My older son was a reasonable sleeper. He was fairly easy to get off to sleep and from a few months old he just woke once in the night at a predictable time.
My younger son on the other hand ... We had great difficultly getting him to sleep and he woke regularly throughout the night. We couldn't seem to establish any kind of routine. If he had been our first child we would have been sure we were doing something very wrong!
We even bought books and DVDs offering to solve our son's sleep issues. Did they work? No. My theory is that if you match the right kind of baby with the right kind of book then maybe they work. We didn't find a match.
But we did find a solution eventually. And it didn't involve cry it out or ritual sacrifice. Actually the solutions were as much about the parents as the baby and technology was involved. Very fitting in a gadget-loving household.
Avengers Iron Man Costume for Kidson 05/24/2012
Avengers Captain America Costume for Kidson 05/25/2012
Avengers Thor Costume for Kidson 05/25/2012
Avengers Hulk Costume for Kidson 05/25/2012
Do you have any tips for getting a baby to sleep?
Thanks for the thoughtful comment 2uesday. Oh yes, I remember my Nan phoning me up and saying "you're not cuddling that baby too much are you?" Well-meaning, but I'll never regret time spent cuddling my babies. And yes, good point about relaxing toys, I remember a mobile with gentle lights working its magic for a friend's baby. They are all different.
@Pinkchic18 Your friend has my sympathy! It's awful when you're going through it.
Lovely article. I'm glad I came across it. A friend of mine is having the same issues!
This is a common problem for sure. You're right that different solutions work for different children and for different parents, too.
When my babies were small we called "co-sleeping" "the family bed." Worked for us. I couldn't bear to let them cry either. For some families, having babies learn to sleep in their own beds is really important, and some of the "solutions" work for them. I guess, in the end, we all need to find what works for us.
Wish I had read this 14 years ago! All good advice for helping the baby (and parents!) get some sleep.
Ah yes, swaddling worked well for our first son. It just seemed to make the second one very angry! We never managed to get him to sleep that way. I think they are all different.
My grandson, 5 months old, is swaddled so he sleeps longer, otherwise he jerks himself awake after 45 minutes or so. I'm not sure how much longer that will work for him, because he hates the process of being swaddled :-) My son and daughter-in-law also co-sleep with him at night. That way they can all get a reasonable amount of sleep at night!
My daughter suffered from colic and endless crying bouts for the first 5 months. We were so tired all the time that we ended up moving her cot right up against my side of the bed and lowering the side of the cot down so she was sleeping right next to me but still in her cot. It worked very well - she found it much easier to get to sleep because I was right there and I found night-time interruptions much easier.