Diastasis recti is a very common result of pregnancy and birth. It means that the space between your left and right belly muscles has widened, and instead of being flat, the belly now sticks out. While it is rarely serious, it can make the postpartum phase a self-conscious one. Core exercises like 360 canister breathing can help strengthen the abdomen and eliminate or minimize diastatis recti.
360 Canister Breathing – a core workout that helps baby too!
Pregnancy puts so much pressure on the belly that sometimes the muscles in front can’t keep their shape. “Diastasis” means separation. “Recti” refers to your ab muscles called the “rectus abdominis.” While it is rarely dangerous, this “pooch” can cause pain or even a hernia, but more commonly causes those in the postpartum phase to feel self-conscious.
What’s 360 Canister Breathing?
By using what we call 360 canister breathing, you can strengthen your pelvic floor. It is named 360 breathing because the goal is for the ribs and torso expand in a 360 degree direction. This means that we’re not just breathing into our chest or our belly, but also expanding into our sides and back.
Here’s how to do it:
On your inhale, expand the belly, ribcage and pelvic floor. On a long, slow exhale, shush your baby by lifting the pelvic floor (think Kegel!), contract your ribs in and pull in and up on your abdomen. The 360 canister breath is the foundation of postpartum recovery, and adding a ‘shhh’ to the exhale makes it super-powered as it increases the contraction in your core. If you find yourself shushing for 15 minutes, that’s a solid core workout!
Bonus: You can strengthen your core and help heal diastasis while you shush your newborn to sleep! Double Bonus for arm strength if you’re soothing twins!
This tip comes courtesy of Kendra Fitzgerald – PCES, TBMM-CES, CPT, and CYT. Co-founder of Devoted Mamas, Kendra is a pregnancy & postpartum corrective exercise specialist, diastasis, pelvic floor & running coach, and mom of two boys. Additionally, Devoted Mamas is dedicated to helping mothers create the massive strength and steadiness needed to journey through motherhood confidently. Connect with Kendra on Instagram or Facebook!
updated, April 17, 2024 – Chicago’s Most Trusted Postpartum Doula Certificate Now Available shares the basics of our evidence based newborn care education. Successful completion of the Newborn and Postpartum Support (NAPS) curriculum also means students get listed on the national NAPS Registry.
Chicago’s Most Trusted Postpartum Doula Certificate Now Available – Online Options
Virtual newborn care and breastfeeding classes are hosted at Teachable. They include a quiz after each module so night nannies and postpartum doulas can be sure they have mastered the most up to date care and safety protocols. Additionally they are routinely updated as safe sleep and other newborn and postpartum care recommendations become available. This class is the online version of the material awarded local government contract #2000001276. Let Mommy Sleep is also a proud Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep partner.
Chicago area parents can contact us anytime for personal and in home classes too. We serve everywhere Riverwood to Arlington Heights, from Streeterville to Northbrook, Downers Grove and beyond. In-person classes for parents are taught by our Night Nurses (RN) and veteran Postpartum Doulas. You’ll learn safe sleep, the basics of infant CPR and emergency care, how to swaddle, how to diaper, how to know if your newborn is feeding well and much more.
This place is a godsend for parents. Erin is very responsive and quickly matched us with a night nanny, Elene, when our daughter was born. Elene was fantastic! Always available and genuinely enjoys what she does…(more)
RM- Lake Forest, IL
Your Baby Nurse will personally teach you and as many friends and family members as you wish and also remains on-call via text or phone. This ensures you are getting answers immediately and ongoing as you need them!
Nanny agencies and home health care organizations are also welcome to contact us! We have taught postpartum and newborn care to: Nanny Next Door, Muslim Nannies and more.
For Chicago based baby care experts and postpartum doulas who have already earned the newborn care certificate and wish to register with us, apply now.
Last week, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, (AAP) revised developmental milestones for children age 2 months to 5 years. The purpose of the updates is to help parents identify autism and developmental delays in their children, so that helpful interventions may occur earlier. Early intervention is a key factor in allowing children to reach their full potential. Baby Milestones: Updated details how milestone evaluation has changed since 2004.
Parents can use the milestone checklists to keep track of their infant, toddler and child’s development.
Baby Milestones: Updated – What’s Different?
Clearer Language and Narrower Age Ranges
According to the AAP, the revised developmental milestones “identify the behaviors that 75% or more of children can be expected to exhibit at a certain age…”. In the past, milestones contained vague language such as, “At this age baby may…” or “this behavior begins between 12 -17 months…” The updated guidance now includes specific checklists for ages 15 and 30 months to bridge any gaps between the previously longer ranges.
Development as a Continuing Discussion Between Families and Primary Care Providers
The new guidance is clear to say that parents know their children best and should not wait to contact a doctor with concerns. Further, that early childhood development should be an ongoing conversation between parents and doctors. To facilitate this conversation, the new guidelines contain a specific checklist for each well-child visit ( 2 months, 4 months, 6 months etc.) rather than checklists by age range.
Doctors and clinicians will also ask open-ended questions such as Is there anything your child does that concerns you? This will also encourage child development as a discussion.
Baby Milestones: Updated – Ongoing Resources and Tips for Parents to Use at Each Age
Expanded, appropriate tips parents can incorporate into developmental learning are now available. For example: Use “back and forth” play with your baby. When your baby smiles, you smile; when he makes sounds, you copy them. This helps them learn to be social.
The Milestone Moments checklist (below) details developmental milestones from ages 2 months to 5 years. The CDC’s free App, Milestone Tracker is also available. This may be especially helpful to parents of twins or children of different ages.
Baby Milestones: Updated, ages 2 months to 5 years
Many parents are looking for a routine to help their baby have a consistent daytime routine and eventually sleep through the night. Baby Sleep Schedule for a 10-11 Month Old provides a sample to get started.
Baby Sleep Schedule for a 10-11 Month Old
This is the latest in our social sleep consult series and is taken directly from one of our sleep consultations. If we can ever help with your baby’s sleep just give us a call or use #AskLMS on social media and we’ll help as best we can. Before we begin, make sure Pediatrician:
Rules out any physical or medical conditions that are affecting sleep habits.
Gives the okay to begin sleep training, meaning about 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
10 Month Old
Once you get the pediatrician’s approval and you are sure baby is not waking overnight due to hunger because s/he’s taking in all of his calories between 6:30am and 10pm, you can begin sleep training using whatever sleep training method makes you most comfortable. The method we defer to is called Slingshot which is basically staying close to baby but not intervening as they find their way to “get” to sleep. You can find step-by-step instructions on how to do Slingshot and get baby to sleep through the night here.
Things to remember:
THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE. It is FINE if your schedule differs, but the goal is to have defined eating times to set the stage for long sleep overnight.
We are just using 6:30am as a starting point. If baby wakes earlier or later, simply adjust the schedule accordingly. For example, if he wakes at 7:00a, adjust this schedule forward 1/2 hour.
You are aiming for about 28 oz of milk per day as well as 3 meals of solids (which you already do).
We are teaching baby to have a start and an end to the day rather than have a 24 hour schedule.
If you have a question on helping your twins or single baby sleep through the night, contact us on Facebook or Twitter using #AskLMS.
Updates, Aug 1, 2023 – Few infant sleep issues are as frustrating as naps. We break down baby’s awake and sleep cycles week by week here in Baby Sleep: Naps Decoded to help you understand when baby is ready for a rest. This allows for more sleep and fewer meltdowns.
Newborns and infants sleep differently than adults. There are several reasons for this and once we understand them we can work with their natural rhythms to help them sleep longer and without fuss.
They’re tiny! – Newborns have small stomachs so they need to eat frequently. Their tummies can only hold small amounts of breast milk or formula and this nutrition gets digested quickly. As a result, they wake up frequently to feed, typically every 2 to 3 hours.
Hunger, need for comfort or growth spurts – Babies usually wake up if they’re hungry, have a wet or dirty diaper, or are experiencing discomfort due to issues like teething or gas. Additionally periods of growth mean their bodies and brains are developing rapidly, leading to more frequent waking during the night.
Immature sleep patterns: Newborns have an immature sleep-wake cycle, and it takes time for their circadian and ultradian rhythms to develop. This means that their sleep is not yet regulated by day and night patterns, and they have shorter sleep cycles compared to adults.
Melatonin isn’t Present Yet!: Just like #3 above, your newborn is still developing. Newborns receive melatonin, widely known as the sleep hormone from the placenta but don’t start developing their own until they’re about 8-9 weeks old.
Is my infant sleeping enough
Baby Sleep: Naps Decoded – Circadian Rhythm
Circadian rhythm is nature’s mechanism to regulate our awake and sleep times over the course of 24 hours. Within this daily cycle are ultradian rhythms, which are 30- 90 minute wakeful/sleepy patterns. This 30-90 minute pattern repeats over the course of 24 hours. There are a lot books written about baby sleep and getting baby on a schedule and they’re all based on this cycle. This can be confusing , so let’s break down how this pattern works:
Ultradian Rhythm
Circadian rhythm and sleep cycles are controlled by serotonin and melatonin.
Serotonin produces alertness during the day and is triggered by daylight.
Melatonin produces sleepiness during the night and is triggered by darkness.
If we visualize the cycle using a 6 month old for example, baby is wakeful at the top of the curve (45 minutes after waking up) and then sleepy at the bottom of the cycle (90 minutes after waking). So, about 5-10 minutes before the 90 minute mark is when they should be in their crib, prepared to sleep.
Like this:
Infant Sleep Cycles visual
Here’s the tricky part though! In full-term newborns, melatonin isn’t fully produced until weeks 9-12 so they don’t start out on a 90 minute cycle, they build up to it. Getting baby down to rest before their internal “clock dings” at the end of their time awake. This is key to ensuring baby doesn’t enter into another wakeful period. This is one thing that makes them fussy and can lead to being overtired.
Remember: Baby doesn’t start to go down for a nap at the end of their 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes awake. They should already be in their crib at the 30, 45, 60 or 90 minute mark.
Here’s a breakdown of newborns’ basic awake and sleep times:
Newborn Sleep Expectations
Baby Sleep: Naps Decoded
Weeks 0-2: Baby is awake for a maximum of 30 minutes. Most of this time is spent feeding and baby will appear sleepy even during wakeful periods, often falling back asleep with no help at all.
Weeks 3-8: Baby is awake for a maximum of 45 minutes. You’ll notice baby is more wakeful around week 8; s/he won’t just go right back to sleep like s/he used to and may need your help to stay asleep. Baby wearing, white noise, giving a pacifier to help sleep are all fine to do because at this age baby needs your help to get and stay sleep.
Weeks 8-12: Baby is working on and eventually awake for 60 minutes. Napping will become longer during these weeks as well but it’s perfectly fine and even recommended to help baby with napping when s/he pops up after 10-15 minutes or so by giving a pacifier, using white noise etc. You’re not creating bad habits, baby simply needs a little help to not fully awaken because the systems that make seratonin and melatonin are not quite mature yet.
Weeks 12 – 18: Baby is working on and eventually is awake for 90 minutes. Baby is even more alert and still may need help getting and staying asleep. If your goal is to have baby eventually sleep through the night independently, try not to pick baby up if she wakes before a 90 minute nap is done. Instead, stay near to comfort with patting on the back or giving pacifier while baby is still asleep, but exhibiting signs of waking up like twitching or moving her head back and forth.
Weeks 18 -24:Baby is awake for 90+ minutes and consolidates naps now. There may be fewer naps that vary in length but a nap of at least 90 minutes will provide adequate rest. S/he will usually be awake for some increment of 90 minutes (11⁄2 hours, 3 hours, 4 1⁄2 hours).
Baby Sleep: Are They Sleeping Enough
What’s Next?
If your goal is to have baby sleep long stretches overnight without feeding, the 4 month well check is a great time to start talking with your pediatrician. These longer stretches of sleep are really just one big nap consolidation! They can help you to know whether baby is developmentally ready to sleep for at least 6 hours uninterrupted.
If you’re ready for your baby to sleep through the night, start with an appropriate routine. While the cry-it-out method gets a lot of press, sleeping through the night can be a gradual process where baby’s body adjusts to less milk overnight, making sleep a natural next step to waking from hunger. This is detailed here.
Baby Sleep: Naps Decoded – Important Notes
Sometimes even though we’re doing everything right, babies cry. A LOT.
They might cry because of colic, could be overstimulation, reflux or any other reason only known to your baby. Even if you follow this blog or any sleep advice exactly as it’s written, babies are not robots. You’re doing a great job, but if you’re concerned about baby’s crying or health, please contact your pediatrician.
These guidelines are for full-term babies without any health issues. Preemies and twins are often born early and therefore smaller than full-term newborns. Many singletons also arrive sooner than expected or bring health issues so these guidelines might need to be modified. Some babies need to be woken up to feed to gain weight for example. You can never go wrong with patience, following doctors’ orders and responding to your baby’s needs.
