Parenting go to’s. #2
Getting my baby to sleep through the night!
I think the question “How do I get my baby to sleep through the night?” has to be one of the top questions a new mom asks. Sleep is something that quickly goes away once your sweet little one comes into the world, and it can seem like an eternity before it comes back.
Let me start by saying we did not co-sleep. We had a great pediatrician that told us when you co-sleep nobody gets a good night sleep. Not the parents or the baby. I love to sleep, and I need sleep, so this made a lot of sense to me. He went on to say that if you aren’t getting a good nights rest, then you will be tired when dealing with your baby and if your baby doesn’t get good sleep then it makes them more irritable.
Sleep is so important to a baby in their development
I could always tell when my kids were about to go through, or were going through a growing spurt because they would sleep extra at naps and in the mornings. James Dobson also said that as moms, we need to make sure we nap when our children nap.
I took that to heart too, and I’m so glad I did.
My first son was a very good baby. He was not colicky, he slept really well, and ate really well. BUT he was still getting up at least once a night for a bottle. At 18 months I decided that it was time for that to stop since our daughter would soon be joining us in the world, and I needed at least 4 months of solid nighttime sleep before I started the newborn thing again.
Before my daughter was born a friend told me about a class for new parents called Preparation for Parenting which is a part of ‘Growing kids Gods way’. It gave a schedule of how to get your baby to sleep through the night by the time the baby was 6 weeks old and I was sold. We borrowed the book and followed the steps, and sure enough she was able to sleep through the night! I would nurse her at 10:30pm before I went to bed and she would sleep until 5 or 6 in the morning. This was amazing because until this, we endured her being colicky each night for several weeks from 10:30pm – 1:00am. Every night. Literally. It was exhausting.
When our youngest son was born we followed the same schedule, and sure enough by 3 months old he was also sleeping through the night.
Over the years I have recommended sleep training to many tired moms, but this advice was more a general overview of what it looked like than actually being a part of the daily in’s and outs of making it happen.
Now, fast forward to my granddaughter Ellie being born in 2017. I tried to recall from memory what the schedule looked like, but after 22 years that’s hard to do. So I hit Pinterest and found the book Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo. This book explains the importance of sleep training and how to make it work for your family.
My granddaughter is currently 2 years old and her nap and nighttime bed process is so nice and easy for others to duplicate. And as her ‘Oma Nae Nae’ I appreciate that.
The nap and nighttime bed process is easy for others to duplicate
We simply put her pj’s on, brush her teeth, read her a Bible story and a book, then she gives kisses and she is down for the night. Now of course, there are times when it isn’t that simple, but those are few and far between and usually involves teething or too much dessert. I am always up for putting her to bed because it is such a pleasant process.
Also, they just had our 2nd granddaughter Peyton who is just now 3 months old, and they are following Baby Wise once again with the same results.
So I bet you are wondering how you too can get a good night sleep? I say BABY WISE for the win!
The one thing I do tell parents is that Baby Wise is not for the faint of heart.
It requires intentionality, discipline and sacrifice, but the pay off is worth it.
Here are some sample of the schedules made by babywisemom.com recommended in Baby Wise: