Scheduling Baby?
So, tonight I did some research on how to get babies to go to sleep and stay asleep and all that fun stuff. It has been my long-held belief that absolutely NO ONE really knows what they're talking about on this subject. Tonight's reading has only confirmed my opinion. It seems like everyone has a piece of the puzzle but no one can quite put it together the right way. I think this is because every baby and every family is different. There are so many variables that include everything from baby's temperment to mom and dad's lifestyle, that to try and come up with one blanket solution for every family is just nuts.
That said, I have gleaned some ideas from several "experts" and am anticipating putting them into action tomorrow evening. The particular mode of attack which I think might best help our family is to begin by estabilishing a schedule through rituals. By this I mean:
1) After recording his eating and sleeping habits for 48 hours I have chosen 3 scheduled naptimes and 1 scheduled "night time". During these times I will follow specific rituals to teach him that these things mean sleep is expected. I realize that at first these will simply be "mommy's rest times", but I'm hoping to coax his internal ticker into cooperation over time.
2) I am going to stick to my guns and not feed Ethan any soonerthan every two hours (longer would be great, but I'm not holding my breath). I already started this about 2 days ago and it seems to be going relatively well. (With his size, sucking ability, and appetite, I'm not the least worried that he'll shrink away into nothing! )
3) Ethan will not be given any toys or stimuli at night or during scheduled naping times.
4) He will not be swaddled unless it is in preparation for a sleep time.
5) As part of our ritual I will play a "heart bear" each time we lay down. It is a bear that supposedly plays womb sounds and is something that can transition with him wherever he sleeps.
6) I will swap out one of my pillow cases each night and place it (safely) in his bed so that he will have my scent to comfort him.
7) He will always be offered his pacifier at the start of sleep times- in addition to calming him, it's supposed to lower the risk of SIDS.
8) I will give him a fresh diaper before each sleep time and I will only change his diaper during the night time phase if he has a bowel movement or a diaper rash.
9) I will not do chores, answer the door, or answer the phone during naptime hours. (This will be tough to stick to!)
The new sleeping schedule is as follows:
10:30am-12pm
4:30-5:30pm
10:30pm-12am
2:30am-6:30am ("night time")
Well, this all looks very good in writing. ;-D
That said, I have gleaned some ideas from several "experts" and am anticipating putting them into action tomorrow evening. The particular mode of attack which I think might best help our family is to begin by estabilishing a schedule through rituals. By this I mean:
1) After recording his eating and sleeping habits for 48 hours I have chosen 3 scheduled naptimes and 1 scheduled "night time". During these times I will follow specific rituals to teach him that these things mean sleep is expected. I realize that at first these will simply be "mommy's rest times", but I'm hoping to coax his internal ticker into cooperation over time.
2) I am going to stick to my guns and not feed Ethan any soonerthan every two hours (longer would be great, but I'm not holding my breath). I already started this about 2 days ago and it seems to be going relatively well. (With his size, sucking ability, and appetite, I'm not the least worried that he'll shrink away into nothing! )
3) Ethan will not be given any toys or stimuli at night or during scheduled naping times.
4) He will not be swaddled unless it is in preparation for a sleep time.
5) As part of our ritual I will play a "heart bear" each time we lay down. It is a bear that supposedly plays womb sounds and is something that can transition with him wherever he sleeps.
6) I will swap out one of my pillow cases each night and place it (safely) in his bed so that he will have my scent to comfort him.
7) He will always be offered his pacifier at the start of sleep times- in addition to calming him, it's supposed to lower the risk of SIDS.
8) I will give him a fresh diaper before each sleep time and I will only change his diaper during the night time phase if he has a bowel movement or a diaper rash.
9) I will not do chores, answer the door, or answer the phone during naptime hours. (This will be tough to stick to!)
The new sleeping schedule is as follows:
10:30am-12pm
4:30-5:30pm
10:30pm-12am
2:30am-6:30am ("night time")
Well, this all looks very good in writing. ;-D
posted by KMD | 1:22 AM
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