I feel your pain… There is nothing worse than a sick little bubba! Whether its teething, an ear infection, a fever, snotty and congested colds, fluey symptoms, tummy bugs… the list goes on and on!

What’s worse is your baby can’t tell you what’s wrong and we quickly put on our doctor’s hat to investigate the cause. Your baby will become really fussy and clingy, so what ever it is you are dealing with, your bubba will need loads of support, care and cuddles to get over their delicate state.

If you have been working on your baby’s sleep and you are now in a panic you will undo all of your hard work.  Don’t stress! Your little one’s new skills don’t simply disappear and you won’t go back to square one again, I promise. You have dedicated weeks to achieve your new sleep goals, this is another bump in your journey of parenthood which will occur time and time again. So here are a few tips to help guide you through this stormy period.

WHAT TO DO…

Seek the right advice:

Have your baby checked by a medical practitioner and follow their recommendations. Buy the medicine or pain relief your baby needs to ease their comfort and speed their recovery. Many illnesses slip through and are classed as just ‘teething’ where it could be something more sinister like an ear infection. So have your baby checked by your GP first.

If you are about to begin your training or work on improving your little one’s sleep:

• It is best to wait until after your little one has recovered. Just get in touch and we put your consultation or training on hold.
• If you have already had a consultation, a refresher chat can be booked just before we resume our sessions again.

If your little one falls sick whilst you are sleep training:

• We immediately hit the pause button and wait for a full recovery. Wait till your baby is in better spirits before proceeding with the remainder of the program. It is unfair to expect him to learn anything new when feeling poorly.
• Wait at least 24-48 hours of no symptoms and pick up from where you left off.
• In the mean time, let your baby sleep as much as he needs without fearing it will push out his bedtime. Restoration of the immune occurs during sleep so he will recover faster if you allow the extra time of slumber.
• Still work with your wake windows but allow your little one to wake up naturally when he is ready.
• If he is showing tired signs before his wake window is up just offer more sleep.

If you have finished your training:

Well done! You are well underway with your stress free days and enjoying your sleeping angel. But don’t freak out if he falls sick, everything your little one has learnt will not be forgotten. Remembering that your little one will restore and get better faster during sleep, should ease your mind to follow his demands for more sleep. Just let him rest it off.

• Allow your little one to sleep as much as he needs.
• Your baby will be super sensitive, so do tend to him and support as needed.
• Avoid leaving your baby to cry out for long periods of time, if baby has a fever, crying will only make things worse.
• Your baby may need extra night feeds. Please feed as needed until your baby is back to good health. But avoid becoming a dummy.
• Support your baby with your comforting touch and soothing voice but try to not bring back the associations you worked to change like rocking or feeding back to sleep.
• Don’t worry that you will undo all your teachings.
• Remember new habits are picked up in three days, so just as quickly as he may pick up a new habit on the reverse you can undo it and change it back.
• Once your baby is feeling better start back on your routine from 7am.