Sickness and Sleep
How to navigate your baby's illness without throwing off their sleep routines completely
With sickness season upon us, I wanted to make sure you’re all prepped and ready for handling sleep when your little ones aren’t feeling their best! I know how stressful it can be. Do you let them sleep more? Keep them on schedule? Still expect them to put themselves to sleep? Wake them up to give meds? There are so many variables to consider!
My top tip: Think E.A.R.!
E - Evaluate
What symptoms is your child experiencing, and at what severity?
What will help them get the sleep they need on a short-term basis?
How can you stay as close to your normal habits and routines as possible?
A - Accommodate
If your child needs more support to sleep at this time, give it! You can always return to normal habits later.
If they need continual monitoring, try to find a way to sleep in their room instead of bringing them into yours. It’s a lot easier to return to normal after they’re well again this way.
If your child needs more sleep than usual, or more night feedings to stay hydrated, that’s fine, too. The main guideline I like to consider for “How much should I let them sleep?” is “Will this nap impact their night?” You can’t always know for sure, but in general, naps that go on for hours or happen too close to bedtime will impact night sleep. Night sleep is more restorative than naps, so I prefer to prioritize it whenever possible, including during times of sickness.
R - Recover
Once your baby is feeling back to normal, return to your normal sleep expectations as soon as you can! The longer you wait, the more entrenched the habit becomes.
If you find that your baby is resisting going back to independent sleep (very normal!), make a response plan that’s sustainable for you and doesn’t interfere with your baby’s task of going to sleep, while still supporting their feelings about it. I love a soothing ladder or check & console type method.
Remember, great sleep is a vital component to building good immunity!
EAR is also an important reminder that if your baby’s sleep suddenly becomes very interrupted, with no developmental or schedule-related explanation and no other symptoms, take them to the pediatrician to have their ears checked! Ear infections are extremely common in young babies and toddlers, are very disruptive to sleep, and can show up with minimal or nonexistent other symptoms. They especially tend to appear within a couple weeks after your child shows signs of congestion, even if they're no longer snotty.
I hope you find this helpful as your family navigates the colder weather, more time indoors, and holiday gatherings ahead. If you have friends with little ones, feel free to forward it on to them, too!
Sleep bright. ♡