A Breakthrough-Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?!

[MLBW]

So, on our trip to the States, I picked up a copy of The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (By Teaching You How To Ask The Right Questions)" By Tracy Hogg. It's part of the "Baby Whisperer" series. I read the first book when my son was 4 months old--at that time he never took naps for more than 20 minutes and got up every 2-3 hours at night and wouldn't go to sleep until 11 or 12 pm! It was crazy and I was getting pretty delusional. By applying what I took from that book within a month my son was sleeping through the night (8 pm to 8 am)! So, I believe in it, let's say.

I found this other book at the second-hand store--it's usually $25 USD--I bought it for $3 USD--not a bad savings as it is brand new!

I have skimmed and scanned through it and was looking again at the sleep section. My son was still not a good napper. His naps were really random and usually a struggle as he wants to be awake to experience the world even when he's dead-tired--so tired he can't function really.

These are the tips I saw and applied them:

-Make sure the baby's room is dark or very dim while they sleep--realized the room was probably not as dim as it should be--went and found a dark table cloth and hung it over the window during nap time--at other times, I take it off.

-If the baby has an aversion to his crib, fill the crib up with fun/new toys and set your baby in there to play--peek at him through the bars and spend some time seeing the crib as a fun place to be. I did this in the morning yesterday. Usually my son's crib is for sleep only-we had mobiles and things hanging in there before and he hated them so we figured it wasn't a good play place. We played for probably 30-45 minutes. When I took him out--he went up and pulled on the bars like saying, "Let me back in there!" When I sensed he was getting tired, I took him in, laid him down and he just laid there and let me cover him up--usually he sits up right away and starts crawling around and fussing because he doesn't want to be in there. The room was very dim and I said, "Have a nice nap, baby." Walked out and closed the door and for the first time in his life practically, he just went to sleep. I did it twice yesterday afternoon and now he has gone down for his nap today--of course, after some playtime in the crib this morning. He slept for over an hour the first nap yesterday and about 30 minutes for the second one! Today he has already been down for over 30 minutes and is still sleeping!

So, I type this because these simple things produced an amazing change for us--we'll see if it sticks but it seems like it might. Something to try if you're having trouble with bedtimes and naps.

 

[carey]

Thank you for sharing MLBW. I am only 15 weeks now. But I am learning about parenting as this is my first. I've heard many mothers complaint that their little one is a bad sleepler that mothers couldn't get good sleep either.
Would love to share other tips that work for your one.

 

[joannek]

lucky you. not to be the spoiler here, but i tried everything Tracy Hogg (& Dr. Spock & Gina Ford & Supernanny & Ferber) recommended, but nothing worked. my daughter still wanted to be carried & would cried for hours on end if we let her "fall asleep" on her own. finally, she was getting too heavy to be carried around for 30mins (she was 2 & weighing like 30lbs), so we told her she was too heavy. we put her in her bed, but we had to put our hand on her to pat her bump; she still woke up every 3hrs for milk.

she was eventually 3.5 yrs & we gave her little gift every morning if she didn't wake up for milk at night, and guessed what? it worked! i swore i would never bribe my children, but that was the only thing that worked. she's now 3yr9mths. she sleeps on her own, but we had to sit by the bed until she falls asleep. she sleeps from 7.30pm-7.30am. so we (my hubby & me) considered ourselves finally pulling through.

so to those who are like me & tried everything, eventually age will make a difference. (the thing is, i'm now pregnant, baby due in feb & i'm not sure i want to go thru all that again for another 4yrs) i'll probably get help from the sleep clinic next time.

 

[MommyTo3]

I've used the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. M. Weissbluth for all my 3 kids, as far as necessary. He was our pediatrician in the States and I have 3 pretty perfect sleepers, always have been really good. I think I have been lucky in general but his book made me understand the needs of sleep (for small babies / children) so much better, that I am sure it still makes a difference. Highly recommended as well.

There are lots of books out there, not every book works for every person. It depends on your personality but also of the baby, etc. Just do your research and see what works for you. But what's great about HSHHC in my opinion is the general understanding of sleep, not so much how to deal with sleep issues, etc. although that's obviously being covered as well.

 

[MLBW]

I've used the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. M. Weissbluth for all my 3 kids, as far as necessary. He was our pediatrician in the States and I have 3 pretty perfect sleepers, always have been really good. I think I have been lucky in general but his book made me understand the needs of sleep (for small babies / children) so much better, that I am sure it still makes a difference. Highly recommended as well.

There are lots of books out there, not every book works for every person. It depends on your personality but also of the baby, etc. Just do your research and see what works for you. But what's great about HSHHC in my opinion is the general understanding of sleep, not so much how to deal with sleep issues, etc. although that's obviously being covered as well.

I think the Baby Whisperer book gives a good general overall understanding of sleep too (the science behind it, that is)--but doesn't get super detailed. Anyway, I had read the part I tried before, I think but for some reason didn't try it and it just worked for us--of course it won't work with every other baby (I had lots of people trying to tell me what to do to make my baby a better sleeper when he was younger like "Play music for him--soft soothing music"--those things might work for every other baby--but not for my son--so I sure know that not every method works for everybody). I'm not selling the book here or trying to compare her methods with anyone else's either--basically I am sharing my joy that my son finally took a decent nap without a struggle today and offered a very simple thing that those who have also tried all the others could try too--it just floors me that it worked.

 

[MLBW]

lucky you. not to be the spoiler here, but i tried everything Tracy Hogg (& Dr. Spock & Gina Ford & Supernanny & Ferber) recommended, but nothing worked. my daughter still wanted to be carried & would cried for hours on end if we let her "fall asleep" on her own. finally, she was getting too heavy to be carried around for 30mins (she was 2 & weighing like 30lbs), so we told her she was too heavy. we put her in her bed, but we had to put our hand on her to pat her bump; she still woke up every 3hrs for milk.

she was eventually 3.5 yrs & we gave her little gift every morning if she didn't wake up for milk at night, and guessed what? it worked! i swore i would never bribe my children, but that was the only thing that worked. she's now 3yr9mths. she sleeps on her own, but we had to sit by the bed until she falls asleep. she sleeps from 7.30pm-7.30am. so we (my hubby & me) considered ourselves finally pulling through.

so to those who are like me & tried everything, eventually age will make a difference. (the thing is, i'm now pregnant, baby due in feb & i'm not sure i want to go thru all that again for another 4yrs) i'll probably get help from the sleep clinic next time.

Did you do the play in the crib thing specifically with your daughter? You said you tried everything in her books. That sounds like a really long rough ride that she was still not sleeping well after 3-years-old! Wow! But the paediatrician my mom took us to as babies said that his kids were still poor sleepers at 3-4-years-old so I'm sure there are others out there that have that problem still. Sometimes you just have to "outlast" that phase with them, huh? Here's hoping that the next 4 years aren't a repeat for you! :gl:

 

[wanfamily]

I'm quite a Tracey Hogg fan myself too. Even though my 8 month doesn't sleep through the night yet, and I think no one plan works for all babies, she has some very down to earth sound advice for making life easier. She has a great book for toddlers too which I sometimes refer to when I need some advice for my 2 year old.

 

[MLBW]

I'm quite a Tracey Hogg fan myself too. Even though my 8 month doesn't sleep through the night yet, and I think no one plan works for all babies, she has some very down to earth sound advice for making life easier. She has a great book for toddlers too which I sometimes refer to when I need some advice for my 2 year old.

The book of hers I'm reading right now has advice through the toddler years--it is sort of like a textbook-sized book. I am so glad a counselor-friend recommended the first book to me--I hadn't read anything on sleep or eating or anything for babies--because there is so much out there and a lot of it conflicts--and I know myself, I would have gone overboard and read all of it and then got overwhelmed. Thankfully, the book I read really helped--and saved my sanity in large part!

 

[sherwes]

Hi MLBW, great result! I am definately a big fan of having a dark room. I have black out lining on the curtains in my baby's room and also have velcro down the sides so no light creeps in and it has worked well for me. I also have a "special" blanket with a teddy attached and a "special" sheep skin "Flat Bear" toy in the cot. These items are never given to my little one unless he is in the cot. Now, when he goes into his cot he immediately cuddles up to his special things. Generally, when I check on his in the night, he has the blanket grasped in one hand and the Flat Bear on his head!!

What does Tracey Hogg say about day time sleep schedule? My 13 month old has started waking up an hour earlier in the mornings (yawn). I suspect this is because that he is snoozing too much during the day. Does Tracey Hogg recommend a max number of hours of day time sleep for this age group? I know Gina Ford says a max of 2.5 hours of day time sleep should be allowed but I am not a Gina Ford fan so don't follow her unless another commentator agrees!

 

[MLBW]

Hi MLBW, great result! I am definately a big fan of having a dark room. I have black out lining on the curtains in my baby's room and also have velcro down the sides so no light creeps in and it has worked well for me. I also have a "special" blanket with a teddy attached and a "special" sheep skin "Flat Bear" toy in the cot. These items are never given to my little one unless he is in the cot. Now, when he goes into his cot he immediately cuddles up to his special things. Generally, when I check on his in the night, he has the blanket grasped in one hand and the Flat Bear on his head!!

What does Tracey Hogg say about day time sleep schedule? My 13 month old has started waking up an hour earlier in the mornings (yawn). I suspect this is because that he is snoozing too much during the day. Does Tracey Hogg recommend a max number of hours of day time sleep for this age group? I know Gina Ford says a max of 2.5 hours of day time sleep should be allowed but I am not a Gina Ford fan so don't follow her unless another commentator agrees!

What I remember without going through the book right now is that she said the earlier you put the child down at night the longer they sleep-which seems like an oxymoron but I think this is true--since my son started going to sleep no later than 7 pm (at one point he was going to sleep at 5:30 or 6 pm!) he sleeps 12 hours at a shot without waking up but if for some reason he doesn't get to bed until 9 or 10 pm (like we had a family dinner we had to attend etc.) then he is more prone to waking up earlier than usual in the morning.

She also said that the child sleeping too much during the day contributes to poor night-time sleep. I think she said that children at about 1-year-old need about 3 hours of napping time in the day--usually in 2 nap periods but sometimes will sleep the whole 3 hours at once. My son is doing quite well if he sleeps that long--but usually he might get up to 1 1/2 hours a day--either at one time or in two spurts--with the newfound success with the darkened windows and playtime in the crib we'll see if this lengthens. It also is in direct proportion to how much activity he has in a day and growth spurts and teething.

That is what I can remember off the top of my head.