Sleep Question - Wylie,TX

I swear by The Baby Whisperer. My daughter has been sleeping throught the night since 3 months. I started the program the day I got home and I know many othere mom's it has worked for. You have to be very strong when visitors want to wake her up but stick to it and it will work!

Hi J.,

I can't recommend the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," highly enough. It is by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. Your daughter sounds a lot like my first child (who actually had GIRD, in addition to her colic). She is now in second grade and continues to have such healthy sleep habits.

This book addresses issues through adolescence - so it is easily worth the investment (which is not much, since it is a paperback).

Good luck! I remember those sleep deprived Mama days - and just had to write you, because this book truly made a difference for my child, and my family.

S.

The first 6 months with my first born was so rough. I didn't have a clue about sleep habits of a baby. The book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth changed our world. I have a great sleeper now and can't imagine what life would be like if I had not learned about this book.

You might look into reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block". I know that the plano library system has a DVD version of it as well. I'm a three time momma, and personally thought it was a great video - the steps outlined in there made perfect sense, but I had never thought to put them all together in a system liked he describes :P

J.:

My son also had colic until about 3 months. At three months we began the Ferber method (see book by Dr. Richard Ferber). It worked so well, that by the time I had to return to work, my son was going to sleep at 8 every evening in his own room and would only wake once for a feeding, that ended around 4 months and he would sleep until 7:30 or 8 in the morning. The main thing is to have a nightly bedtime rountine and she will come to recognize it and expect it. She will have to learn to fall asleep on her own, which may include a few nights of letting her cry (refer to the Ferber method). Also, make sure she is getting her naps during the day, so she is not too tired by the evening. Good luck!

J. -

Dr. William Sears is a well-known and respectable pediatrician who has had written a series of parenting books. His book, The Baby Sleep Book, is highly recommended. Hope this helps.

Good luck!
K

Glad to hear the colic is over--but you'll wish you'd had this sooner! Get a MIRACLE BLANKET (www.MiracleBlanket.com) It's magical and there is nothing out there like it! I PROMISE you! Your baby will be on a schedule in no time and you'll hate to ever give it up!

Enjoy!

S.

Definitely get a good book like the one the last mom mentioned. You'll be referencing it for advice for months to come, and you'll pull it out again for each child you have.
Meanwhile, the main thing to remember is that an over-tired baby will not sleep well, and you'll get in a vicious cycle of crankiness and sleeplessness. It's also important to note that you won't get a REALLY regular sleep pattern until she's about 12 weeks old or about 12 pounds. The 12 pounds thing is really true -- my daughter and son both slept 8 hours in a row at 12 pounds, for her it was at 15 weeks, for him it was at 8 weeks.
At this point, the routine is as much for your sanity as it is for her sleep habits. One thing that really helped me with my second child, who was a screamer, was to focus on the amount of wake time rather than sleep time. Why? Because he didn't show a lot of sleep "cues" until he was already over tired. He'd go from apparently happy to screaming like a banshee before I knew what hit me. It was then I learned to A) watch him more closely for signs of tiredness, and B) that even though he seemed happy, if he'd been awake for an hour, I had to tear myself away from the little darling and put a perfectly happy baby in his crib, even if I just wanted to keep holding and cuddling him. I think we're sort of programmed to "leave well enough alone" and keep stimulating, holding or playing with a baby just because they seem to be enjoying it, and we don't take action until they cry. Often, the cry is the LAST stage of sleepiness. By the time they cry, they are desperate!

At 8 weeks old, she shouldn't be able to stay awake more than an hour or so most of the time. There might be one part of the day where she's awake and alert for close to 2 hours, but that would be an exception rather than the rule. There may even be plenty of times where she's only awake for half an hour after she eats. That's fine too.

First, pick a morning wake time for beginning her routine. If she naturally wakes at 5 for a feeding, start there. Once the routine is in place, you can push that time a little later. From there, encourage a cycle of "sleep, eat, awake" that is about 3 hours from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of the next. This might mean she'll wake at 5am, take a bottle (or nurse), coo and smile at you for 20 minutes, then sleep until 8am, take another bottle, watch you eat breakfast, watch the news, then sleep from 9 to 10:30...etc., etc. From what I learned with my two and swapping sleep stories with other mom friends is that the 3 hours is more of an average rather than a hard rule -- especially if you're nursing. My son might go 2 hours between feedings in the morning, 3 hours between the next two, take a whopper of a nap in the afternoon, thus going 4 hours or so between feedings, then 2 hours, then feed at 7, 8 and 9, then sleep from 10p to 7a. The thing that WAS consistent (except for fedings after 7pm) was the sleep, eat, wake cycle.

Good luck!

I know a lot of people have recommended different books, but I found it helps to look at a lot of different resources and choose one that matches your life style and wants. So, to add another book to the list, "Good Night, Sleep Tight" (with a long subtitle about the sleep lady) is excellent. It's in the library system, and if it's not at your local one you can request for them to send it to the nearest one to pick up. The author is awesome--understanding, tells you what to do, does not make you leave your baby alone crying--it's great! I highly recommend it.