I've read and heard a lot of tips and advice to get a baby sleeping. Some scared me. Some I tried and failed at. Some actually worked for me. Getting a baby to sleep, particularly through the night seems to be a touchy subject with many moms. I'm sharing what I've learned and what finally worked for me.
- Noise: I used to think when I was getting McKayla down for a nap or down for the night that it had to be quite in the house. I soon learned that any noise could potentially wake her. Then I realized that noise was ok. I would leave the t.v. or radio on. I would talk in a regular voice and not whisper. She would still sleep. So when some random noise would occur that would have normally startled her awake had it been silent, like the dogs suddenly bolting through the doggy door to get a squirrel, she was now sleeping through. I'm not saying to blare your music, but don't walk on eggshells in dead silence. I really believe that hearing this normal background noise is comforting to baby as reassurance that you're still there. During the day, she napped downstairs with/around me, but at night I would put her in our quiet bedroom. To prevent the dead silence, I used a sound machine to help. That way when my husband and I would come up to bed, our creeky door, sloshing toilet, mechanical toothbrushes, and loud sheets wouldn't wake her. She is 23 months now and I still use the sound machine, mainly on white noise, for her naps and bedtime. But instead of having it on all night, I'm utilizing the built in timer to go off in 90 minutes for two reasons. One, she broke the plug-in adapter and I have to use batteries which would need to be replaced every 2-3 days. Two, a wise woman told me that kids were losing their hearing from sound machines. I honestly don't believe the volume that I have her sound machine set to would do such a thing, but it's still in the back of my mind. Will actually have to research that for verification. Another thought on sound machines is I've been told by my brother, Zack, that the best sleep actually comes from complete silence and complete darkness. We just don't have those kinds of variables available in our household to satisfy these conditions, so I'm sticking with have a little noise so as not to startle. (Another reason why I have sound machine set to timer....another thing in the back of my mind.)
- Napping as a baby was usually never a problem with McKayla. It started to be when I was trying to get her to nap in her crib when she was older and more aware of what was going on. Some days she would just lay down and sleep, but those days were fading. I tried some non-cry-it-out methods, but they just made her worse and she just wouldn't nap at all. What worked best for me was her crying it out to get her to nap and sleep at bedtime (I would still get up with her to nurse and change her diaper whenever she'd wake at night). Nearly a year ago now, we moved to another state and a month or so after settling in, she started to stop napping again. And I folded. I would let her nurse to sleep on my lap and either I would watch t.v. or nap with her till she woke. But I was stuck there. I had to make sure I had enough to drink or snack on and I couldn't repsosition and I coudn't pee. I was still nursing and changing her diaper 1-2 times during the night every night. A few months later, I found out I was pregnant. After visiting McKayla's clinic for her routine appointments, her pediatrician was the one to tell me that for my and the new baby's health that I needed to get McKayla sleeping through the night and napping on her own. Which meant getting her off of nursing (I was trying to nurse her till she was two) and letting her cry it out. She promised McKayla would be sleeping through the night within three days. At a year and a half, I stopped nursing McKayla and attempted letting her cry it out....again. It worked. In the estimated time, three days later, McKayla was sleeping through the night. It was such a relief. I was finally getting a full night's sleep and so was she. I was able to decide during her nap if I wanted to clean or work on a project or nap myself, in the position I chose. (I still kind of wish I could have nursed her till two, but when I got pregnant, nursing became so painful. Plus she was biting....and laughing about it....then biting harder to my screams and pleas to let go. It was an easy out for me once I was advised to stop.) Something else that has been working for McKayla these days, mainly for her naps is music. The type of video monitor I have has a lullaby option and I'll turn this on if she's fighting a nap and she'll be asleep within five minutes. Again, this is what worked for me. I know many parents who have had circumstances work differently for them and they don't use the cry-it-out method. Best of luck in which ever path you take.
- I just discovered a blog that changed my life! It had my two-month-old son sleeping through the night! http://pinterest.com/pin/371898881703125940/
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