What a lovely name for a gorgeous baby boy! 👶💕
Not wanting to be critical of the man who got the job of asking the questions at such a historical moment that was being televised live to the world... but did anyone else have an ‘eye roll’ at the first thing he decided to ask?! “Is he sleeping well? Is he a ‘good’ baby?” 🙄
Give the little Master a break! He’s only been in the world a few days. He may be sleeping lots... he may not be sleeping lots. His sleeping may well be up and down for a long time to come, and this does not affect whether he is a ‘good’ baby!
Of course, this man meant no harm, and anyone who has had a baby has been on the receiving end of these ‘standard’ questions. I tend to think that our expectations of brand new babies are more than a little too high. All babies meet different developmental milestones at different times, and for the most part, we’ve got to grips with this... but when it comes to sleep, we aren’t always as ready to accept that short sleep cycles are perfectly normal in the early weeks and months. If they’re not sleeping, there must be a problem... and that problem must have a solution, right? A ‘fix’? WRONG.
Newborns can have broken sleep for a variety of perfectly valid reasons. Just because westernised society puts pressure on us by implying that our new babies should adopt adult sleep behaviours straight after birth, doesn’t mean they’re capable of it, or that it is developmentally appropriate.
Patience and responsive care is always key... your baby will reach each milestone in their own sweet time.
Photos credit: PA