Introduction
Sleep is one of the main infants’ activities during the first two years of their life. That is why the focus on examining the infants’ sleeping patterns is important in order to conclude about the factors which can prevent infants from sleeping well and from providing recommendations on how to improve sleeping behaviours. Thus, the topic of the current Early Childhood Project is the Sleeping Patterns, and the purpose is the presentation of the effective recommendations on how to help infants sleep better. The conclusions and recommendations are based on the analysis of the sleeping patterns observed in relation to two female and male infants aged two and six months.
Observation Data
Two families agreed to provide the information and resources for observing their children’s sleeping patterns. Infant A is a Caucasian female aged two months who is brought up in the upper-middle-class family by the 25-year-old mother and 31-year-old father. Infant B is a Caucasian male aged six months which is brought up in the upper-middle-class family by 34-year-old mother and 40-year-old father. The observation was conducted during a week. The results and notes associated with the conducted observation are provided in Table 1.
Table 1. Infants’ Sleeping Patterns.
Analysis
Observed Infant A and Infant B demonstrate different sleeping patterns. Infant A sleeps in the well-aired room of the parents. Infant A is put to sleep in the bassinet, and the parents use the sleeping bag in order to make the infant’s sleep more comfortable. As a result, the infant’s sleep is rather stable. Infant A does not usually wake up more than three times during the night. This pattern can be discussed as regular in relation to the infant’s age.
Parents pay much attention to the issue of safety in the bedroom. The infant is put on the back, and the use of the sleeping bag contributes to creating the safe conditions for sleeping in the bassinet. Furthermore, all the pillows and toys are put away from the bassinet during the night time. These parents’ actions respond to the typical sleep recommendations provided by the specialist regarding the infants’ sleeping patterns (Getting your baby to sleep, 2014). That is why it is possible to note that the regularity in relation to the bedtime and wake up time and the observed positive sleeping pattern support the idea that Infant A has a healthy sleep throughout the night because of the parents follow recommendations strictly.
Infant B sleeps in the crib in his own room. The infant has dressed for the sleep appropriately, but the used blanket is usually not tucked in firmly. As a result, the infant can change the sleeping position easily. The boy often cries and wakes up at night. Infant B can stay awake during 20-30 minutes because the parents choose to ignore the boy’s cries. This sleeping pattern cannot be discussed as healthy. Thus, the parents do not follow such recommendations as to the creation of the safe environment for sleeping where it is stated that children should be swaddled before putting to a bed or the blanket should be tucked in properly to prevent children from moving actively (AAP Expands Guidelines for Infant Sleep Safety and SIDS Risk Reduction, 2011).
The fact that the infant can change the position during the night can cause breathing problems. Furthermore, the infant’s jerks can make him wake up (AAP Expands Guidelines for Infant Sleep Safety and SIDS Risk Reduction, 2011; Baby sleep basics: 3 to 6 months, 2014). The infant’s cries can be discussed as the signals that the boy has certain sleeping problems as well as health problems, and this situation should be examined in detail.
Conclusion
The sleeping pattern and associated behaviours typical for Infant A can be discussed as normal. Any factors which can be discussed as preventing the infant from sleeping healthy were not observed during a week. Thus, the recommendations on changing the approach to getting the infant sleep are not provided. On the contrary, the parents of Infant B should pay more attention to the sleeping pattern of their child. It is possible to recommend placing the crib in the parent’s room, swaddling the infant before sleeping or using the sleeping bag, focusing more attention on the infant’s daily schedule and possible health problems.
References
AAP Expands Guidelines for Infant Sleep Safety and SIDS Risk Reduction. (2011). Web.
Baby sleep basics: 3 to 6 months. (2014). Web.
Getting your baby to sleep. (2014). Web.