The things parents do for sleep…

Your baby (and his sleep) are precious things.

As I am babysitting my friend’s 10-month-old, and he won’t stop crying (surely it’s not me…right?), I am fondly (and not so fondly) remembering those days with my own 2 children.  It’s crazy the lengths we sleep-deprived parents will go to to get our kids to sleep.  Whether it’s a specific pacifier, a soft blanket with just the right texture, or even a special stuffed duck-billed platypus, our hearts (and therefore our wallets) know no bounds.  For you parents just starting out on this crazy journey, I’d love to pass on what I learned about babies and their sleep.

Tips for getting baby to sleep

• It’s great to read books on sleep, but no one has your child.  It’s your job as the parent to study your child and know their sleepy signs, such as yawning, rubbing eyes, pulling ears/hair, etc.
• Put your baby down for a nap or for the night before he or she starts crying/fussing.  This is tricky, but if you can catch your child as they’re staring off into space and not yet irritable enough to fuss, you’ll have a much better put-down.
• If you are comfortable/successful in nursing/feeding/rocking your baby to sleep, then by all means do it.  On the other hand, if that doesn’t work for you for whatever reason, don’t worry about a few minutes of crying.
• Reconcile yourself to the fact that your kid may not be a marathon napper.  I worked for longer naps for my daughter for over a year and finally took what I got.  We were both much happier.  My son, on the other hand, snoozes for hours.  Again- each child is different
• We love white noise- specifically, portable sound machines that can travel with us.  It may be that our kids don’t really need the extra sound to block potentially intrusive noises, but the peace of mind white noise brings is worth it.  I am not the mom who is afraid of the phone ringing or the door bell chiming.  I am confident my kids’ sleep will not be disturbed.

Regardless of what anyone says, you do know best.  You may not be able to give your child a check-up, but you do know how they work.  I think the hardest thing is surviving the first few months and learning how each child works.  Once you do notice the patterns, though, you can roughly predict what they need and when- you can even schedule in a nap for yourself!