So my daughter was born on Oct 6th, and I've been operating on little sleep.... any strategies from parents out there on getting your baby to sleep through the night, or sleep for longer stretches? Thanks for the help....
Our kids only needed a ride around the block and then they were out just brought the car seat in and they slept in it on the floor And of course congrats! too
Here's some good old fashioned MOM advice here. Feed the baby as late in the evening/night as possible. I used to make sure my son ate late as possible to fill his tummy, and when he got to 4-5 months, I'd add a little substance (rice cereal and lots of milk) to his feeding. What wakes them is hunger, often, and their tummies are so small... they are hungry often! After 3 months of no rest, my husband did the most amazing and smart thing, but to be truthful with you, I had no idea till my son Thomas was 2 years old that he'd done this! By then, it was too late to be pissed, and I knew he'd done what had to be done. He unhooked the baby monitor so I did not hear the crying, and when I woke after a decent night's sleep (6 hours, wow) - I rejoiced that the baby had slept thru what I felt was "the night"... and he did this for several nights in a row till my baby learned to adjust his lil time clock. But, I understand that he (my husband) also laid there awake and timed the crying when he heard it start - he had hearing like Superman anyway - and if it had continued past a certain time frame, he was prepared to go in there. It helped.
First of all, congrats! Now, you said the baby's about 1 month old, so in that instance I would suggest whiskey. BEING THAT SHE IS A MONTH OLD THOUGH, I'd say you can get at least TWO blissful nights with one bottle... no need to give it all to the little bundle in just one night. Of course I kid... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Couldn't tell you much as I'm 23 and single with no kids, but I wish you the best of luck, and again, congrats!
If I'm not mistaken, I think my parents did something that really helped them sleep through the night. They shipped me off to the grandparents for a week! Brad, that works with adults too!!! :stupid:
You're a bit early to be dreaming of such luxuries...rarely babies will begin sleeping through the night at about 1 month of age, but 4 months is a good time to start trying for it. My baby started sleeping through the night about a week or so past her 3 month birthday. My twins at their 4 month. A few hints... 1)Get her on a schedule and stick to it like your life depends on it!! Space out feeds to every 3 hours or so to start then every 4 hours at around 2 month or when she'll tolerate it. 2)When she wakes at night make those times as unexciting as possible. Keep lights very dim, no playing cooing. Change the diaper once after the feed and go back to bed. 3)She needs to learn to put herself to sleep and back to sleep...that means don't hold and rock her until she's completely asleep. Rather establish a night time routine, rock her until drowsy then put her down and, if she cries, let her. DON'T pick her back up...after she's cried for 30 sec or a minute (use your watch) you can put a hand on her tummy, coo and talk to her to settle her down. Walk away...as she gets better you can stretch out the allowed crying times but never pick her up...once she learns that crying will trigger that response from you it becomes Pavlovian and she'll go longer and longer until she achieves the response from you that she wants. 4)You didn't say, but be sure your spouse is sharing the night time duties so one of you can sleep. You can alternate feeds/changes during a single night or just have one of you do a whole night then alternate nights...that will permit at least one of you to get some needed rest. 5)Be patient but consistant, it gets better. 6)I actually don't completely agree with Dianne's suggestion of the very late feed...it will help initially, but eventually you'll find that that very full tummy leads to very full diapers which will awaken her...we try to finish the last feed at least an hour, and usually 1.5 hours before bed time, that usually gives us a chance to change a very wet diaper and prolonged time until the next wet one. Also, the chances of symptomatic reflus is reduced. The reflux could cause night time wakenings. Good luck, have fun!! I strongly recommend both of these books for further guidance since sleep problems change during all phases of life and this will help you understand what's causing them and how to solve them. "Solve Your Child's sleep problems", by Ferber "Sleeping through the night", by Mindell
Or, you might have to put up with it for over 11 months, like we did, twice. It wasn't every 2 hours for the whole time of course, but neither daughter slept a full 8 until they were nearly a year old. It gradually got better. With #2, my wife and the baby slept in another room for the first month so I could get some sleep. Not if one of you doesn't have the proper equipment.
True, it makes it difficult, but your wife can pump and you can give a bottle...1 month is an OK time to start introducing that!
Evan that is such an addorable pic!!! Hey what's with this spose sharing stuff???? I was in FULL SUPPORT of my wife breast feeding LOL!
Evan, Great looking kids (they must take after their mother ). The photographer is pretty good too. Are you still dabbling in professional photography?
They definately take after thier mom in the looks and brains dept!! Though Brendan (on the right with spiked hair) looks a lot like me. Still doing some photography, but not as much as before...more for pleasure than pro stuff.
Wow, what a great picture, Evan! I *love* the denim thing and the very different hair look on the boys. Lovely kids. You are blessed.
Congratulations, Pshady! All of the advice presented is good. The important thing to remember is that you *will* get many full nights of sleep again. It may take awhile, but it will happen. This is just a temporary price for a life-long gift. :sleeping:
Congratulations, pshady! My wife and I tried damned near every suggestion that has been posted in this thread with our eldest. Ultimately, we decided it was best just to wait until freshman year in college (now only about 9 months away).
My step-father gave me beer when I was about one year old and onward. I think he might have been inspired by an old jazz or blues song with the refrain, "Run and get the bucket, give the baby some beer" (repeat 3 times). Once upon a time, beer was sold in buckets. You had to supply your own bucket. I'm not sure I'd recommend this, though. Probably would help the baby to sleep, but I was an alcoholic by the age of 15 or thereabouts and didn't finally kick it for good until I was about 25.
