[blindkid] Sleep pattern for blind 5 month old

Wed Feb 12 14:16:40 UTC 2014

Some thing that is good for infants with no sight is a dangle bar easy to make pvc make a u shape with feet to stand on own take string  or we used the shower rings put toys a texture bell water container with rice and such and layer her down and put over her and have them almost on top of her this teaches her also to reach out of her comfert zone just watch things r not to have what they hit will come back

From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.

----- Reply message -----
From: "Brandy W., with Discovery Toys" <ballstobooks at gmail.com>
To: "'Blind Kid Mailing List,	\(for parents of blind children\)'" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blindkid] Sleep pattern for blind 5 month old
Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2014 6:47 am

I have cared for infants for 20 years, and the amount of sleep a baby needs
varies so so much. My experience is that many 5 month olds still take 2 or 3
naps ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours, and sleep 10-12 hours a night. Make
sure she is engaged in some way music, textures, toys where she can happen
upon them. Maybe look up the Little room and make one at home. She may sleep
extra if she is board. Kind of like infants in the car. A combination of
nothing to see, and the motion puts them right to sleep. So much of how a
baby entertains them self in infancy is visual so try to provide that in
other ways. Remember to talk about what you are doing even if it seems
boring. Narrate. Mommy is cooking dinner and talk about what you are doing.
Mommy is picking up your sisters toys. I'm putting her doll in the basket.
Language will likely come early since it will be something she can focus on.

Bran

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of DrV
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 12:16 AM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Sleep pattern for blind 5 month old

Hi Alicia,
As a general rule it's normal for a 6 month old to sleep roughly 12 hours
per night & take 2 one hour naps during the day. There is of course a wide
range. A 5 month old will likely sleep a bit more. The exact amount of sleep
probably isn't as important as the quality of how a child acts & engages
while awake.
I trained in General Pediatrics many many many moons ago at a great program.
Based on experience & our interactions with Pediatricians & Pediatric sub
specialists over the years, I think it is fair to say that most of them have
had little training in blindness/VI & most have a suboptimal functional
understanding of blindness & the true spectrum of how it may impact
developmental milestones. There are Developmental Pediatricians, even some
with experience in blindness, but they too may have misconceptions.
Developmental milestones the first year of life tend to focus on birth, 2m,
4m, 6m, 9m & 1yr. There is a lot of overlap & you need to extrapolate for a
5 m/o. Here are links to the CDC Developmental Milestones (
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-4mo.html &
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-6mo.html). These
milestones aren't written in stone & vary a bit from site to site & chart to
chart.
A good place to start is with your Pediatrician, though there is a decent
chance he/she won't really be experienced with blindness & the blindness may
throw them off, so make sure that what he/she says seems to make sense.
An early childhood interventionist should also know, but their experience
with totally blind children & judgment can also vary greatly.
Best wishes,
Eric V

On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 12:29 PM, Alicia Trust
<aliciatrust08 at gmail.com>wrote:

> All,
>
> We have a blind baby girl who is 5 months old now. I hate to seem like 
> I'm complaining, but she seems to be sleeping a lot. We don't want to 
> be missing signs of a problem. How much really is too much? I don't 
> remember our sighted daughter (now 4 years old) sleeping so much.
>
> Thanks,
> Alicia and Matt
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