Baby Steps
A Step by Step Conversation about Your Child's Development

Sleep

Bookmark and Share | |
 

Monday, March 15, 2010
by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford

Sleep. It sounds so simple. Yes, if you are a parent, sometimes it seems to be anything but simple.

Yes, I've written about this before: www.planningfamily.com/blog/sleeping-like-a-baby/. Seems like just when you get a few good nights of sleep in, you hit a bump in the road. Maybe it's a cold? Or teething? Or dreams? Or...or...or? Sometimes, it seems all you can do is offer up a best guess. Try something different. Try the same thing.

It's times like these, I like resources like the one I am about to share. It's an easy outline of things that should work. It's the kind of resource that makes me think this whole sleeping thing may not be rocket science. It's the kind of thing that makes me believe our house will be sleeping like a baby tonight.

Here's a few of the nuts & bolts of this article created by www.webmd.com/:

1. Spot sleepiness (i.e. eye-rubbing, yawning, etc.) and follow through when you notice your child is growing tired.

2. Don't wake a sleeping a baby.  If they are asleep in their carseat, simply - okay, may be harder than it sounds at times - un-do the carseat and take your munchkin inside. Or, you can be like a good friend of mine, and simply carry a good magazine or paper with you and enjoy the few extra minutes of solitude in the car with your kiddo.

3. Try to seperate nursing from naps. Nursing can be a beautiful, peaceful thing, both for you and your baby. The trouble may arise when baby will only go to sleep when nursing. Try to seperate these two items, if even by a story or a change of a diaper. In the long run, this will make for better sleep for all.

4. Set a routine. Babies and toddlers may not tell time, but they definitely like rhythms of routine. Routines provide cues to little ones of what is coming next. A consistent routine may just be the thing that is needed to get a munchkin to bed.

5. Don't rush in. This is the one I am totally guilty of. I hear a sneeze, hiccup, or any other noise and you'll find me bolting into my munchkin's room. Unfortunately, many times as soon as she sees my face, it's "bye-bye bed" and "hello mama" - regardless if she is ready to awake or not. I'll work on this one...how about you?

Check out the full article/slideshow...there's some good stuff: www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/sleep-10/slideshow-naps.

How are you sleeping these days? What is working for you and your family?

Zzzzzzzzzz....

 

Comments

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - Wendy

My daughter is 7 1/2 months old and of my 3 children she is the worste sleeper. She was almost 5 months old before she started sleeping more than 2-3 hours at a time at night. During her 5-6 month she was sleeping any where from 6-8 hours at night. Now over the last month she's back to where she was when she was a new newborn. I don't feed her every time she wakes, I don't even pick her up every time she wakes but I can only let her cry for so long. She also doesn't really nap during the day and she's been like that right from birth. It's so frustrating!!!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - amanda

i have a 7 week old baby boy..he sleeps on a secdual of 4 to 5 hours then wakes up to eat then get changed..but he is also a night owl and is very hard sometimes to get him to sleep at night then the day i do wake him up during the day so he can sleep at night but sometimes it doesnt work..i tryed everything to get him back to sleep in his own bed but once i put him down in his crib about and hour later he crys and wants to be held or sleep in our bed..i really dont know wat to do..please help me out!!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thanks for your comments! In terms of putting your 1 month old to sleep on her back, try some soothing techniques such as a quiet "shhhh" sound or gentle touch (even softly having your hand on an arm or tummy). I would close my eyes and stand over my infant while doing this - hoping she would see how mommy was resting too! Definitely putting your baby to bed on their back is best. Also, at 1 month old, I really feel there's nothing at all with holding them to get them a few winks of good sleep - time passes too quickly - enjoy the sights and sounds of a newborn's slumber when you can;-) Thanks for reading - Jeannie

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

my daughter is a month old today and i can get her to sleep but she does not like to sleep on her back and everyone has told me that is the best way. everytime i go to lay her on her back she wakes up crying i have tried everything i can think of and dont know what to do. while im awake i put her on her belly and she sleeps please help.

Monday, March 15, 2010 - Sierra Morgan

I have a newborn baby girl and I have always been one to enjoy my sleep and I have discovered a couple tricks of my own to get her to sleep longer at night. I give her her baths at night time and a warm bottle and she konks out right away. I am still trying to get her to go to sleep earlier but she is kind of a night owl. but she will sleep from 10pm to 4:30 or 5am before she wakes up for a feeding.

Add a Comment

* Title RE: Sleep
Name
* Comment

 

Home > Blog > Sleep

Planning Family offers general information and is for educational purposes only. This information is not a substitute for professional medical, psychiatric or
psychological advice. Nothing on this website should be taken to imply an endorsement of Planning Family or its partners by any person quoted or mentioned.