Uncategorized
Why Use a Baby Wedge Pillow?
Dec
Summary
- Introduction
- Typical Feeding Schedules
- Getting Baby back to Sleep the First Time
- 90% Rule
- Reflux, Colic, Congestion, & Gas
Introduction
Middle-of-the-Night feedings have to be one of the most schedule-disrupting duties parents have. We love nurturing our little ones, but as parents, we need energy and alertness to handle what the next day will throw at us.
Skip to the end: Installing a baby wedge pillow under your little one can help him digest his milk.
After feeding your baby, you follow all the correct steps: hold him upright and pat his back for several minutes, illicit a few belches from him, even wait for him to fall asleep. But still, after lying him down on his flat sleep surface, his face looks uncomfortable, then he begins to squirm and starts to cry.
In this post, we are going to show you what our nights used to look like, without using a wedge pillow. Then we will show you how we made our nights easier and more peaceful for everyone!
Typical Feeding Schedules* for 1-month babies and older
How often should your baby eat?
- Newborns one-month-old should be feeding every 2-3 hours throughout the night.
- Infants two to four months old should be feeding every 3-4 hours throughout the night.
- Babies five months and older could eat once or twice per night, but is largely individual.
What our Nights used to be like!
You are fast asleep, but are eventually (or suddenly!) startled by the cries of your little one through the baby monitor.
You may climb out of bed immediately, or you may postpone getting out of bed in hopes that he falls back asleep. (Don’t feel bad for wishfully thinking your baby will stop crying! We have all been there one time or another!)
Whether you breastfeed or bottle-feed, after your baby gets his fill, he should be held upright until he can burp a few times. Holding your son or daughter against your chest while patting his back can help. You can also try holding him over your shoulder while alternating between pats and bounces.
Your little one had his fill of milk, has burped and has just closed his eyes.
Great!
Now we will all get a little more sleep!
The 90% Rule – Colic, Infant Acid Reflux, Hungry, Tired
Even after taking all of the precautionary steps, your baby is still uncomfortable and upset after placing him back on his sleep surface.
“I don’t understand why he is so upset. Maybe he is fighting his sleep?“
Indeed, fighting his sleep is a possibility. Our baby boys (20 and 3 months old, currently) are healthy, and of course, your situation can be different, but through observation, we have discovered that the cause of 90% of crying episodes are only due to 3 reasons.
- Being Hungry
- Having Reflux, Colic, Congestion, or Gas
- Being Tired
This is important to note because identifying the reason why your baby is upset makes it much easier to make him feel better.
Let’s review what reflux, colic and digestive gas can look like.
Reflux, Colic, Congestion, & Gas
Try re-Burping him
Standing up and holding him while you bounce and pat his back works most of the time. But tonight, that isn’t working.
This is stressful and can be frustrating. Because you want your baby to feel better, and you need rest too.
Sometimes your baby likes to be rocked so you try sitting in the rocker, placing your baby on your chest, and bouncing him over your shoulder.
Eventually, your baby seems to settle down.
Oh oh!
No wonder he wouldn’t settle down. After lying him down on his flat sleep surface, a big air pocket (with a lot of milk on top) migrated out of your baby’s stomach and into his mouth.
Your baby is dirty, crying, and you have a big mess to clean up. Finally he looks to be feeling better.
Time to cleanup
Almost an hour and a half after waking up, your baby looks like he is almost ready to go back to sleep.
He should eat again because you aren’t sure how much of the milk he threw up, but after the struggle, your little one is too tired to eat again and falls asleep.
The Next Day
Everyone is tired. A couple of cups of coffee get you through the morning, but everyone takes a post-lunch nap. The baby sleeps most of the day and wakes up wanting a bottle.
Ok? So What Should I do?
Resting your baby down on a gently inclined sleep surface**(~10°) can help with digestion and prevent bouts of reflux from occurring, helping gas bubbles slowly migrate up from their belly continuously.
We don’t want to give you the wrong idea. We aren’t claiming that the Cher Bébé baby wedge pillow is a cure-all wonder drug or some magic elixir. But, with most babies, safe and effective elevation of your baby’s head and chest helps improve, or prevent, baby reflux and colic symptoms and can also help with digestion and congestion.
Your Baby’s Sleep Solution
Ok.. it makes sense that safe and effective elevation can have a positive impact on my baby.
But why should I buy a Cher Bébé baby wedge pillow?
The Cher Bébé baby wedge pillow is the best.
Our wedge pillows are well-built and have better features than any of other knock-offs on the market.
Improved features mean improved safety and effectiveness.
Check out this blog post where we discuss all the features in depth.
Made for cribs and bassinets, we have an option for any sleep surface.
*Our friends at The Baby Sleep Site have put together a lot of useful information centered around sleep and feeding schedules for newborns and babies. You can check out some of their sample schedules by clicking here or by clicking either of the links in this paragraph.
**Check out Healthline’s article, “GERD in Infants: How Can I Help My Baby Sleep?” for more information on the topic.
