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3 Strategies for Better Baby Sleep
Babies need sleep, and heaven knows, their moms and dads do too! Unfortunately, newborns tend to have their own ideas about when and where to catch their z's. Eventually all new parents will have to answer questions like: Crib or family bed? Nurse him (again) or let him cry it out? Will a certain expert's methods work for my baby?
Here are some real experiences from parents who have wrestled with these very issues -- and devised their own solutions, based on their styles, which vary. After all, each baby is unique -- just like her parents. Find out what might work for you.
The Premise of the Baby-Centered ApproachBaby is best off when he's physically close to Mom and knows she's there to meet his needs. Parents who take this course tend to feed the baby on demand (whenever he cries) and co-sleep with him, either in a family bed or in an attachment to their bed. They focus on making the bed a positive, natural place where Mom can quickly offer food or comfort. Experts like William and Martha Sears and groups like La Leche League base their parenting advice on this idea.
All parents more or less start out with a variation of the baby-centered approach, because a brand-new infant needs continuous nourishment (every few hours throughout the day and night). At the 3-month mark, though, most babies are able to last for longer stretches at night (often up to five or six hours) without a feeding. While some parents use techniques to encourage longer stretches of night sleeping, those who favor the baby-centered approach generally prefer to let this happen naturally.
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Excessive crying obviously should not be tolerated, but that is borderline child neglect and so I think people have the two confused. Falling asleep is a learned skill and your baby needs your help to allow that skill to develop. Our son learned to sleep on his own and by 7 weeks he was sleeping 9 hours which increased ultimately to 12 hours at night. Danny now almost 3 asks to go to bed because he knows when he is tired and knows how to fall asleep because of it.
1/19/2012 12:50:36 PM Report AbuseA recent US study followed kids' development over many years and showed that the ¿cry it out¿ strategy is totally wrong. It's good for parents' comfort but it results in multiple psychological issues for the baby (who feels rejected and often has permanent changes such as insecurity, inadequate social skills for life etc.). Even the author who 'invented' the cry it out technique says the parents picked it all up wrong ¿ nobody should ignore a crying baby for an extended period of time.
1/14/2012 06:05:30 PM Report AbuseI don't know, but scheduling a baby's feeds from such an early age doesn't seem right to me. Are these formula-fed or breast-fed babies? It would be much much harder--in fact it would be a terrible idea--to implement such a feeding schedule with a breastfed newborn!
1/14/2012 03:02:23 PM Report Abusebel, my son is 7 mos. and i just went through the same thing. he was sleeping all the through the night then suddenly began waking up. your infant may be having a growth spurt, around the age of 6 mos. is what i read. the pituitary gland is secreting the growth hormone and that could cause the baby to need more feeding to satisfy growing. hope this helps. be patient. my son went through it for 2 weeks and is now sleeping through the night again.
8/18/2010 02:11:15 PM Report Abusemy 6 month old started sleeping through at 4mths but it only lasted a few weeks, now he is worse than ever. I keep giving in and feeding him but its the easiest way to settle him. If I don't feed him he wakes up as soon as I put him down. He wakes at the exact times every night. He seems hungry but I know he is capable of going through the night? He is on two solid meals a day. I've offered water but that gets him cranky. Help, any ideas?
7/12/2010 05:55:45 PM Report Abusemy daughter is almost 9 months old. she still wakes up in the middle of the night for a bottle sometimes up to 4 times a night. during the day i give her veggies mixed with oatmeal 3 times a day. she still wakes up a lot. i need help. its getting to the point where i cant even sleep at all. can you help me.
3/28/2010 08:57:22 PM Report Abusemy husband and I have a twins how do we get them to sleep through the night. they are 5 months.
2/28/2010 06:33:35 PM Report AbuseMy baby tosses and turns most of the night, especially when he's waking up. Sometimes he'll fall back to sleep. What can be the problem?
2/18/2010 01:45:37 PM Report Abusemy nine mo old still doesnt sleep thru the night and she shares room with her older brother so i dont let her cry it out ideas?
1/1/2010 08:30:31 PM Report Abuse