Sleep? What's that?

Sleep?  What's that?   But believe it or not- IT IS POSSIBLE!

The greatest challenge I see parents facing with young children  is the quantity and quantity of sleep their baby really needs.  Most parents are taken back when they see how many hours their child really needs to sleep which will.  Learning our baby’s cues helps eliminate the guess work and allows you to follow their natural body patterns, timing, and anticipate your baby’s needs.   Well slept children will be happy, adaptable, and able to handle changes.

 If your child seems fussier, crying, and melting more than they’re happy it’s important to make sure they are getting the sleep they need.  It’s also important to refer to your pediatrician to make sure there are no underlying medical concerns keeping your child from sleeping like apnea, reflux, allergies, or asthma. 

Once good sleep patterns are established and baby knows how to put themselves to sleep- developmental milestones, illness, and life events may disrupt sleep.  Having predictable routines and consistent parental responses are key to keeping sleep habits in place. 

Here are 5 ways you can  help your child sleep through the night.  If you feel like you've tried everything and it's still not working then sleep training with a sleep coach could help you gain new perspective into your sleep situation, which can turn sleep around in 2 to 3 weeks if you are ready for the transformation!

Help, My baby won't sleep!

Are you wondering why your baby won't sleep?  of can't sleep?

Join me from the comfort of your home on March 16, 2012 which is International Sleep Day for a FREE teleconference to help your baby, toddler, or preschooler get the sleep they need.

Learn the reasons why your child might not be sleeping and what you can do to make changes to your child's sleep habits when you understand the science of sleep.

Have a sleep question? Bring it to the discussion.

Join me for this FREE event by registering at http://bit.ly/A6c4q0

What babies really think

Awake Training for Parents: 



Dear Fellow Babies,

OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 5 months. The first few months were great -- I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, around the clock. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse.

I've talked to other babies, and it seems like its pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 5-6 months. Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep -- they just don't need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.

It goes like this:

Night 1 -- cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.

Night 2 -- cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3 -- every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I know it's hard! But she really does not need the sleep; she is just resisting the change.. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

The other night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with:

-My sleep sack tickled my foot.
-I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
-My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
-I burped, and it tasted like rice cereal. I hadn't eaten rice cereal since breakfast, what's up with that?
-The dog said "ruff". I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.
-Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
-Too hot, too cold, just right -- doesn't matter! Keep crying!!
-I had drooled so much my sheets were damp and I didn't like it touching me.
-I decided I was sick of all the pink in my room so I cried.

It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.

Sometimes my Mommy will call for reinforcements by sending in Daddy. Don't worry Daddies are not set up for not needing sleep the way Mommies are. They can only handle a few pats and shhing before they declare defeat and send in the Mommy.

Also, be wary of the sleep sheep with rain noises. I like to give Mommy false hope that listening to the rain puts me to sleep sometimes I pretend to close my eyes and be asleep and then wait until I know Mommy is settling back to sleep to spring a surprise cry attack. If she doesn't get to me fast enough I follow up with my fake cough and gag noise that always has her running to the crib. At some point I am positive she will start to realize that she really doesn't really need sleep.

P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out.

Trust me.

Sincerely,
Baby B

I'm not sure of where I found this.. but whom ever the author is, did a brilliant job!  Thanks for sharing the baby perspective on sleep training!