Night is for sleep!

Babies all do sleep from 13 to 16 hours (or more) but not always when mom or dad wants them to! My first was a sleeper, he went 5 hours the first night, I was so blessed! My second was a catnapper, an hour or two and she was up and ready to explore. Unfortunatly since she was an infant and wanted mom to bring new things to her to explore!

Here is a list of 6 of the things that we did with both and I really feel they made a huge difference in helping them both keep night for sleeping and daytime for playing, at least most of the time.

1. Nurse, moms can sleep thru nursing a baby, you have to be awake to get the bottle and aught to be awake to feed it to them too.

2. Share the work. Cranky mommies make daddys (and children) cranky, so Dad, get up, go get the baby and bring him/her to mom to nurse. (change a diaper only if it is full(and I mean FULL) or pooped in).

3. Don't turn the lights on or TV or play, if you have to be awake for the feeding get a book and soft light only. You want your baby to know this is time to sleep. (midnight snacks are needed, but sleep right after!)

4. Sunshine, get it during the day, and fresh air if possible, helps to set the 'clock' in a kid.

5. Take at least one nap WITH your newborn, and treat the 3 hours as sleep time, soothe back if possible (pick 3 hours your baby sleeps for anyway)

6. Meet their needs, a happy baby sleeps better. Relativly speaking that is.

I suppose one of the hardest things for new parents, the baby isn't supposed to sleep thru the night right away! Babies are made in an environment with constant nutrients, and comfort. Then in the real world hunger hits, pain happens, hot and cold irritate, and dreaded full diapers! It takes time to get used to all the new sensations, and to get used to the idea that sleep isn't just for any old time.

While you should start night as night right off the bat, you shouldn't expect it to be easy. Nor for your little tiny one to sleep thru the night anytime soon. While some 'experts' say 3 months others say 9 (with some earlier and some later). Go with your instinct, and make sure needs are met, then after a time you can introduce some of the midnight tactics to encourage your little one to stay in bed all night.