened cotton ball, gently wipe between the labia. When cleaning around the vagina always wipe from front to back. You may notice that secretions and diaper creams collect and cake between the vulva and the outer labia. This area requires the most cleansing. A normal egg-white vaginal discharge is common between the inner labia and vagina. It is not necessary to clean away this normal discharge. For boys, clean the creases beneath the scrotum the skin of the groin and buttock, and around the base of the penis. Clean the circumcision area, if necessary. Do not retract the foreskin if uncircumcised. Quickly diaper baby and dress in clean clothes before he has a chance to get cold and upset.

Tub Bathing

After the sponge-bath stage, the real fun begins. First, choose the right tub that's safe and easy to use. There are many types of baby tubs on the market, or you can simply use the kitchen sink. The kitchen sink is easy to use because it is the right height. If using the kitchen sink, observe the following safety tips: Purchase an insert-type plastic or rubber tub that fits into your sink, or line the bottom of the sink with a folded towel or sponge mat to keep baby from slipping. There are even inflatable baby bathtubs. If you have a movable faucet, be sure to turn it away from baby.

Before the splash begins, make sure the water is comfortably warm, but not too hot. Tie a towel around your neck (like a bib) to keep yourself dry during the bath and in case baby needs to be picked up quickly and cuddled. Most newborns do not eagerly await their bath. Singing a few songs, making eye-to-eye contact, and gently massaging baby during the bath often relaxes the reluctant bather.

Additional Bath Tips

• As you move from one area of the body to another, change the parts of the washcloth in order to keep clean cloth on cleaner parts of the body.
• Pat the skin with a washcloth and blot dry with a towel rather than vigorously scrubbing, which may irritate baby's sensitive skin.
• Spot-cleaning works best for babies who do not like either a total sponge bath or an immersion bath. Clean the areas that get the most oily, sweaty, or dirty.
• Clean the eyes on an as-needed basis rather than during the regular bath. Babies often protest eye cleaning, which may set off a protest for the entire bath. Using cotton balls and warm tap water (always squeeze a few drops of the water from the cotton ball on the inside of your wrist to make sure it is not too hot), wash accumulated discharge out of the corners of baby's eyes.
• Cotton-tipped applicators are handy when cleaning little crevices in and behind the outer ear, but never try to clean inside the ear canal, as you may damage the canal or eardrum.

FAQ'S About Bath Time

How often should we bathe our baby?Bathing is primarily playtime. Babies don't get dirty enough to need a daily bath. For busy parents this is good news. Twice a week (especially in the winter) is enough bathing, providing you clean your baby's diaper area sufficiently well each time there is a bowel movement. Daily spot-cleaning in areas that get particularly sweaty, oily, or dirty, such as behind the ears, in the neck folds, in the creases of the groin, and in the diaper area are helpful.

Which soap and shampoo should I use when bathing our baby?Baby's skin, especially a newborn's, is sensitive, and all soaps are mild irritants. The function of soap is to suspend particles and oils on the skin surface so that they can be more easily removed from the skin with water. Without soap, some oils, dirt, and surface secretions would simply stick to the skin and require vigorous rubbing with a cloth and water to remove them, which in itself would irritate the skin. Every baby's skin has an individual tolerance to different soaps. How much soap, how often, and which kind can be determined only by trial and error, but here are some general guidelines:

• Use soap only on areas that are caked with secretions, (such as oil or sweat) which are not easily removed with plain water.
• When first using soap, try a test rub on one small part of the body. If over the next few hours the skin reddens, dries, or noticeably changes in any way relative to other areas, ban that soap and try another.
• Use mild soap. Baby soaps are regular soaps with fewer additives such as anti-microbials, fragrances, or abrasives. In our practice, we have found Dove acceptable for the skin of most babies.
• Limit the soap's time on the skin to less than five minutes to avoid drying or irritating the skin. Wash it off as soon as possible and rinse the skin well.
• Above all, avoid vigorous scrubbing of any area of the skin with soap.

If your baby is prone to eczema or has allergic dermatitis, use as little soap as possible, and give as few baths as possible. A special soap formulation prescribed by a dermatologist may be helpful. Babies with particularly sensitive skin should spend very little time in a bathtub immersed in water and are best showered and spot cleaned.

Shampoos are similar to soaps and if overused can irritate the scalp and rob the hair of natural oils. Shampooing once a week is enough for most babies. Use mild baby shampoo; like baby soaps, baby shampoos contain fewer additives than other commercial shampoos. It is seldom necessary to massage shampoo deep into the scalp. If your baby's scalp is covered with the flaky, crusty, oily substance called cradle cap, after shampooing massage a bit of vegetable oil into the crust to soften it, and then remove it with a soft comb.

Here is a final thought about soaps and shampoos that many mothers have expressed to me over the years. Sensitive mothers feel that too much soap and shampoo (and scented oils and powders) camouflage natural baby scents that mothers find irresistible. Also, it is better not to mask the mother's natural scent, which baby needs, and perfume is irritating to some babies.

Should I use powders and oils on our baby's skin?Gone are the days when a baby was sprinkled with perfumed talcum after every bath. Powders and oils are unnecessary since your baby's skin is naturally rich in body oil and they may be irritating and even harmful. Emollients (cold-pressed vegetable oil or Soothe and Heal by Lansinoh) may be used only on patchy areas of dry skin; otherwise, they are unnecessary. Powders easily cake and build up in skin creases and can actually contribute to skin irritation and rashes. Also, powders, if inhaled, can irritate baby's nasal and air passages. Cornstarch is not recommended as it can serve as a medium for the growth of harmful fungi.

My baby screams every time I try to give her a bath. How can we both enjoy bath time more?If your baby screams every time you try to put her into the water, it either means that she is hungry, the water is too hot or cold, or you have a baby who doesn't like to be alone in the water. Her security may be threatened. Here's how we have enjoyed bathing our babies. Take your baby into the bathtub with you. Get the water ready and undress yourself and baby. Hold her close to you as you get into the water and then sit back and enjoy the warm skin-to-skin contact. If your baby still protests, sit in the tub first and show her how much you are enjoying the bath. Then have someone else hand your baby to you while you are sitting in the bathtub. Mothers, don't be surprised if your baby wants to breastfeed at this time. It is the natural result of being close to your breast. In fact, if your baby still fusses upon entering the water in your arms, relax her by putting her to your breast first. Slowly ease your way into the tub. Then gradually lower baby into the water as she continues to suck. This is a special way to enjoy mothering and bathing your baby. As your baby gets older, bath toys such as the traditional rubber ducky may entice the reluctant bath taker. When bathing together in a tub, take special precautions to avoid slipping. While you are getting used to bathing with baby, it is safer to hand baby to another person or place her on a towel as you get out of the tub.

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Medical Causes of Nightwaking in Kids & Infants

Parents should suspect a medical cause for nightwaking if:

• baby awakens with sudden colicky-type abdominal pains
• a good sleeper suddenly becomes a restless sleeper
• baby has not slept well since birth
• there are other signs or symptoms of illness
• baby cries inconsolably
• your intuition tells you something is wrong
• no other cause is apparent

Here are the most common painful causes of nightwaking and which are often "hidden" because they are not as obvious as ear infections, teething, or urinary tract infections.

1. Gastroesophageal reflux (GER)

When baby lies flat, irritating stomach acids are regurgitated into the esophagus, causing pain that adults call "heartburn." Mention this possibility to your doctor, since GER can often be successfully treated with smaller, more frequent feedings, elevating the crib 30 degrees, and medication.

2. Food allergies,

such as an allergy to formula or to the cow's milk breastfeeding mothers drink. Suspect if baby is restless most of the night and is generally gassy.

3. Ear infections

Suspect an ear infection if baby has a yellow discharge coming from her nose and/or eyes.

4. Pinworms

Suspect in the toddler or older child who is waking up with scratch marks around the anus, other family members have pinworms, or you see tiny white-thread-like worms around baby's anus or in the bowel movements at night.

Infants who awaken frequently because of a medical cause are also more likely to be colicky and fussy during the day, but not necessarily. If you suspect a medical cause, in partnership with your doctor, keep investigating until you find the cause and the treatment.

Sleeping Facts of Infants and Kids

1. How you sleep.

 After dressing or undressing for bed, most adults help themselves relax for sleep by performing various bedtime rituals: reading, listening to music, watching TV, or having sex. As you drift into sleep, your higher brain centers begin to rest; enabling you to enter the stage of deep sleep called "non-REM" (non-rapid eye movement -- NREM), or deep sleep (also called quiet sleep). Your mind and body are quietest during this stage of sleep. Your body is still, your breathing is shallow and regular, your muscles are loose, and you're really "zonked." After about an hour and a half in this quiet sleep stage, your brain begins to "wake up" and start working, which brings you out of your deep sleep and into light sleep or active sleep, called rapid eye movement or "REM" sleep. During this stage of sleep your eyes actually move under your eyelids as your brain exercises. You dream and stir, turn over, and may even adjust the covers without fully awakening. It is during this sleep stage that you may fully awaken to go to the bathroom, then return to bed and fall back into a deep sleep. These alternating cycles of light and deep sleep continue every couple hours throughout the night, so that a typical adult may spend an average of six hours in quiet sleep and two hours in active sleep. Thus, you do not sleep deeply all night, even though you may feel as though you do.

2. How babies enter sleep.

 You're rocking, walking, or nursing your baby and her eyelids droop as she begins to nod off in your arms. Her eyes close completely, but her eyelids continue to flutter and her breathing is still irregular. Her hands and limbs are flexed, and she may startle, twitch, and show fleeting smiles, called "sleep grins." She may even continue a flutter-like sucking. Just as you bend over to deposit your "sleeping" baby in her crib so you can creep quietly away, she awakens and cries. That's because she wasn't fully asleep. She was still in the state of light sleep when you put her down. Now try your proven bedtime ritual again, but continue this ritual longer (about twenty more minutes). You will notice that baby's grimaces and twitches stop; her breathing becomes more regular and shallow, her muscles completely relax. Her fisted hands unfold and her arms and limbs dangle weightlessly. Martha and I call this "limp-limb" sign of deep sleep. Baby is now in a deeper sleep, allowing you to put her down and sneak away, breathing a satisfying sigh of relief that baby is finally resting comfortably.

3. Babies have shorter sleep cycles than you do.

 Stand adoringly next to your sleeping baby and watch him sleep. About an hour after he goes to sleep, he begins to squirm, he tosses a bit, his eyelids flutter, his face muscles grimace, he breathes irregularly, and his muscles tighten. He is reentering the phase of light sleep. The time of moving from deep to light sleep is a vulnerable period during which many babies will awaken if any upsetting or uncomfortable stimulus, such as hunger, occurs. If the baby does not awaken, he will drift through this light sleep period over the next ten minutes, and descend back into deep sleep. Adult sleep cycles (going from light to deep sleep, and then back to light sleep) lasts an average of 90 minutes. Infants' sleep cycles are shorter, lasting 50 to 60 minutes, so they experience a vulnerable period for nightwaking around every hour or even less. As your baby enters this light sleep, if you lay a comforting hand on your baby's back, sing a soothing lullaby, or just be there next to baby if he is in your bed; you can help him get through this light sleep period without waking.

4. Babies don't sleep as deeply as you do. 

Not only do babies take longer to go to sleep and have more frequent vulnerable periods for nightwaking; they have twice as much active, or lighter, sleep as adults. At first glance, this hardly seems fair to parents tired from daylong baby care. Yet, if you consider the developmental principle that babies sleep the way they do -- or don't -- for a vital reason, it may be easier for you to understand your baby's nighttime needs and develop a nighttime parenting style that helps rather than harms your baby's natural sleep rhythms. Here's where I'm at odds with modern sleep trainers who advise a variety of gadgets and techniques designed to help baby sleep more deeply through the night -- for a price, and perhaps at a risk.

5. Nightwaking has survival benefits.

In the first few months, babies' needs are the highest, but their ability to communicate their needs is the lowest. Suppose a baby slept deeply most of the night. Some basic needs would go unfulfilled. Tiny babies have tiny tummies, and mother's milk is digested very rapidly. If a baby's stimulus for hunger could not easily arouse her, this would not be good for baby's survival. If baby's nose was stuffed and she could not breathe, or was cold and needed warmth, and her sleep state was so deep that she could not communicate her needs, her survival would be jeopardized.

6. Nightwaking has developmental benefits. 

Sleep researchers believe that babies sleep "smarter" than adults do. They theorize that light sleep helps the brain develop because the brain doesn't rest during REM sleep. In fact, blood flow to the brain nearly doubles during REM sleep. (This increased blood flow is particularly evident in the area of the brain that automatically controls breathing.) During REM sleep the body increases its manufacture of certain nerve proteins, the building blocks of the brain. Learning is also thought to occur during the active stage of sleep. The brain may use this time to process information acquired while awake, storing what is beneficial to the individual and discarding what is not. Some sleep researchers believe that REM sleeps acts to auto-stimulate the developing brain, providing beneficial imagery that promotes mental development. During the light sleep stage, the higher centers of the brain keep operating, yet during deep sleep these higher brain centers shut off and the baby functions on her lower brain centers. It is possible that during this stage of rapid brain growth (babies' brains grow to nearly seventy percent of adult volume during the first two years) the brain needs to continue functioning during sleep in order to develop. It is interesting to note that premature babies spend even more of their sleep time (approximately 90 percent) in REM sleep, perhaps to accelerate their brain growth. As you can see, the period of life when humans sleep the most and the brain is developing the most rapidly is also the time when they have the most active sleep. One day as I was explaining the theory that light sleep helps babies' brains develop, a tired mother of a wakeful infant chuckled and said, "If that's true, my baby's going to be very smart."

7. Babies still wake up. 

When babies mature into these adult-like sleep patterns varies among babies. Yet, even though babies achieve this sleep maturity some time during the last half of the first year, many still wake up. The reason? Painful stimuli, such as colds and teething pain, become more frequent. Major developmental milestones, such as sitting, crawling, and walking, drive babies to "practice" their new developmental skills in their sleep. Then between one and two years of age, when baby begins to sleep through the above-mentioned wake-up stimuli, other causes of nightwaking occur, such as separation anxiety and nightmares.

Even though you understand why babies are prone to nightwaking, you realize it's still important for parents and babies to get a restful night's sleep, otherwise, baby, the parents, and their relationship won't thrive.

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Benefits of sleeping close to your baby

1. Babies sleep and stay asleep better.  Nighttime is a scary time for little people.  Babies who sleep close to mother have less nighttime separation anxiety.  A calmer baby sleeps better.

2. Many mothers and infants are able to achieve nighttime harmony. Mothers also sleep better because their closeness helps them not worry about their baby.  Co-sleeping mothers and babies get their sleep cycles in a synchrony called nighttime harmony.  When baby is about to awaken, mother gives her familiar presence, or close-by touch, which coveys a reassuring “it’s okay, go back to sleep” message to baby.

3. Breastfeeding is easier.  Sleeping close to your baby allows easier access to the hungry baby.  When baby is sleeping close-by in a co-sleeper, mother is able to easily get baby in and out for comforting and feeding, oftentimes without either member of the nursing pair fully awakening.  Certainly this is much easier on mother and baby than having to get out of bed and go across the room or into another room to comfort a crying baby.  By that time both mother and baby are wide awake and upset, and may have difficulty going back to sleep.  On the other hand, co-sleeping enables both members of the nursing pair to get back to sleep more quickly.

4. Fits with today’s busy lifestyles.  Sleeping close to each other allows mother and baby to reconnect and make up for any “touch-time” they missed during the day.  This is why the Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper is an especially valuable nighttime parenting tool for working parents. 

5. Babies thrive better.  Babies who cry less, grow better.  Co-sleeping babies cry less, so they can divert the energy that they would have wasted on crying into growing instead.  One of the oldest “treatments” for babies who are not growing optimally is “sleep close to your baby”.

6. Parents and infants become more connected. Co-sleeping enhances parent-infant bonding.  Because you have X hours of nighttime touch and comforting, co-sleeping allows family intimacy.  Parents have their own sleeping space, baby has his or her own sleeping space, yet parents are close by baby to fulfill nighttime needs.

7. Infants develop healthy sleep habits.  Co-sleeping helps your baby develop a healthy sleep attitude.  Baby grows up regarding sleep as a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in.  This healthy sleep attitude is one of the best lifelong investments you can make.
 

Why Babies Fuss ??

Babies fuss for the same reasons adults fuss: they hurt either physically or emotionally, or they need something. There is a wide spectrum of types of crying. At the quieter end is the baby who fusses to be picked up but is easily comforted and satisfied as long as he is held. 

While in the womb, the preborn baby fits perfectly into his environment. Perhaps there will never be another home in which he fits so harmoniously – a free-floating environment where the temperature is constant and his nutritional needs are automatically and predictably met. The womb environment is well organized. These babies miss the womb.

Birth suddenly disrupts this organization. During the month following birth, baby tries to regain his sense of organization and fit into life outside the womb. Birth and adaptation to postnatal life bring out the temperament of the baby, so for the first time he must do something to have his needs met. He is forced to act, to "behave." If hungry, cold, or startled, he cries. He must make an effort to get the things he needs from his care giving environment. If his needs are simple and he can get what he wants easily, he's labeled an "easy baby"; if he does not adapt readily, he is labeled "difficult." He doesn't fit. Fussy babies are poor fitters, who don't resign themselves easily to the level of care they are being given. They need more, and they fuss to get it.