Comments on: Raffle time: Sleep secrets

By: Lauren Lodato

Lauren Lodato — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:25:03 +0000

Routine is very imporant and has helped my daughter from the beginning. We quiet things down by turning off the TV, lowering the lights and cleaning up. We then take a bath and brush her teeth. After that we snuggle in her room and read a few books and she knows it’s night night time. I have always used the “sleep sheep” white noise machine” and believe that helps a lot. She snuggles her little balnkie and usually has no problem falling asleep.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:59:27 +0000

We are big fans of “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby.” Our friends recommended this book to us stating that it “changed their life.” We read it when our baby was two months old and it reinforced the idea that younger babies should have 1-2 hours of wakefulness. It helped me understand how much babies really need to sleep and taught me not to deprive our baby of important nap time.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:48:37 +0000

Swaddling and pacifier until she was 4 months old. Now, Angel dear blanket and pacifier do the trick. She has the same routine for naps and bedtime, and I alyways put her down at the same times. She’s liike clockwork now!

By: Jennifer Link

Jennifer Link — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:52:38 +0000

Have swaddled her since day one and she knows now that it means its time to sleep. She sleeps like a champ and is happy now when we start to swaddle her up.

By: Elina

Elina — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:36:25 +0000

Consistency! I don’t believe in reading and singing before he goes to sleep. It only stimulates him and distracts him. We usually give him and warm bath, comfy pjs, in a dim light so he knows to calm down, some warm milk (because it’s easier to sleep when they’re not hungry), and his favorite toy pillow. Lights out and door closed. He knows the routine. He may toss and turn for a few minutes but they need to know how to fall asleep on their own. The milk is leaving the routine since he’s getting teeth and starting to brush. So we make sure he eats his last meal within the hour so he can sleep longer. Babies wake up if they’re hungry. He sleeps from 9pm till 8am! Give and take an hour.
When we where first developing his routine he would cry more. So I would go in for one or two short visits. Quick hug and put him down under the blanket. It’s ok if he cries a little. They need to learn to fall asleep on their own. If he really cries longer then it’s probably hunger or diaper problem. Quick feed and change and ‘good night baby’!

By: Dori

Dori — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:51:54 +0000

The key is to not wait too long. You have to catch them at the first signs of sleepiness (eg eye rubbing, yawns, etc)

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:18:02 +0000

I agree with the routine. We taught my son that once we say good night, that’s it until the morning. He doesn’t cry or whine and is happy to go to bed. We don’t have him play in the crib- no toys just his Teddy and he knows that’s where he sleeps. Just pick a method and stick to it, that’s most important.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:12:44 +0000

My son loves when we read him books before bed…I also lay with him and rock him for a bit which calms him down. We also have a white noise machine which also has lullablies…

By: Your Name (Required)

Your Name (Required) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:03:34 +0000

While Oliver was teething this week, he woke up screaming at 2 in the morning and was unconsolable. We hadn’t experienced that in months! So the next two nights, we gave him baby tylernol before going to bed, and he slept all the way through without even a whimper! The dr said it was fine to do, and he may need it for 3-4 nights until the tooth cuts through the gums.

By: M

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:18:11 +0000

For the longest time my husband fought me about crying it out/sleep training. THEN, we went away for a week and baby got sick and was up about 5x a night. This continued through the next week when we brought him home. Exhausted, my husband finally said, “OK, we’ll try it your way and try crying it out!!!”. We used the Ferber method with extended minutes. We make sure we say “It’s time to go to bed. It’s time to go to sleep. We love you. (kiss)” and we make sure we disappear from his sight. The 1st night baby cried about 25 minutes (with us going out to sooth him every so often). The 2nd night 20 minutes. The 3rd night about 12 minutes. After that he usually just either rolls over and goes to sleep or complains with a few yelps and then is out. That was at 9 months. He’s now 11 and is amazing: he usually rolls over and goes to sleep for the night and 2 naps a day. Or if he’s not that tired he now has quiet time where he talks to himself. If he can see us or Daddy just comes home when he’s put down he still does cry angrily and jump up and down in the crib.

At first our methods were singing and rocking. Once we watched Happiest Baby on the Block, we used some of those methods and they are amazing for 0-3 months. Watch it!

If I could do it over (and hope to ) I would use the HBontheBlock methods and then cry it out with baby anywhere from 4-6 months, whenever we were ready.