Can Vaccinations Impact Baby/Toddler Sleep
I can’t tell you how many times I have had a new client sign up for my sleep program. We go through all the steps. Intake call, personalized planning, feed schedule everything.
Right before we get off the phone, mom or dad drops the bomb. “Well, we just have to get the 6 month vaccinations in 3 days, so hopefully that won’t throw things off too much.
(Vinyl record screech)
What?! Wait, wait, wait, you have vaccinations in 3 days?
I am a believer in getting your baby vaccinated, but it can take a toll on little ones. They can spike a fever, feel sick, and yep, you guessed it..it can have an impact on sleep. Vaccinations can make sleep, which may already may not be optimal, even more challenging.
When it comes to your little one getting vaccinated, I lump it in the sickness category. You may ask what the sickness category is.
Well, when your baby is sick, ideal sleep habits go out the window. Like, don’t even give it a second thought.
Think back to when you were little and feeling sick. What did you need most?
Yep, your mom or dad to sit with you and rub your back, lay with you, or maybe even all of the above until you fell asleep because you felt crumby and most likely had a hard time settling into sleep.
So… if you are thinking about starting a sleep plan, look at your calendar. If a wellness visit including vaccinations is within the next 2-3 weeks… WAIT!
Wait to get through the visit to start the new sleep plan. The reason for this…?
Getting new sleep habits in place takes work, energy, and time. And vaccinations are most likely going to cause things to get off track a bit. It seems unnecessary to get started on a sleep plan knowing that in the very near future things will most likely get off track.
If you wait until after vaccinations to follow through with a sleep plan then once your baby is sleeping great, you can spend the next few weeks nurturing and reinforcing these habits, which is a great help.
The next question you may have… My little one is sleeping well, we went through the sleep training process a few months ago and all is great. Next week we have vaccinations coming up… Now what?
The answer to this is pretty logical, which is very opposite to everything else baby sleep. And that is, you reset. You get out your sleep plan from when you first got started and implement it as soon as your little one is feeling well, post shots.
It’s almost like sleep training round 2, EXCEPT (key word here) your baby already has the sleep independent sleep skill. So your baby doesn’t need to develop a new skill, but rather uncover the independent sleep skill that has been buried a bit due to feeling sick.
If you’re reading this, you already know youre doing a great job! Follow your heart Mama.. You got this!
Your Sleep Bestie,
AM
I help you harness the power of sleep training to improve the spirits and lives of you and your family through proper rest. I’d love to talk to you about your little one and help you get back to living life well rested! ❤️
