The Uncanny truths about Motherhood- Sleep

My dear friend Alyssa told me about a book, when I was expecting my first booger. I just let it brush past my brain and didn’t really think to listen. Then I remember after having my little booger, her coming to my baby shower and how so many people were so impressed when she went and set her 3 month old down to nap, on his own, at a different place, and thought, I need to know what she knows. When my worn out tired self needed some sleep when my child was 9 weeks old, I emailed her begging, pleading to share the book with me. Thankfully she replied quickly and told me Oh it’s “On becoming Baby wise.” We got to the book store as fast as I could and got that book and started reading. That was my lifesaver. For me, it was what I needed. I needed to know that my baby wasn’t hungry again an hour after I fed him, and that babies do and will cry and it’s Ok. I know it’s very hard for some people to listen to I am one of them. It breaks my heart. But babies can’t talk and this is how they communicate {Post on baby cries soon} and so we need to listen to them.
The jist of what this book says is about routine and the way the routine goes, makes all the difference. Their routine is: sleep, then eat, then wake time, then sleep and so on. It works! It’s simple it’s easy and helps bring peace to a new mother. For me at least it did. I was nursing a baby sometimes to sleep an hour later he’d wake up and I’d think, oh great, here we go again. The first time around, it was hard because he wasn’t used to this schedule so when I threw it upon him at 9 weeks old, I’m sure he was not happy with it. There were times when he would scream for 30 minutes. It seemed like 30 hours. It was short lived though and then he would sleep. He would sleep peacefully and so could I. I could relax and get some sleep myself.
When kids sleep they develop, and grow. They are happy and momma (and daddy) is happy too! When my second one came around, I started this schedule from birth and it was so nice. There really was no crying stage and he is one, happy smiling boy. I hear it all the time. Just like the book says you will. “Your baby is so happy.” “He is such a good baby.” And my favorite “You are so lucky.” It is not luck of the draw in my opinion, every baby can be taught this. I taught them how to sleep. It’s a skill that needs to be learned just like crawling, just like pincher grasp, just like holding their head up, etc. I’m not trying to toot my own horn because I didn’t come up with this. I just followed it. So for that, I toot my horn. For happy babies that sleep well and for the many sleepFUL nights I get and will continue to get. For that I toot my horn. Check out the book. Naptime with my first booger continued until he was 4 years old. He was that good of a sleeper. For me then, Naptime=Mommytime=Sanity. I don’t think I ever saw 8 o’clock in the morning for his first 4 years of life unless we had to be up for something. My friends and family knew to not call at least until 10 because, well, we were sleeping. Remember it’s for YOU to use as a tool. It’s not for you to be tied down to and be a slave to. It’s not to make crying good, or a “crying” book. I don’t like when people say that. They just don’t understand that’s all. It’s supposed to help you. Like your rake, or shovel in the garden, your scrubber, or sponge with the dishes. It’s to help out YOU. Make life easier for you and your baby. Don’t think that you can’t love and rock your babies. That is not what they are trying to stay, or that’s not what I am saying. Spend time lovin’ on your babies, absolutely! Kiss on them, sing to them, and rock them all you want. Do it when they are awake. Don’t let it be the way that they HAVE to fall asleep. Put them down when they are sleepy and teach them to fall asleep themselves. It makes me sad when I hear about people that haven’t slept through the night in months, or even years because they are up all night. It doesn’t have to be that way, that’s all I’m saying. Life is so much better than that. Try it, I promise, once your child sleeps, you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy and Happy Sleeping!!
*This paired with the knowledge of cries made life blissful with my 2nd newborn. {Cries post coming soon}