On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep (On Becoming. . .)
This book saved my sanity...... When I first became a mom, my daughter would sleep during the day and cry at night... I was so tired... and cranky... I wanted to cry.. I remember one night holding my dear baby and watching the sunrise.. neither one of us had gotten any sleep that night....
The second week of motherhood my friend Kim called... she had a baby about three months before me.. I just cried on the phone to her. "I can't sleep...I don't think I'm cut out for this mommy gig " well she told me to hang on tight and she was coming over... She said that her daughter was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks... really sleeping through the night... going down at 10:00 PM and not waking until 7:00 AM...that sounded like Heaven to this girl...
Kim's secret was this book
On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep (On Becoming. . .)In the book was a sample schedule that you can start right away with your newborn baby.. and it went to up older babies... it told me everything I needed to know..... seriously... How much and often to feed the baby, secrets to keeping the baby awake, when to put the baby down for a nap.. and when to know when it's time to get up.... When I followed these simple instructions, my daughter started sleeping through the night at seven weeks..... My youngest daughter by four weeks..
The schedule was a great boiler plate for me to work off of... and when she got to be closer to two months - I started the "sleep through the night" training....
The first few days was tough... for example when you know the baby is fed, clean, and not sick and she cries - I would go into her room and not pick her up. I would just pat her on the back for a few seconds and say go to sleep sweetheart... the letting her cry was the tough part... I would cry in my bed listening to her cry... Of course, I would not let her go for more than 10-15 minutes without sticking my head in the door and saying softly go to sleep baby.. mommy loves you..... The reason behind letting the baby cry in small increments is that she learns to comfort herself... and that my friend is a good thing... a very good thing..and having about ten pacifiers in the crib did not hurt either!
The book helped me to understand the difference between a hungry cry and I want to be picked up cry... When she slept through the first night - I woke up in a panic and ran to her room and there was my sleeping baby..
One great thing about this program is that both of my girls loved taking their naps... they never cried.. at least at home... and they always woke up happy... with naps being a good experience for them they tended to play in their cribs later until I got them up... That was great...
I hear horror stories from friends about their child or someone else's child not sleeping through the night at one year.....two years... that would make mommy irritable and baby not happy either... a child needs their sleep and so do mommies...
One real cute story... I had a friend that was pregnant and Dusty my husband told them that they have to get Babywise... and I saw her eyes glaze over... I know pregnant women and new parents get really tired of all the unsolicited advise they get... but Dusty kept going...they'll sleep through the whole night, it makes life easier...and blah blah blah... About 2 months later my friend's husband calls me....he says I'm desperate... none of us have slept in five weeks... What is the name of that book...I'm going to get it NOW... He did.. one month later, I called to chit chat and they said the book saved their sanity too and baby, mom, and dad were doing good... real good.
So if you know a friend that is having her first baby.. or second... get her this book.. she'll be thankful.....I promise...
On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep (On Becoming. . .)
