PARENTING ADVICE PLEASE:With the birth of baby girl coming soon, I've decided it's time to start doing some research on how to best get a baby to start sleeping through the night in a timely manner. We didn't get a good nights sleep with Landon until he was 6 months old and with having a toddler already i really don't want to be sleep deprived that long again!
There are lots of theories out there such as "cry it out" and the "always go to your child when they cry method." My question for you parents is did you find a particular book or method that worked for you--and if so, please share. Thanks.
12 comments:
Sorry about that...
We were so blessed with a good sleeper, but I think that a strict bedtime routine is super helpful! It can be a pain to have to leave things (stores, parties, dinners etc.) early to make sure to stay on schedule, but sleeping through the night is SO worth it. I also read in a magazine this past week about parents that slept in shifts...the mom would go to bed at 8:00 pm and sleep until 3:00 am and the dad went to bed at 12:00 and slept until 7:00 am. I thought it was an interesting idea. I love my sleep and so I can total understand trying to find new ways to ensure a good night's sleep. We are going through teething and it feels like our girl is one month old all over again. Best of luck with the labor and delivery, can't wait to see the pictures of the little lady!
keep it dark and quiet. If your baby wakes up in the night, feed her and put her right back to sleep- in the dark as much as you can. It also helps to wake up your kids in the morning so they are awake more in the day, and then they will actually want to go to bed at bedtime. :)
Good luck with your second! Have two kids is definitly an adventure!
I'm going through this right now with Elena. It is stressing me out. I really (really) hated having jack cry it out so i gave up on that whole issue of trying to get him to go to bed on his own until he was 8 or 9 months... I was determined to start young with elena because i heard/read that if you teach them young its easier for them to adjust and things. But when we tried to put her in her crib and just console her with soft pats on the stomach to calm her and let her know we were around she had a meltdown and refused to nurse for like a day and wouldnt be put down, yada yada. But its getting pretty awful again so we're working on it this week. I'm sure i'll blog about it so... if it works i'll let you know. Hopefully your girl won't be as stubborn.
My children were both sleeping through the night by the time they were 2 months old. It is possible.
Children really do have to be taught how to sleep. First is a routine like Jessica said. You do the same thing every time and you stick to it. I truly believe that most kids with a sleeping problem were given that problem rather than developing it on their own. That sounded harsh, wasn't meant to be.
Also, I kept mine in a bassinet for the first month and then the 2nd month moved them to their own rooms. Having them not right next to me helped because I didn't wake at every tiny stir they made. I learned that lots of times I woke up and figured they were up because of all the noise. In their own rooms, those little noises didn't wake me and they tended to put themselves right back to sleep on their own.
And a magic eraser will get every bit of that off your walls!
The magic eraser really works! I use it all over the place.
As far as a sleeping baby. Try to keep her awake more during the day. Just hang in there, she may be like her daddy and sleep through the night at 6 weeks! One can only hope.
ok!!! Dana told me to read "Baby Wise" and said Tanner would be sleeping through the night by 2 months... i thought "NOT POSSIBLE" well...Tanner is just barely 3 mo. and he has been sleeping 7pm-7am for 2 weeks now. and for a few weeks before that he only woke up once at 5am!!!!!!!!! TELL EVERYONE about this book!! ;o) Also, it doesn't involve "just crying it out" sometimes you have to get to that point, but Tanner only cries about 5min and then he's out. LOVE IT!!
Routine is good. Plus put her down when she is sleepy but *before* she falls asleep and let her fall asleep on her own in her bed. If you do this from the beginning, you won't have trouble getting them to fall asleep on their own later. No more 'crying it out.' As far as sleeping through the night - having her in a separate room (even with a baby monitor) helps, like Lee said. And a lot of times, even if they wake up and cry, if you give it a few minutes they will put themselves back to sleep, so don't rush in right away. Hope this helps!
You have geniuses for friends, Kyra. Their advice is sound. "On Becoming Baby Wise" is the book. It talks about the two theories that have been in existence, and how not to do one or the other, but to combine both methods. It even addresses allowing baby to cry. How it won't traumatize them for life, talking about their mothers in counseling 'til they're thirty, blah blah. So long as baby is fed, changed, non-gaseous, comfortable and sleepy, crying to sleep is OK, because it is the biggest way babies release excess energy.
My boys LOVE going to bed. It is kinda funny sometimes!
You'll do great (obviously). :)
I read "Baby Wise" between children, and was extremely excited to find that I already lived that way~or at least 95% of it as I don't agree with 100%. Nevertheless, I knew I was in the right when Reid came, and was comfortable with whatever came!
My friend, not having used this method, had to sleep train her one year old. It worked, but she could have avoided the hassle by reading "Baby Wise".
My old roommate Brittany has a blog for young moms where you can get/give advice on all sorts of things. I know there's some stuff on there about this. You should check it out. :)
http://youngmothersclub.blogspot.com/
like you, i waited WAY to long to get david to sleep through the night.(that won't happen again). luckily i found this book'healthy sleep habits, happy baby' or something close to that. i love it because it gives you different plans, why they work, and then ways to adjust them to fit you. Good tips like an early bed time! it sounds crazy, but putting them to bed earlier helps them sleep sounder and longer. Also, when my sister had her second she was careful NOT to make everyone be quiet during the baby's nap. That way the baby was used to the noise and then the kids playing or doorbell or whatever didn't wake her up. That girl could sleep through anything. it was amazing. Personally, i've never had two kids, so good luck!!!
We were the same with Carter...it took us about 6 months to get him to be awesome at night. For us, we're going to do the whole bedtime routine with a bath and books right from the start. I think just doing whatever you did to make Landon go down will work with Katelyn if you just start it earlier. Good luck!
Post a Comment