Sleep News

After I awoke today to a cooing Baby Diva, I checked my e-mail and saw the following headline from Baby Center:

“Surprising News About Sleep Training Solutions”

Ah, yes, the elusive and yet much talked about full night’s sleep.

My goodness, well I had better click right away–perhaps Martha Sears and Dr. Sears are correct and allowing your baby to cry at night will result in an anti-social little monster. Or maybe Ferber and his gang have it right when they say that you are dooming your child to a lifetime of sleep disorders if you do not suck it up and sleep train your baby.

So, what is the groundbreaking news, you ask? It turns out that all of the methods work, as long as you are consistent. Mamanista is less than shocked.

If you continue reading, Mamanista will share what worked for Baby Diva and recommend some books (Pantley and Weissbluth) for more detail.

According to Baby Center:

After reading every sleep book I could get me hands on, I had pretty much already come to this conclusion. Consistency is generally key in parenting, whether we are talking about discipline, development, or sleep.

So, I’ve developed my own sleep plan for Baby Diva based on the advice that best matches my family’s lifestyle.

First, I would recommend, Healthy Sleep, Healthy Child, by Weisbluth, for learning about age appropriate naps. He actually shares a tidbit of advice that was not instinctual for me: past the first few weeks of life, babies do not always nap when they need to nap. His book contains detailed information about sleep research as well as some information about age-appropriate nap schedules. Once I started following his advice and putting Baby Diva down for naps, she became the happy baby she is today. Baby Diva is 7 months, so most days she has a nap at around 9:30 am and one at around 1 pm. If her afternoon nap is early, short, or otherwise disrupted, she sometimes needs a short nap at around 4 pm. Bedtime is at 7-7:30 pm.

I couldn’t allow Baby Diva to cry it out when she was younger because she had a heart condition at the time (now repaired!). So, when it was time for a nap or bedtime, I had to find a calm way to ease her to sleep. I found that in Pantley’s No Cry Sleep Solution. Baby Diva’s routine is: Bath, Massage, PJ’s, Nurse, Big Red Barn (Book), Goodnight Moon (Book), start “Nighty-Night Mozart” (CD), hand her her baby-safe stuffed animal, lights out, kiss goodnight.

If she wakes up at times that are not feeding times, at first we would rock her to sleep. Now, we just shush her and sometimes put on one of her white noise CDs.

Consistency is a day to day issue–you may have to change up your routine as your baby moves through different life stages. Now that Baby Diva is older (and heart healthy), I do allow her to fuss a little (but not actually full-out cry and scream) and she often finds her way to sleep. Occasionally she will actually cry, and then I will go to her, soothe her without picking her up, and she’ll return to slumber land.

As with all things parenting, your mileage may vary. And of course, celebrities are spending tens of thousands of dollars hiring “expert” consultants (source: NYTimes and Mamapop) to make their little star-suckers perfect. Most of us can’t afford even an hour with these consultants so we’ll have to muddle through on our own. Now you have Mamanista’s method free of charge–though you may want to purchase some books for more details and encouragement.

Sleep Advice Books Recommended by Mamanista:

Other Sleep Advice Books:

Bedtime Books and CDs Mamanista Uses