Let's Talk About Sleep, Baby

How do we “parent” our babies to sleep?

My baby is a good baby. A baby that sleeps and rarely cries. She smiles big non-gas-induced smiles.

My baby is a happy baby and her parents can take a little credit for that.

The baby sleeping well has become one of my top priorities. I’ll admit, in the beginning the motivation to help her sleep was a little selfish, but I am starting to realize how important it is for her to sleep soundly and often.

The first few weeks of Baby’s life, The Happiest Baby on the Block was our bible. Author Dr.  Harvey Karp teaches readers the 5 S’s that will miraculously lull your baby to sleep:
1. swaddle
2. swing
3. side/stomach position
4. shush
5. suck

Guess what? It works. Mike became a pro at getting the baby to sleep. He used a SwaddleMe to make the job even easier.

Then night times got even easier when I started feeding her in bed.

Day times haven’t been too tough either. But I had been craving some kind of routine, and it seemed baby would only fall asleep while eating. Or nibbling. She won’t take a pacifier which means I wound up sitting around with this tiny creature attached to my boob for hours.

One friend said something revolutionary to me when I asked what she does to get her 7-week-old to sleep. She couldn’t remember where she read it, but someone wrote that we have to “parent our babies to sleep.”

Of course. It’s so simple you might think I’m joking, but the simple statement changed my whole way of thinking. Why was I just waiting for my baby to fall asleep? Surely the little thing needs a little help! (I’ve since read that most babies under six months shouldn’t be expected to fall asleep on their own.) Why was I expecting her to fall asleep on her own? Put a little effort into it, mama, I told myself.

So how do we “parent” our babies to sleep? Julie who helped enlighten me on the subject said she put her baby in a MamaKangourou wrap and stood in front of the kitchen fan (white noise) while she swayed the little girl to sleep.

I started doing the same, substituting the fan for a YouTube clip, which Mike had been using to shush her to sleep in the first few weeks. He also downloaded a couple of rain and water tracks to his iPod so we can get her to sleep in rooms other than the office.

Then a couple days ago, another friend recommended the book The 90 Minute Baby Sleep Program by Dr. Polly Moore, and it all started coming together. Her nine-month-old sleeps on cue and she swears it’s because she started using Dr. Moore’s techniques when the baby was two months old. They thought the baby had “colic” but it turns out she was just overtired. Apparently this happens a lot.

With many friends of toddlers who have sleep issues, I figured it was worth a shot! I’ve only had the book for less than 24 hours and I have to say, I’m a fan. It works really well as a compliment to Karp’s book too.

He teaches us how to soothe a baby. She teaches us when to do it.

Did I ever think I’d be scheduling my baby’s sleep time? Oh no. Living by a schedule?! Not something I chose to do in pre-baby life, why start now? The program taught in this book helps parents to work with their baby’s natural sleep patterns. What’s more natural than that?

This all makes sense to me because sleep (and a lot of it) is essential for the baby’s development.
A well-rested baby is a happy baby. A happy baby who has happy, well-rested parents.